ms 290 questions

[cookies]

I have owned a little poulan for 15+ years..it runs great and cuts fantastic for its size but a friend handed me his 455 rancher one time and I instantly realized i wanted a bigger saw. About 2 weeks of looking and I found a ms 290 a hour away that did not run for 130 bucks so i checked it out..pulled the muffkin and the piston looked lightly oily and unscratched so i bought it on the spot. The story on the saw was it belonged to his deceased father who was a arborist and the son could not get it running even with help. I ordered a new carb/fuel line and pulser then proceeded to disassemble the majority of the saw to hand clean everything and it turned out pretty spiffy. Saw works great now, starts the 3rd pull after sitting 2-3 days but I previously made up my mind to change it over to a longer bar and run 3/8 chain so i started researching more power ("Tim toolman taylor:har har har har") and came up with a new oem 390 cylinder/piston kit. My question is do i save the new jug setup for later and port the smaller smaller cylinder and if so i have no idea what dimensions are ideal to port them to, I have the tools to accomplish it and I came up empty on finding specific info during searches. Or do i swap the jug/cylinder ? I may run 6 tanks a year through the saw but if we get a hurricane it will be needed as a workhorse, the majority of what I cut is under 16 inches usually bucking.

 

[rupedoggy]

You want a good reliable saw with more power than you have now, put the 039 top on, with a muffler mod. If you want a hot rod that will also do the job but is a little more finicky then port the 029. The ported saw will rev higher to get the power and the 039 will have more of its grunt down lower. Your choice. Either way they are clam shells.

 

[farmguywithasaw]

Start with a muffler mod I would say. You might find it’s ok as is but you already have the parts to swap. Can’t have to much power can you lol. Someone is a taryl fan I see lol

 

[RED-85-Z51]

Ive got a customer that runs about 5 tanks a week thru a 290 with a 20" bar. He wanted a 24" and i warned him but...it wouldn't do it. It pulled it but it was really unhappy and the oiler wouldn't keep up at all. After he smoked the bar...he went back to the 20 and its been fine. Its a heavy saw for the power but they are reliable. They seem happiest with the .325 setup at 20"...im not sure a 3/8 20" would work well

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[windthrown]

I have had about a dozen of those series saws. Of the series, the 310 was the best of the lot. The 390 has more power, but also a lot more vibration. Not worth it in my view. The 310 was the smoothest of them. And with a mild muffler mod (to restore it to the original design muffler), it has about the same power of a stock 390. Its a clam shell, so there is not a lot of engine modding that you can do. Well you can, but it is a PITA to do on them. The 029 was the worst of that series. The 290 is a lot better.

On a 290 I would just do the muffler mod to restore the original design muffler profile, and retune the carb. You will have to remove the limiter caps to do that. Then set it to run richer. I would avoid the cheap chicom P&C engine upgrades. Buy used Stihl OEM if you can find it. They last way longer. I ran a 20 inch on my 290 on the ranch for many years with no problems. I put a skip tooth chain on to cut bigger stuff with it. Worked great and kept the revs up. An 18 inch bar is probably the sweet spot for that saw out here in the wild west.

 

[sled_22]

I agree with what was said above. I have a 290 and a 310 right now. I opened the muffler wayyyy up on the 290 (along with fuel) and it feels stronger than my 310 stock. (both with good comp. and new chains). I went through the same contemplation you are doing right now. Should i get a bigger jug and piston should i buy a 390 etc.
I decided to put my 310 up for sale and buy a new pro saw. I have an order in at my dealer for a 400CM when they get released in the states.
With that being said, I cut around 8 cord a year plus any storm damage out to the land. If you're only running 6 tanks through a year, I would just mod the 290 and keep what you have, especially if it looks cosmetically good.

 

[toadman]

I have a couple 290's & also a couple 390's & they are certainly reliable.
Most don't see that much runtime, but the first three years of cutting firewood to sell that's all we used just about. The 290 doesn't appreciate the 20" 3/8" chain, but it likes 18" 3/8" better than 18" .325 as far as speed of cut is concerned.
Same with my 291, the 3/8" swap is recent for me on the 290/291 but I am 100% sold now.
3/8" also stays sharp longer

 

[Kenskip1]

https://www.hlsproparts.com/Meteor-Stihl-039-MS390-cylinder-kit-49mm-p/mcc2377.htm
https://www.hlsproparts.com/Stihl-039-MS390-Pop-Up-Piston-Kit-p/cp31039.htm

 

[vendetta]

Ben de bunu merak ediyordum. Yorumları takip ediyorum.

 

[caleb90]

have had mine since 2004. muffler mod retune run a 18"bar .325 chain. will do any thing you need it to. seeing how you had a poulan before

 

[cookies]

I have a oem stihl 49mm kit minus crank seals and wrist pin bearing(hard time finding the part numbers), lots of excellent information from everyone and I am grateful to all off you sharing it. If a experienced builder could share some conservative 46mm cylinder port window dimensions that would help tremendously, in private message if that is more appropriate.

 

[cookies]

I ran the saw today using the 20 inch bar & 3/8 chain through a large oak log, it definitely slows it down if I lean on it or leverage hard using the dogs but I think it will work great for 90% of what i do, I still have the 18" bar I can toss back on or swap the cylinder/jug If i get fed up.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I put a 390 top end on all the 290s I tear down, not even a question, muffler mod as well. Some of us try a larger carburetor, I haven't yet but I have a new one here for later...

 

[cookies]

I did some oem carb part #'s searches and stihl has a different part # listed for the 290 and 390, one other difference i found is the 390 has a muffler heat shield. i thought i read folks fit a 044 carb too?

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I did some oem carb part #'s searches and stihl has a different part # listed for the 290 and 390, one other difference i found is the 390 has a muffler heat shield. i thought i read folks fit a 044 carb too?

The carb I bought says "044-046". It looks like a bolt on for the 390.

 

[oldschoolstihlguy]

The 039, MS390 use a Walbro HD21 carb which will also work on a 044, 046.


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[a. palmer jr.]

The 039, MS390 use a Walbro HD21 carb which will also work on a 044, 046.


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This one isn't a Walbro, it's a Chinese knock-off I got when I bought a bunch of parts for an 044 I was rebuilding..I'll check it out next time I'm out there, it might be a Zama instead....