Sprint60
ArboristSite Lurker
Hello all, new to the forum.
In 1995, right after closing on a new house in the country, I said to my wife, “we need a chainsaw!” She was so excited about the house that she didn’t even remark. I won’t go into the reason (at this time at least) for why I purchased this saw; a Poulan 2400. it’s been a pretty good saw and did all I asked of it until about 2008 when I became frustrated with it and “replaced” it with a Stihl MS260. A decision that I’m still glad I made. (And I won’t go into the reasoning behind that purchase either; I’m saving that for a “Stihl Saws Are Better Than X Saws” flame war.)
This little saw has always had a 40:1 mix of genuine Poulan 2-cycle oil and 91-octane non-alcohol gas kept in the gallon metal can that was purchased with it. (Not intending to start another oil thread; simply stating the facts, man.) Maintenance has been good, but apparently I let some junk get up under the air cleaner, which due to the design is somewhat easy to do; I’m basing that on the scoring of the cylinder. It’s not been run lean to the best of my knowledge - I’m the only one who’s ever used it. And it has been used a lot; it’s on it second or third sprocket, third or fourth bar and I don’t know how many chains. The thing about the chains is that they stretch out, so much so that I always ran out of adjustment long before the chippers were too small to sharpen.
When out running it one afternoon I came to the realization that I seemed to be spending a lot more time fiddling instead of working. That’s when I went for the MS260. After the Stihl came home I figured I look into the issue with the old Poulan and found the jug bolts loose and a worn down gasket. I replaced the gasket for a couple dollars and about half an hour on the bench. That’s as far as it went though; I never even put gas in it. Until last week that is. I was looking for information on chain sharpening and stumbled upon AS. My CAD has always been a level one addiction that could be easily treated with some occasional drooling on the saws at the local dealerships and running mine. Color doesn’t seem to matter too much, as long as the proprietor doesn’t get annoyed at the drooling, it’s good. But having seen all of the various threads on mending and souping up saws, I realized I didn’t need to go out and buy a saw to fix up because I already have one. So I poured some mix in it, and glory be it started straight away. Out of tune of course, the high side is slobbering rich. No compression though. Needs a sprocket too. Parts are available and not overly expensive. So I thought I pull it down again and take a hard look at its condition before I start spending money.
Unfortunately, the cylinder and piston look pretty rough and if I replace both of those, along with the sprocket, I’m up to about half of what the saw cost new. The con-rod bearing seems OK but I can wobble the crank sideways in the mains ever so slightly. Worth mending? I figure it’s going to run upwards of $100, possibly more if I tear out the main
s. I’m thinking about doing it just for the fun of it. But on the other hand I could put that toward a new saw and be money ahead. Opinions?
I’m posting some pics if I can figure out how to do it.
Saw
View attachment 268913
Slug
View attachment 268914
Exhaust Side
View attachment 268915
Intake Side - are those bands caused by piston slap?
View attachment 268916
In 1995, right after closing on a new house in the country, I said to my wife, “we need a chainsaw!” She was so excited about the house that she didn’t even remark. I won’t go into the reason (at this time at least) for why I purchased this saw; a Poulan 2400. it’s been a pretty good saw and did all I asked of it until about 2008 when I became frustrated with it and “replaced” it with a Stihl MS260. A decision that I’m still glad I made. (And I won’t go into the reasoning behind that purchase either; I’m saving that for a “Stihl Saws Are Better Than X Saws” flame war.)
This little saw has always had a 40:1 mix of genuine Poulan 2-cycle oil and 91-octane non-alcohol gas kept in the gallon metal can that was purchased with it. (Not intending to start another oil thread; simply stating the facts, man.) Maintenance has been good, but apparently I let some junk get up under the air cleaner, which due to the design is somewhat easy to do; I’m basing that on the scoring of the cylinder. It’s not been run lean to the best of my knowledge - I’m the only one who’s ever used it. And it has been used a lot; it’s on it second or third sprocket, third or fourth bar and I don’t know how many chains. The thing about the chains is that they stretch out, so much so that I always ran out of adjustment long before the chippers were too small to sharpen.
When out running it one afternoon I came to the realization that I seemed to be spending a lot more time fiddling instead of working. That’s when I went for the MS260. After the Stihl came home I figured I look into the issue with the old Poulan and found the jug bolts loose and a worn down gasket. I replaced the gasket for a couple dollars and about half an hour on the bench. That’s as far as it went though; I never even put gas in it. Until last week that is. I was looking for information on chain sharpening and stumbled upon AS. My CAD has always been a level one addiction that could be easily treated with some occasional drooling on the saws at the local dealerships and running mine. Color doesn’t seem to matter too much, as long as the proprietor doesn’t get annoyed at the drooling, it’s good. But having seen all of the various threads on mending and souping up saws, I realized I didn’t need to go out and buy a saw to fix up because I already have one. So I poured some mix in it, and glory be it started straight away. Out of tune of course, the high side is slobbering rich. No compression though. Needs a sprocket too. Parts are available and not overly expensive. So I thought I pull it down again and take a hard look at its condition before I start spending money.
Unfortunately, the cylinder and piston look pretty rough and if I replace both of those, along with the sprocket, I’m up to about half of what the saw cost new. The con-rod bearing seems OK but I can wobble the crank sideways in the mains ever so slightly. Worth mending? I figure it’s going to run upwards of $100, possibly more if I tear out the main
s. I’m thinking about doing it just for the fun of it. But on the other hand I could put that toward a new saw and be money ahead. Opinions?
I’m posting some pics if I can figure out how to do it.
Saw
View attachment 268913
Slug
View attachment 268914
Exhaust Side
View attachment 268915
Intake Side - are those bands caused by piston slap?
View attachment 268916
