Why I will never buy Stihl again

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Sorry for the confusion. I did mean stuck piston and not a stuck valve. I am certainly willing to admit and pay the price when I am wrong :). And, I did not join this group simply to rant about Stihl. I am not an arborist. I simply heat my home with wood.

My original post says I use fresh gas. It also says I use Stihl brand oil at the proper mixture. Both of those points are true. All I wanted is for the dealer to test the fuel if they thought it was bad. I will bring every gas can I own. Test them all. I have receipts for when I purchased the fuel as well. I'm sure the gas station has video of me making the mixture right on the spot as well.

The saw gave no indication it was going to quit. It went from performing perfectly to quitting unexpectedly. I thought it was out of fuel. It was not. I am not a mechanic. I am an end user who bought what I thought was the best mid range saw money could buy. Along with it should come the best service money can buy.

I did not mention names of dealers, someone else did. Bryan is the regional distributor. I don't know what Bryan Equipment will do. So far, they have been more helpful than the dealer. I do know this.... the product is only as good as the guy who sells and services it. I understand even expensive equipment does fail at times even when properly maintained and used as designed. Nobody should have to experience a dealer like this though. It should never have to go to the point where you are talking to a corporate front desk security guy to get a number of someone who will help you truly diagnose an issue on a nearly brand new saw. I don't choose the dealers, STIHL does. In my eyes, they are ultimately responsible for the people they choose to represent their product.

So in fairness, yes. This is a dealer issue. It is also a product issue if a professional brand saw is failing before an equally used hardware store saw.... with the same exact fuel. THAT sounds fishy to me.
 
Far as the rest of your story about Stihl the company thats non-sense and no I'm not angry at my peers at all, they serve me very well.


I don't normally serve you that well, well I did give you that footrub when I was trying to get my Polished Aluminum Certificate at Stihl in VA.

And there was that time in jail, but it was just a backrub, and your bunk was
on top..................

But I digress.......
 
Glad you are back, did they show you the piston? Was the damage all around the side, just on one side? Was the piston brown/burnt looking?

Normally if there is a dealer problem, the dist. will put another dealer on it.
 
I agree with the air leak scenario. The 290's are prone to manifold breakage, especially if the user does not keep his chain sharp. Stiffer buffers will help with this problem, but the saw will run, poorly, with a torn manifold and suck all sorts of crap into the engine. As far as a seized valve problem, somebody's not tellin the truth
Jim
 
You need to know that the most common cause of piston seizure is lack of lubrication. To me it sounds like your dealer is just doing his job.

Ask them to pressure test the saw, if the saw has an air leak Stihl will cover it under warranty. If the saw holds pressure, it's operator error and you are liable for the repair.
 
No, they did not show me anything. Just handed me a saw and a work order that said "minor seizure - repair cost to exceed cost of saw". They would only make accusations and speak of improper lubrication. They refused to look into it further saying they can't test the fuel.

I purchased the saw at my local dealer in Powell. They have always been decent. The problem dealer is near my job nearly an hour away because most of these guys are only open 9-6. I guess I thought any service shop would do. Apparently not.
 
Fish, you are right. The problems that we have had is with the 270. I stand corrected.
Jim
 
I don't normally serve you that well, well I did give you that footrub when I was trying to get my Polished Aluminum Certificate at Stihl in VA.

And there was that time in jail, but it was just a backrub, and your bunk was
on top..................

But I digress.......

Come on Fish , we promised each other back then we would not let out our most intimate secrets,LOLOLOLOLOL
 
No, they did not show me anything. Just handed me a saw and a work order that said "minor seizure - repair cost to exceed cost of saw". They would only make accusations and speak of improper lubrication. They refused to look into it further saying they can't test the fuel.

I purchased the saw at my local dealer in Powell. They have always been decent. The problem dealer is near my job nearly an hour away because most of these guys are only open 9-6. I guess I thought any service shop would do. Apparently not.

Does not matter where you bought it, any Stihl dealer should take care of it. Hell I got a saw in not long ago bought in Ohio, I'm in Virginia, I took care of it, no questions asked. I getem in from Maryland, West Virginia, Pa, NC, all over, does not matter to me.

Lets investigate your saw right here. Did they hand you back the saw without showing you the scored cylinder, meaning shining a light in the exhaust port so you could see the scoring yourself? Secondly did they charge you anything for checking it out? Thirdly was the saw completely reassembled when they handed it to you or was the muffler off the saw?
 
Sorry, hate to disagree, but the intake boot is one of my poorest sellers.....

No kidding, I've never sold a intake boot for the 290 series nor have I ever seen one fail. The 028 seems to be the king of busting intake boots, course after all the bushings are worn out that tank housing will stretch almost as far as my , well nevermind,LOLOLOLOL
 
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No kidding, I've never sold a intake boot for the 290 series nor have I ever seen one fail. The 028 seems to be the king of busting intake boots, course after all the bushings are worn out that tank housing will stretch almost as far as my , well nevermind,LOLOLOLOL

Yeah, they are only 25 year old saws........... Junk.........

Tank housing, mmmmnnnn.. Big boy..........
 
No, they did not show me anything. Just handed me a saw and a work order that said "minor seizure - repair cost to exceed cost of saw". They would only make accusations and speak of improper lubrication. They refused to look into it further saying they can't test the fuel.

I had a minor seizure once...stuck heart valve.

What do you expect them to have the equipment to test the fuel for? Is there a Stihl part number for a gas chromatograph?

Was there fuel in the saw when you brought it in? Wouldn't help your case, but it might be part of their reason for suspecting improper lubrication.
 
Yeah, they are only 25 year old saws........... Junk.........

Tank housing, mmmmnnnn.. Big boy..........

LOL, dayummm there's about 30 members on this thread. I best behave. You too Fish, GRRRRRRRR,haha

True those 028's after 20-25 yrs tend to tear the boot from the sloppy worn out AV mounts. Tant no biggie though, I enjoy working on the 028's, great chainsaw......
 
Did they hand you back the saw without showing you the scored cylinder, meaning shining a light in the exhaust port so you could see the scoring yourself? Secondly did they charge you anything for checking it out? Thirdly was the saw completely reassembled when they handed it to you or was the muffler off the saw?

The saw was completely assembled. There was no attempt to show me anything at all. You would think if there was scoring, they would show me. If there was proof of any kind, they would show or even TELL me. Nothing. Just accusations. I was not charged anything for the checkout.
 

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