044 collector

hey. I am new to the forum. I just purchased a 044 10mm. The seller claimed it has bad bearings. Is there a way of checking this without removing them and splitting the case. Also. Is the crankcase gasket the same for the 10mm and 12 mm version.

So I was surfing through cl last week when I stumbled upon a heart stopper. An all original early 044W with very low hrs. Receipt in hand for original purchase. It's in really nice shape & was hardly used. I wanted to post the saw pics & ask if anyone is familiar with this early model? It has a...