Without a doubt, the crappiest STIHL ever produced...

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RED-85-Z51

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And Im working on it...

Guy brings in a Stihl MS-280 C "Farm Boss"....

Says it's always been hard to start, He hasnt been able to keep it running long enough to put any wear on it. It even still has the little sticker on the front of the oil tank, clean as a whistle. Has the original bar, original chain, and the chain is still sharp, no signs of wear on the bar at all.

He said the thing has always taken a few minutes to start since new, and it never wanted to idle. He said you make a cut, set it down, and it shuts off, then wont refire, and it gets put away and he brings out his Echo CS-510 to cut firewood.

He said one day it simply wouldnt start at all, so he did dome lookign and the fuel line was cracked, so he replaced it, and it started, but same old song and dance. Then this morning he pulled it and the rope was very hard to pull, it came out, and wouldnt go back in.

He said it takes a few dozen pulls to start it...and a little plug for Echo "The 510 always cranks on 2-3 pulls"....:clap: :clap:

This thing doesnt have any dust under the air filter lid, no debris or dust on the filter, the inside of the bar cover has some sawdust and chips under it, but no buildup, and no oil sling off hardly. No scrapes underneath it.

The whole dang saw is this flimsy plastic. Bar cover, recoil, and the recoil doesnt have the "MS-280-C" on it either...doesnt look like it ever did, just an orange dot.

He said if it needs alot of work, "toss it, and Ill get another, larger Echo".....but he said he paid some 500+ bucks for the Stihl, and hates to see it go to waste.

As much as Stihl prides themselves on their quality saws...Why in the blue hell would thwy make this turd?
 
not trying to be a smart alleck,but...

Aren't all saws now mostly plastic with exception to the crankcase? Some of the huskys have metal clutch covers but everything else is plastic or some sort of polymer.
 
Sorry, it's a WOOD BOSS, not a FARM BOSS, my bad. Just proof read my post..lol

I was just baffled at all the plastic parts on this thing, even though it does have a metal crank case and all that...I excpected better.

Im sure it's probably a crankcase leak, like a seal, gasket, maybe even the impulse line...
 
Aren't all saws now mostly plastic with exception to the crankcase? Some of the huskys have metal clutch covers but everything else is plastic or some sort of polymer.

Very true, and there is an advantage to this...Weight savings, metal breaks, plastic has some give to it. Plastic doesnt corrode...

But I just want expecting the saw to feel this flimsy. At first I though it was a china clone of a Stihl, just didnt look like a saw Stihl would produce, ya know?
 
If the 270/280 is the crappiest, then the 170/180 isn't far behind.

IMO--The quality of Stihl products in recent years has started to fall.
 
Red,

I'm confident that you can fix it. Let us know what it turns out to be, OK. Everyone puts out a few bad ones every once in while. I've never used a 280 but I have two burnt up 510s and sometimes it takes four or five pulls to get it started if it sat for a couple of weeks. Once warm 1 pull every time so far.

Red did you have a bad Stihl experience when you were younger or in a past life? Seems you don't care for them much. I think they make some good saws.

v/r

Mike
 
Red,

I'm confident that you can fix it. Let us know what it turns out to be, OK. Everyone puts out a few bad ones every once in while. I've never used a 280 but I have two burnt up 510s and sometimes it takes four or five pulls to get it started if it sat for a couple of weeks. Once warm 1 pull every time so far.

Red did you have a bad Stihl experience when you were younger or in a past life? Seems you don't care for them much. I think they make some good saws.

v/r

Mike



Red is a famous Stihl basher...............Hes prone to shop at garages sales and the dump for his saws.......







.
 
Red,

I'm confident that you can fix it. Let us know what it turns out to be, OK. Everyone puts out a few bad ones every once in while. I've never used a 280 but I have two burnt up 510s and sometimes it takes four or five pulls to get it started if it sat for a couple of weeks. Once warm 1 pull every time so far.

Red did you have a bad Stihl experience when you were younger or in a past life? Seems you don't care for them much. I think they make some good saws.

v/r

Mike

I dont doubt I can fix it, It's not even broken in yet.

