Ah, clone quality control, lol

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singinwoodwackr

singinwoodwackr

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So, was handed a 660 clone that "won't run". Pulled the cord...OK, tried to pull the cord, lol pulled muffler...o boy...explains that :p
Go to pull the cylinder...stuck. hmm...had to pry it loose.
Turns out: piston cage blew, roller bearing wound up, in several pieces, into the combustion chamber, ouch...

Upon teardown I find a spot where one of the oiler bolts pushed into the crankcase, hm...
FW bearing would barely move...hmm.
Gonna need a few parts...
The owner wants it fixed...ok :p
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Jasonrkba said:
Ewww, that thing exploded. Those clones are tempting but seem like money pits.
Click to expand...
I found other things that will need replacing…with Stihl parts…as well.
He didn’t pay much for it so wants to spend a few hundred to fix it. Me? Nope, I’d throw it out.
So far: Meteor p&c kit, bearings, gasket kit, oiler hose, repair case half, OE air filter. There may be more once I start putting it all back together.
At least the crank is ok, 🤣
 
thompsoncustom said:
The best thing about the clone saws is the price with that being said I wouldn't fix that with the amount of damage/time I would just buy a whole new case/piston/cylinder for 125ish dollars from farmertec.

View attachment 1151979
Click to expand...
Really? They have all that for $125?
Dang…will check it out.

Out of stock :(. $160, shipped. From Farmertech’s site
You have another source?
Amazon…out of stock…
 
Traverse Creek Ink. / Duke has clone parts that I hear are better than Holzforma OEM, P&C run just under $200. Guys use their parts to rebuild STIHL/Husqvarna because they're cheaper than real OEM and better than other clone parts. At least he'd be getting an upgrade for his money...

The house brand chain is getting good reviews for quality being way above the price point, similar to Oregon at old, old Oregon prices. (The latest Oregon chain I got is not great quality, that maybe changed from previous, the prices sure did...)

32:1 mix ratio seems to keep smurf saws running without many problems like this.
 
Brad Krause said:
Traverse Creek Ink. / Duke has clone parts that I hear are better than Holzforma OEM, P&C run just under $200. Guys use their parts to rebuild STIHL/Husqvarna because they're cheaper than real OEM and better than other clone parts. At least he'd be getting an upgrade for his money...

The house brand chain is getting good reviews for quality being way above the price point, similar to Oregon at old, old Oregon prices. (The latest Oregon chain I got is not great quality, that maybe changed from previous, the prices sure did...)

32:1 mix ratio seems to keep smurf saws running without many problems like this.
Click to expand...
He was milling, 36"...with 50:1
Oops...
 
stihltech said:
Saved a lot of money to buy a saw that will take a lot of money to make it useful.
I the only one that thinks it is a waste?
Click to expand...
My good friend bought an 880 clone, and I guess I can't knock it too bad because I have it on loan to cut up a 40in white oak tree, but I don't see my self buying one. Once I have my old 750EVL Echo running it'll get a 28-32in bar and be capable of cutting the same size stuff.
 
I have an actual MS881, the stock compression is nuts, the power crazy, build quality is top-notch, it's an awesome saw. Fire it up and a crowd gathers, and for good reason: It's a few steps beyond "sensible," which is immediately obvious.

The smurfy clone is a reasonable copy for the price, and to many people it makes sense to own a clone (politics aside). It doesn't get the same response, it's just a big saw. Recognise it needs some special consideration and it'll do the job well, including fairly big jobs.

I think in the "big picture" the long- term cost of knock-off saws is going to become more apparent, that's not something I want to get into beyond mentioning people should put some thought into their buying decisions and make intelligent choices.
 
I bought one of the G660 Pro models, mainly for the Meteor Piston and Cylinder, figured it would be a solid base, other things could be fixed. Took a few months to get it, slow boat from China... Already had a 36' Sugi-hara bar and Stihl chain for it. It fired right up, idled good, ran good. I had about a 20' section of red oak that was 28' at the top and 36" at the bottom. After about the 10th pull, the knot of the pull rope let go, easy fix, put a torch on the new knot (rope lock-tight), all was good. About the 6th cut I noticed not a lot of oil on the chain, pulled the clutch drum off and the needle bearing had no grease on it, greased it up, everything else looked good, put it back together and plenty of oil. Decided to finish the log (big end) with my 999F with a 36" bar. No contest, the 999F is a much stronger saw, now it weighs a lot more and has an extra 10cc, but it never hesitated on that red oak. Not sure the chain I have on it, but not a Stihl chain. Buying one of these in kit form may be the way to go, that way you can be the quality control on assembly. If I had to carry a big saw, I might choose the G660, other than that I will be using the 999F.
 
Brad Krause said:
I have an actual MS881, the stock compression is nuts, the power crazy, build quality is top-notch, it's an awesome saw. Fire it up and a crowd gathers, and for good reason: It's a few steps beyond "sensible," which is immediately obvious.

The smurfy clone is a reasonable copy for the price, and to many people it makes sense to own a clone (politics aside). It doesn't get the same response, it's just a big saw. Recognise it needs some special consideration and it'll do the job well, including fairly big jobs.

I think in the "big picture" the long- term cost of knock-off saws is going to become more apparent, that's not something I want to get into beyond mentioning people should put some thought into their buying decisions and make intelligent choices.
Click to expand...
I have never ran an actual 880 so its hard to compare. I know this one is a bear to pull, even with the release, it'll rip the rope out of your hand if you're not ready.

He did lots of research, apparently which ever company made this one uses the old Stihl tooling to make their cases and cylinders with, I guess its just done in China now? He has it decked out to look like the real deal, so at first look you wouldn't really know the difference.

I am impressed with it nonetheless, it eats this tree up like nothing else. I just have a hard time supporting the Chinese-ium machines, I know my new Echo I just bought is made in Japan, along with all of my older VLs & EVL, but I can count on the quality of those.
 
As other posts stated, sounds like good money after bad. If he does the repair, and it grenades in a short time, you might make an enemy. We all like "deals", and saving money. I know money is tight, but factoring in down time, and always wondering "what's next to go" . and if it does?
 

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