MS290 Oil problems

[jchuchla]

So, i learned my lesson the hard way. I lent my MS290 to a friend and got it back trashed. I'm by no means a chainsaw mechanic, so I took it to the shop to have it looked at. my problem was that although the saw would run great, as soon as you'd get thru a few cuts, the chain would be red hot and lock up. when i looked closer i saw that the plastic housing around the sprocket was all burned and melted. The shop tells me that it's not worth repairing. He thinks "my friend" ran it with the brake on, and destroyed the housing and now the oil can't get to the chain. he said the parts and labor will be more than the saw, and won't sell me the parts to do a DIY repair. He also tells me that I won't have the tools to even open up the case.

Anyone have an opinion on this?

--Jon--

 

[Fish]

They likely didn't check the oiler function, just noted the melted plastic. Ship the saw body to me/no bar-chain, I will fix it for under $100.

site unseen.....

 

[jchuchla]

More to story

In the interest of keeping the original post brief I skipped part of the story. I actually took this saw to two shops. The first was my local John deere/stihl dealership. They made the comment first about melted case and ran with the brake on. And that it would be too expensive to repair. They're more of a tractor shop that just started doing Stihl about 2 years ago so I decided to get a second opinion.
A friend recommended a local small engine shop that's also a stihl dealer. When i brought it in, They pretty much said the same thing you just said. He said he's never seen a saw with an oiler problem related to the plastic and he'd have it fixed under $100. Two weeks went by and then he called with the same story as the first guy. Ran with brake on, melted and burned chassis, too expensive to repair.
So forgive me if I'm a bit hesitant to take you up on your offer. Can you give me some hints on what to look at. I'll be honest I didnt take it apart and look at it myself yet. I'm gonna pick it up (not fixed) from the shop tomorrow. Does the oil actually need the plastic intact for it to get to the chain? Or is that just BS to get me to buy a new saw?
Where are you located? If you're close enough I wouldn't mind swinging by with it.

 

[Fish]

Yes, you will likely need a new case, and maybe some oiler drive parts, but without pics, hard to say.

 

[jchuchla]

Are pics of the burnt area under the sprocket cover what you need to see or should I tear it down further?

 

[barneyrb]

As fish said, package the saw and send to him.....he has plenty of parts to repair your saw and it will be a quality job.

 

[jchuchla]

Ok, got the saw back. IN PIECES. man was I pissed. I told the kid that i brought it there in one piece, and i wanted it back in one piece. He wanted to charge me $35 to put it back together. I gave him hell, until a nice old man who was probably the kid's grandfather came out, and said, I'll put it together for you. He did it right in front of me, and had it done in 5 minutes. oh was I hot! but at least I got to watch how it went back together.

I put the pics on my website for you to take a look at. Album: Stihl MS290 Chainsaw Repair

So, the burnt case really doesn't look that bad. At least to me it doesn't scream "dead saw" And it also doesn't look like it's interfering with any of the clutch, oiler, or anything like that. There are two parts that look like they might be part of the problem. First is a white 90 degree tube that comes out of the top of the oiler. (if you're looking at the IPL it's #8) It's burnt and has a hole in the side. The second part is the white plastic hub in the center of the oiler. (IPL #13) It looks intact on the inside, but on the top, where the wire clip goes, it is quite deformed.

Do you think it's going to require any more than just these two parts? How do I actually test the oiler function?

Fish, I'll gladly send you payment for your advice if you can walk me thru this.

 

[jchuchla]

back from shop

Ok I got the saw back from the shop. and that was fun. The kid brought it out to me IN PIECES! i'm not talking just the bar and cover off, I'm talking clutch and everything completely disassambled and all the pieces just thrown in the case. I had no clue if all the parts were even there. They wanted to charge me $35 just to reassemble it. I told them i brought it to them in one piece, and I wasn't leaving until it was back assembled just as I had brought it. The old man in back heard me "strongly talking" to the kid and he came out tools in hand and spent all of 4 minutes putting it back together. I was beside myself. Anyhow, at least the good part was that I was able to see how it went together.

So I got it back home, and took it back apart. Yeah there's some scorched plastic parts, but it doesn't look like any of those parts are critical to the operation. i scraped around a bit and got a lot of the blackened plastic to just scrape off. There's really only two parts that appear to be in need of replacement. According to the IPL, it's the Worm, and the Elbow. both are plastic and are somewhat damaged. The elbow seems to be what carries the oil out from the pump to the oil journal in the case. It's scortched in the middle, and I can't blow thru it. the worm seems to turn the gear on the inside, but the outer part of the worm that contacts the wire spring part is quite melted. I'm doubting those parts engage each other well. Other than that, the chain brake works, and everything else spins freely like it should.

I posted pics on my website at this link: Album: Stihl MS290 Chainsaw Repair

I have these two plastic parts on order from another shop. I wasn't going back to these guys.

Fish. Can you tell me how to test the operation of the pump and other stuff in that area just so i know if i need other parts as well? I am also a bit unsure of the pickup tube. It looks fine, but i'd expect it to drip oil when it's not connected to the pump, which it's not doing. I'll gladly send a check do you if you're able to help walk me thru this.

--Jon--