The 180 is pretty crappy, but it's smaller and cheaper, so It gets to slide. My 018C seems to be a decent saw at best, never got it to run with the bad bearings and seals...but it did seem to be built better than this MS-280.

I did a ton of Stihl repairs for a LAnd Clearing crew when I first got into the business, they had most of the saws made, but majority were 044's, 066's, and an 088 with a gigantic bar. They had little limbing saws too.

They were constantly down for repairs. One day I got to talking with one of the guys when he was picking up 3 saws, and dropping off 4 more, and I commented that they needed to get some NEW saws, as those OLD ones were just so much trouble...he said "aint none of em over 5 years old" :dizzy: :dizzy:

Ive got a few...seems like these things go through impulse lines like a fat kid goes through a Chocolate Fudge cake...Which means they go through P &C's alot too. We see a Bunch of TS-350's with scorched pistons, and quite a few other Stihls. More Stihls than Husky and Echo combined.
 
If it ran poorly from the start, he should have returned to the dealer then. Obviously something is wrong with it, other than the recoil assm. they did bastardize the Wood Boss name.
 
Wow, after all the hype about Stihl you mean to tell me that they have actual human beings building, and inspecting saw's. And a piece of crap could actually slip through the cracks and hit the market, just like the other inferior brands of saw's?

Simply amazing.

Andy
 
bash

Yep, you happened to get one that the customer says doesn't start well, so all Stihls are bad.
If I based my opinions that way, all Echos are bad because I worked on one with an air leak.
All Huskys are bad because I have replaced a bunch of fuel hoses lately.

Etc, etc,....

Ain't true.

Now show us you are the super tech you say you are and show us how to repair it. We are waiting.....:bowdown: :popcorn:
 
If it was in fact a piece-o-poo, why didn't he take it back to the dealer while it was under warranty and report the problems? This was not a box store or internet sale.:dizzy:
 
And Im working on it...

Guy brings in a Stihl MS-280 C "Farm Boss"....

(snipped)

He said if it needs alot of work, "toss it, and Ill get another, larger Echo".....but he said he paid some 500+ bucks for the Stihl, and hates to see it go to waste.

As much as Stihl prides themselves on their quality saws...Why in the blue hell would thwy make this turd?

Well, hey, I tell yah what. Tell him that 280 is a big fat floater that will just not flush, and that it needs a lot of money to fix. I will pay to ship it here and take the whole messy problem off your hands! I would rather have a non-C model, but what the heck. One man's turd is another man's Stihl.

Problem solved!
 
The 028/MS280 is one of the better made saws, or so I thought. Anybody who has an understanding of how to operate the saw safely should know how to at least basically sharpen the chain, and adjust the high, and low jets. I wonder if simply turning the jets 1/4 turn in either direction might have made all the difference in the world.
 
I dont doubt I can fix it, It's not even broken in yet.

The 180 is pretty crappy, but it's smaller and cheaper, so It gets to slide. My 018C seems to be a decent saw at best, never got it to run with the bad bearings and seals...but it did seem to be built better than this MS-280.

I did a ton of Stihl repairs for a LAnd Clearing crew when I first got into the business, they had most of the saws made, but majority were 044's, 066's, and an 088 with a gigantic bar. They had little limbing saws too.

They were constantly down for repairs. One day I got to talking with one of the guys when he was picking up 3 saws, and dropping off 4 more, and I commented that they needed to get some NEW saws, as those OLD ones were just so much trouble...he said "aint none of em over 5 years old" :dizzy: :dizzy:

Ive got a few...seems like these things go through impulse lines like a fat kid goes through a Chocolate Fudge cake...Which means they go through P &C's alot too. We see a Bunch of TS-350's with scorched pistons, and quite a few other Stihls. More Stihls than Husky and Echo combined.



Red,

Sounds like them boys did not know how to properly love them saws. Some folks are extra hard on equipment.

v/r

Mike
 
ms280--great mid-level saw IMO

I recently sold my ms280...I can only compare it to the Husky 55R...and while the 55R seemed to have a bit more guts, the 280 didn't break down like the 55R . I found the 280 to be extremely dependable, and the fit and finish excellent. The down side was the cost of parts, twice that of the 55R.
 
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