Chris-PA you nailed it. My antivibe springs broke on the Sears/Poulan. I fixed the carb plate screws (again) (mid-work day) which took me quite awhile, then broke an antivibe spring in the first cut. Then had pieces fly off of the recoil while trying to drop start it to finish the cut. And now it has peed all of its bar oil in one spot and all the fuel out in another spot on the basement floor because someone moved it and set it on the wrong side. Its just time to retire this saw...
I got a Menard's card and was shopping on a big rebate sale for my house project, and almost bought an earthquake, there is just something that scares me about them. They had a Hitachi saw there I liked a ton on super sale, but the .325 pitch killed that.
My Stihl dealer 2 mi down the road agreed to order me an MS 180 power head only which would be around $200 out the door. If I can find the right bar, they said, might be able to run the .050 s52 chain. The MS180 runs .043 50dl chain also in 3/8 pitch, so the DL and the gauge requirements are modified by the bar. Anyone know if there is an aftermarket bar that will make that work? Or whether the end result would survive?
But with about 10cc less I don't think I'll have the grunt with a heavier gauge chain and way less power than the Sears.
Its looking more and more like the Echo wins, I just love the idea of the "pocket pro saw".