MS500i

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We get a yes or no on a warranty request the same or next day. They always say yes. So far.

I don't see how you can look at that piston and not consider the possibility that it was straight gas.
Looks just like it.
So, if Stihl has that issue they know it. And, if they don't they know it.

Curious where the 40 days plays in.
No way it was straight gassed. The crew doesn't even have strait gas cans on their trucks. And, why would one saw out of 6 that day, all fueled from the same container, not shown the same signs. Answer me that one.
 
We get a yes or no on a warranty request the same or next day. They always say yes. So far.

I don't see how you can look at that piston and not consider the possibility that it was straight gas.
Looks just like it.
So, if Stihl has that issue they know it. And, if they don't they know it.

Curious where the 40 days plays in.
They are backed up 40 days. That time frame varies, however, day to day. There are no dedicated saw shops in the Boise area, none. So, we have a few of these small "dealers". Most places just sell equipment; they don't service anything.
 
Think folks would actually pay attention if saws had a "check engine" light?

Saw computer notices saw is lean and revving to the sky even though the injector or solenoid is at 100% duty cycle and pushing all the fuel it can. Computer sees the fault condition and turns on a light to warn someone to stop cutting before they burn up their saw.

Don't want something that makes it's own choice to shut down the saw, because I can envision situations where I need the saw to keep running, and I'll sacrifice the saw to finish that one cut, but can see it coming in handy the rest of the time.

Or would folks ignore it, like they do the CEL on their vehicle? The CEL on my own truck has been on the entire time I've owned it..........
 
No way it was straight gassed. The crew doesn't even have strait gas cans on their trucks. And, why would one saw out of 6 that day, all fueled from the same container, not shown the same signs. Answer me that one.

Not saying it was. Just that is exactly what they look like.

And, that is the same story that you hear over and over in some variation.

Doesn't mean it is not true in this case.

But, it is going to have to go to a full service Stihl dealer somewhere. No policy to replace it. Will have to be rebuilt if they decide to, and it will have to be done by a Stihl dealer.

Of course, one of the uppity ups can replace it, if they decide to. May be where the 40 days comes in.
 
They are backed up 40 days. That time frame varies, however, day to day. There are no dedicated saw shops in the Boise area, none. So, we have a few of these small "dealers". Most places just sell equipment; they don't service anything.

BTW, this store I piddle at sells so much Stihl that they replace stuff sometimes and just eat it themselves.

Matter of fact we had a MS500I that was slightly scored from running a 36 inch bar buried in some oak until it cut off. The guy said he would rather have a MS462 and we just gave him one plus the difference.

I put a piston in the MS500I and the next owner loves it. So, who knows.
 
Their 40 days is for any tool service. They are a farm supply chain, husky and Stihl are the only two brands of equipment they sell...or work on. Some generic small engine shops here are backed up even longer.
They can't even get husky parts now. Stihl parts take 1-2 weeks.
Echo dealer down the street gets parts in 4 days. They don't service saws, however, just lawn equipment.
Ain't like what I was used to in Cali.
 
Well, finally heard from Stihl today. No joy
I'll pick up the saw and fix it myself.

"I reached out to the dealer and investigated this situation.
The dealer provided the fuel trims and sensor data from the module that confirm the software was functioning as it should.
The dealer also showed values for a pressure and vacuum test of the crank case showing there was no air leak.
These things rule out a defect in manufacturing as the cause of the failure. In addition, the dealer contacted the tech manager in that territory to double check and it was confirmed that this was not a warrantable failure.
Additionally, the saw has exceeded the standard warranty period.

Sincerely,
Tim Bowser"
 
Got it torn down. Looks like straight gassed to me 🤨.
But, crank case had oil residue, so...
Or, that's just some sort of crud.
The cyl seems fine, just transfer and lots of it. No scratches or gouges. Rings both fused in the piston...which is toast.
I think a new oe piston and ring kit, Uber clean everything and slap it back together.

My theory: one of his guys gassed it up at the barn...with straight, and off to the jobsite. All the other saws that day were fine but I suspect those were gassed on site out from the regular mix can.
With transfer on exhaust as well as intake it pretty much has to be straight gassed.

Thoughts?
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Kinda off topic but it looks like my neighbors Poulan I had to work on. I asked him if he ever cleaned it. His response was, "You're suppose to clean them?". He had never cleaned the air filter, the bar groove or sharpened the chain, literally nothing. Just ran it until it wouldn't it run anymore. 🤔
 
Kinda off topic but it looks like my neighbors Poulan I had to work on. I asked him if he ever cleaned it. His response was, "You're suppose to clean them?". He had never cleaned the air filter, the bar groove or sharpened the chain, literally nothing. Just ran it until it wouldn't it run anymore. 🤔
I'd bet that is the norm with most owners :p
 
Needs a good cleaning. Not sure I would take a water hose and Gunk to this one though without taking the generator, control module, and that stuff off.
I found on those that water gets into the clutch bearing if they are washed and then the bearing will seize up and make the clutch drag, then the saw won't start. But if you do wash it dry and or grease that bearing.
 
Im not sure about the cold seizure as these are pretty small engines, even at 54mm bore, you would only see about 0.47 thou increase in size if the piston heated up 100C more than the cylinder, which I think is very unlikely to happen because the intake charge helps to cool the piston. At roughly half a thou of growth though, I wouldn't be too worried as you still have clearance.

EDIT: If I am wrong with my calculations please correct me.
 
Usually a cold seize happens at the edges of both skirts….4 vertical stripes roughly 1/4” wide. This doesn’t look quite like that but it could’ve happened earlier and then it was run for awhile afterwards until it scored up the whole exhaust side.

Looks more to me like straight gas or a partial straight gas where the saw had 1/4 tank of mix and was topped off with straight. That would give similar to a 200:1 ratio.

Clean up the cylinder with acid and/or sandpaper and put a new piston in it and you’re likely back in business
 
I found on those that water gets into the clutch bearing if they are washed and then the Bering will seize up and make the clutch drag, then the saw won't start. But if you do wash it dry and or grease that bearing.
I may “wash” it all with gas. The crankcase will definitely need several rinses.
 
Dirty saw case+ Dirty cylinder fins + running hard with a long bar+too low of oil content in fuel
I agree with the above suggestion, a temp sensor or exhaust temp sensor with audible and visible light alarm would be a good idea on these 1,400.00+ dollar saws...or just ground the coil through the throttle trigger so one would let go of it lol
Had a husky come to me scored the exact same way, turned out he just had it repaired at another shop for a carb rebuild, fuel filter etc. After a lengthy conversation to get the whole scenario it was figured out that it was refilled from 1/4 tank to half a tank before running. It was then run about 20 minutes with a half dull chain on a maximum recommended length bar. It would not restart after refueling, exhaust side was melted and intake side had lite partial scoring. We think the other shop unknowingly put a splash of strait gas in it to test run and with his fuel being 50-1 using mediocre oil it was likely 100-150 to 1 run through the saw..His saw was very clean though. I made sure to go over dumping old fuel out, running 40-1 fd oil mix and sharp chains to prevent over rev cutting.
 

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