Relatively new Stihl Ms271 smoking around clutch

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Joedag90

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Hey Everyone!

A few weeks ago I excitedly bought my first Stihl chainsaw, a nice Ms 271 Farm Boss. The other day when I went to use it however, I had an issue arise. I "burped" it once on full choke then moved to high idle to start the saw. The chain brake was on as I was advised by the dealer. The saw started right up and I "blipped" the saw to decrease it to starting idle. However, a white smoke started coming out of the clutch area on the side of the saw. A lot of white smoke very quickly actually! I immediately turned off the saw and let it cool down. Could the saw have not moved from high idle and started to heat the clutch? Is there anyway I can check the condition of the clutch myself or should I go back to the dealer? The saw cut through a small log without issues afterwards so am I being too worried? Are these parts replaceable?

Sorry for all the questions! I'm just very worried about my new saw!

Thanks again for all the help!
 
Hey Everyone!

A few weeks ago I excitedly bought my first Stihl chainsaw, a nice Ms 271 Farm Boss. The other day when I went to use it however, I had an issue arise. I "burped" it once on full choke then moved to high idle to start the saw. The chain brake was on as I was advised by the dealer. The saw started right up and I "blipped" the saw to decrease it to starting idle. However, a white smoke started coming out of the clutch area on the side of the saw. A lot of white smoke very quickly actually! I immediately turned off the saw and let it cool down. Could the saw have not moved from high idle and started to heat the clutch? Is there anyway I can check the condition of the clutch myself or should I go back to the dealer? The saw cut through a small log without issues afterwards so am I being too worried? Are these parts replaceable?

Sorry for all the questions! I'm just very worried about my new saw!

Thanks again for all the help!
Don't start saws with the chainbrake on.
 
Bad advised by the dealer. You don't start with high speed s saw with the brake ON. That will destroy the cluck in no time.
You can use the brake in low idle to lay down the saw for a short time.
You should be OK for now. But don't do it again.
Good luck.
 
This is a brand new MS 271 Farm Boss. I started it up for the first time with the chain brake on like the instructions say and let it idle as I walked about a minute to where I was cutting. It was smoking the entire time it was idling from the very start, and I figured that it was just because it was new and that it would stop after any grease on the outside of the engine wore off.

When I was ready to start cutting, I took the chain brake off and the chain started spinning really fast at idle and smoking even more, so I shut it down without ever revving up the throttle. The clutch and oil pump had melted and the saw was trashed. The dealer told me the only thing that could have caused that damage is me throttling the engine with the chain brake on. I did no such thing. I never touched the throttle except briefly to blip the saw as the startup procedure says.

The dealer told me the damage was caused by user error and therefore does not qualify for warranty coverage. Stihl told me that the chain brake is only supposed to be used for startup, even though the manual says it should be used for startup, when at idle (my case), or in an emergency.

Anyone else have a similar experience with a full meltdown just from idling with the chain brake on? Any idea what caused this?
 

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Thanks for the feedback. So basically, if you follow the directions in the users' manual pertaining to chain brake use (attached), you will fry your chainsaw?
 

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Thanks for the feedback. So basically, if you follow the directions in the users' manual pertaining to chain brake use (attached), you will fry your chainsaw?
Did you read notice to the right of that. Chain brake at idle, not high idle or acceleration.
 
What do you mean by high idle? Do you mean squeezing the throttle or do you mean the idle speed on the carberator adjusted too high?

I did not squeeze the throttle other than the split second startup blip.

My initial startup just used the factory carborator settings. After the initial startup failure I was able to get it started up again and (per the manual) turned the LA screw counterclockwise to try to stop the chain from spinning when at idle, but this was useless. The LA screw was basically all the way out from the factory and adjusting it did nothing.
 
If the chain was spinning at idle the saw was not tuned right from the start (lean, idle screw, or air leak).

I don't mean high idle. That is after starting you blipped the throttle, and set the saw to idle.

Nothing should happen to the clutch/oil pump with the brake on at idle as the the engine is turning too slow to engage the clutch.

Please clarify what you did concerning when you first started the saw.
 
I am still not sure what everyone means when they say "high idle."

For initial startup, I put the chainbrake on and put the saw to choke, pulled a few times until it burped. Then I set the throttle to start and pulled probably at least 10 times until the thing started. I blipped it, then walked to where I was cutting, which took a little over a minute, and the thing was smoking the entire time. I then took the chain brake off and the chain started spinning, and the saw started smoking even worse. I then shut the saw down before ever revving the thing up.
 
This was a brand new saw.

I thought the smoke was initially just grease on the outside of the engine baking off since it was new, or the thing just breaking in after a first startup.

By the time I thought to take the chain brake off to see if the idling was causing the clutch to engage, it was too late.
 
And no, the shop sold it to me straight off the shelf. To my knowledge they never serviced it or started it up to make sure everything was tuned.
 
The dealer should not sell a saw without servicing it Call Stihl and explain it to them, may not help, but will not hurt. I kind of thought so when you said you have to pull it so many times to get it started.
 
When you set it to start, saw was on high idle, you had chain brake on and never got saw off high idle. Took master control off, but never released trottle off of high idle. Clutch was spinning in drum with chain brake on, you released chain brake and chain started spinning because it was on high idle. Friction heated drum and melted your saw. That is how I see it. Maybe not how you and others see it.
 
It is possible it never got out of the starting throttle mode (high idle?)-it was difficult to tell if the master control lever was fully in the "normal run position" or "starting throttle position" after I blipped it-it was kind of between the lines. I have never heard this saw startup before so I wasn't familiar with the throttling startup sounds it should or should not be making.

I see nowhere in the manual mention of the term "high idle". It seems to me if you have a time bomb in your hands when the master control lever is in the starting throttle position (high idle?), and if it isn't crystal clear when it is in the normal operating position, they should either tell you not to startup with the chain brake on or at least give some type of warning in the manual that you have a time bomb in your hands that is melting down unless you are successful in getting it out of throttle mode within a minute or so if the chainbrake is on.

Does anyone know of a saw in the $400 range that will shut itself down when it hits a critical temperature so it doesn't catastrophically fail, or is made of metal instead of plastic?
 
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