Help Me Build a Better MS660

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The list is fairly long for failure points but not on every saw kit, some common weak parts are the already mentioned pin bearing, wrist pin circlips, piston rings, wobbly crankshafts, poor springs in the clutch, fuel and impulse lines go gooy quickly, carbs sometimes good, sometimes not, piston and cylinders are hit or miss, poor porting and rough castings, poor beveling on cylinder ports catching and breaking rings, leftover casting/plating bits coming out of the upper transfers and ripping up cylinders.
 
The list is fairly long for failure points but not on every saw kit, some common weak parts are the already mentioned pin bearing, wrist pin circlips, piston rings, wobbly crankshafts, poor springs in the clutch, fuel and impulse lines go gooy quickly, carbs sometimes good, sometimes not, piston and cylinders are hit or miss, poor porting and rough castings, poor beveling on cylinder ports catching and breaking rings, leftover casting/plating bits coming out of the upper transfers and ripping up cylinders.
Sounds like going with a Meteor case and piston set would put me ahead in the long run.
 
Sounds like going with a Meteor case and piston set would put me ahead in the long run.

It`s a gamble really, maybe get the kit first and then closely examine each and every part before going to buying extra parts. Put up pics of the parts on here after you get them, many on here can pick out defects easily if the pics are close up and clear of the P & C. The circlips, wrist pin and bearing are kind of a given as well as the fuel line, tank filter and impulse line, the other stuff may just be fine in your kit, or maybe not.
 
I would agree the quality of the Chinese kits and saws are not what a OEM Stihl is. The fact remains that the Stihl network and dealers around here are worse than any thing I can imagine. The amount of time it takes to go to a dealer and then the hassle to get any item or saw from a dealer is beyond belief. Then the problems with EPA compliant equipment is more than I am willing to accept. The last time I asked for a part to be sent directly to me took a couple of months and was billed $50 for the service. So any Chinese product or after market item suddenly looks like an only option. The clone saws that I have not caused any issue for me and have been a breeze to work on. As far as the 660 goes yes it would be beneficial to clean up the ports and casting flaws, but I have seen those issues on pretty much every thing else. Thanks
 
Sounds like going with a Meteor case and piston set would put me ahead in the long run.

Or set you well behind if a bottom end failure ruins the Meteor top end?
I would build the kit as is, after checking everything for the flaws mentioned by those that know a whole lot more about it. Then if anything did fail early, another Farmertec top end is a much cheaper replacement.
I quite happily put Meteor top ends on OEM bottom ends, but not sure I would put a better Quality top end on an unknown quality bottom end from the get go.
 
Or set you well behind if a bottom end failure ruins the Meteor top end?
I would build the kit as is, after checking everything for the flaws mentioned by those that know a whole lot more about it. Then if anything did fail early, another Farmertec top end is a much cheaper replacement.
I quite happily put Meteor top ends on OEM bottom ends, but not sure I would put a better Quality top end on an unknown quality bottom end from the get go.
Yeah, that is probably the way to go. I will definitely give this thing a very thorough inspection before I get started.

With all the port issues on these cylinders, would re-honing the cylinder be a bad idea?
 
Yeah, that is probably the way to go. I will definitely give this thing a very thorough inspection before I get started.

With all the port issues on these cylinders, would re-honing the cylinder be a bad idea?
Honing most any plated chainsaw cylinder is a bad idea. Better to just clean up and de-burr any imperfections and sharp corners, lips and spalls.
 
As said before I would not keep throwing good money after bad on those. If the kit has problems, and it will, it is usually up to the skill of the builder to try and make it work. There is a lot more skill in that than putting together. I have a couple Earthquake China 2-stroke auger hole drillers and for the most part they have been pretty good. It would be good if somebody near by could give some hands on help to save you time and have a better saw in the end.
 
Best to check the arch in the exhaust port roof, its often too flat and seldom has enough of a bevel to prevent rings snagging the edge top and bottom. Post pics of the cylinder on here, there are plenty of guys that can tell what is needing to be done. :)
 
About if it would be preferably to buy a used saw as a project - definitely !

But I have followed the national marked for a while now and only on a very rare occasion "one" of the bigger saws (70ccm+) is on sale and the very few times I have seen one the seller seems to put some sort of "this is a true Stihl therefore it's a jewel worth about the same thing or more than a new saw" kinda price tag on it.
I'm not going to buy a used and out of date 460 when I can just put in a few cents more and get a new 462, some people just don't seem to understand that. If I could get a used saw that would be a good starting point really cheap that would be great but it didn't happen to me.

You have to be patient.

My first 038M, I got for free from a logger friend (1996). It was way heavy use and didn't run. It was dirty and full of sawdust. Piston/cyl was OEM Mahle and looked new. With a cleanup it ran so good I brought a new 25" ES bar and RS chain. I've had to put some new filters/rubber and chain drive parts in. The recoil wore out and I replaced with used OEM. It is a great runner and I use it for a felling/bucking saw. 25 years now and I'm <$200 with NOS/OEM parts. Well more $$$ now, I've wore out a few RS chains.

CL find. "chainsaws", that's all listed in ad. Turned out to be a sweet/complete 056M, that only needed an oiler, came with NOS 20" ES bar, and a complete 026 w/adj carb/oiler that was straight gassed. $50 for both. I had 3 spare 056s parts saws (free, w/oilers) from the logger friend I got the above 038M from. Member here, had NOS 026 P/C assys for ~$90 back then. Some more small parts but great running 056M and 026 w/NOS OEM P/C for ~$250.

Then there is another CL find, a $200 complete 064 w/HD air filter (needed coil), that came with 028S and 024S parts saws................

Get my drift?
 
Yeah, I wish I had a logger friend too...

Patience is difficult when the chainsaw bug is chasing my brain cell up and down the stairs all day, but I guess something suitable might appear sometime in the future if I have my eyes open.
 
Yeah, I wish I had a logger friend too...

Patience is difficult when the chainsaw bug is chasing my brain cell up and down the stairs all day though.

He has a bunch (3-5?) of free 044s waiting for me now, I think another 038M? !!!! :happybanana::dancing:

Have not scooped them up , yet.

He went to Huskyvarmint when Stihl dropped the 044. 372s are in the pipeline.........

I don't hate Husky, just like my Stihls.
 
Well I just got confirmation from my daughter that my saw kit has been delivered. I guess my weekend is set. Hopefully my Stihl dealer has the oem wrist pin and circlips in stock.
 
Take your time and have fun (and some frustrations) with it. Remember that when you're done and satisfied - the journey is through and the fun is over.
 
Take your time and have fun (and some frustrations) with it. Remember that when you're done and satisfied - the fun is over.
Well let's hope its half as frustrating as my pos 211c. I have spent days trying to get it to run right and it wont ever do the same thing twice.
 
Well I got it opened and off the bat see 3 things that concern me, without even opening all of the bags. The cylinder will definitely need the ports cleaned up, but I expected that. However, when looking at the crank, and hopefully it's normal, but the connecting rod had a ton of play laterally, like it is missing shims. Also, one of the case bearings has a rough spot in it when spinning it. I read somewhere about flushing the bearings, so maybe its not a big deal. Hopefully the rest of the parts check out ok.

I will post pics when I get a chance.
 
Here is the crank.
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The gap measures .0775" is that normal? Seems excessive to me but I do more work on cars and tractors.

And here is the cylinder. It's hard to show the ports, but they protrude into the cylinder in some spots so they will need removed.
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And lastly, is this the correct spring for the brake? I thought I read these are usually wrong.
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