Stihl repairs and restoration thread

[JOEPRO]

I spotted another MS201TC available running but needing bearings cheap locally. Collected it today haven't looked much at it or tried starting it. February 2022 production so it's a fresh enough saw. Seller said the main bearings are worn out. These saws have needle roller type main bearings which can wear out quickly if the chain is too tight. I'd guess that was the issue here until I get stuck into it & confirm the issue myself.

This one will be repair, service and sell it again for a few £ towards the other vintage Stihl saw projects!

It did start up and run but sounded rough



Tore it down and the crank bearings are indeed spanked but nothing else was scratched or damaged in the process. So all it needs is a clean, new genuine crank bearings, seal kit and service kit. Piston and cylinder all look to be in very good condition

 

[dobbslc]

You need to see if you can actually do one of these in your sleep

 

[JOEPRO]

You need to see if you can actually do one of these in your sleep

I nearly could at this point! Having the correct Stihl flywheel tools to hand and an impact with long torx set really makes them easy / fast work to tear them down.

It's the cleaning that takes the most time VS everything else. It doesn't help that I am extremely fastidious in what I do and I won't leave a spec of dirt behind Admittedly they are quite enjoyable mini projects.

 

[angellonewolf]

I nearly could at this point! Having the correct Stihl flywheel tools to hand and an impact with long torx set really makes them easy / fast work to tear them down.

It's the cleaning that takes the most time VS everything else. It doesn't help that I am extremely fastidious in what I do and I won't leave a spec of dirt behind Admittedly they are quite enjoyable mini projects.

i dont realy need one but now want one

 

[Kram]

It's the cleaning that takes the most time VS everything else

I like to keep mine clean but its irritating how many nooks and crannies they have to hold wood chip. Hollow casings with ribs are going to be much lighter and than solid, but collects so much dirt!

I have been thinking about using builders foam/body filler to smooth off the hollow areas of the sprocket cover.


Anyway my healing bench has gained the BG86 which bogs at full throttle, and the Kombi engine that the primer doesnt prime, and when it was running, was constantly stalling.

 

[JOEPRO]

Anyway my healing bench has gained the BG86 which bogs at full throttle, and the Kombi engine that the primer doesnt prime, and when it was running, was constantly stalling.

The BG86 probably needs a bit of a tune - as normal first thing to do is dump out the old fuel and add fresh.

What Kombi engine is it? 4 mix? Any sort of stalling issue is normally carb related. For the primer make sure hoses are all good and test it moved fuel when tested separate with a cup of fuel. If it leaks at all or doesn't pump replace it. If the carb is needing rebuilt it can also leak fuel and not seal which can present primer issues. So first thing on that one IMO is a proper carb clean and rebuild kit.

 

[JOEPRO]

It did start up and run but sounded rough

View attachment 470045

Tore it down and the crank bearings are indeed spanked but nothing else was scratched or damaged in the process. So all it needs is a clean, new genuine crank bearings, seal kit and service kit. Piston and cylinder all look to be in very good condition

View attachment 470044

Update on this latest MS201T

Turns out I didn't inspect the crank close enough last time around. When cleaning and tagging parts this evening I noted some damage on the crank:



Bad wear where the bearing had failed. Last guy ran it too long after failure pretty much.

That crank is done, no saving it. So I was pleased enough to find a decent genuine one on ebay for £45 posted. I ordered up the other genuine parts, gaskets etc too for rebuilding it.

So the hours of cleaning parts will commence shortly then lay it all out and re-assemble when the parts get here next week.

 

[Beeezer]

I’m going to give this old gel a good clean in the week.
Still got her original stickers

 

[Kram]

I am wanting to try a full chisel chain on the Echo 2511, this tiny sprocket arrived in the post today. I'm unsure why they are not more common but believe you can only get full chisel in 3/8LP and not 1/4" or .325 LP

 

[JOEPRO]

I am wanting to try a full chisel chain on the Echo 2511, this tiny sprocket arrived in the post today. I'm unsure why they are not more common but believe you can only get full chisel in 3/8LP and not 1/4" or .325 LP
View attachment 471237

Interesting, had a Google at the differences:

Semi-Chisel Chain
A semi-chisel chain has round-cornered teeth with a round grid edge which makes it easy to file. Although the semi chainsaw chain cuts slower than a full chisel chain, a semi-chain will stay sharper longer even in rough sawing conditions. In most cases, this is the preferred chain for cutting softwood, dirtier wood, dry wood, and frozen wood. Below is a list of some of the pros and cons.

Pros

The preferred choice for dirtier wood
Retains sharpness longer
Lower kickback risk
Less aggressive
Easy to sharpen
Cons

Cuts Slower
You can also read our Complete Guide to Chainsaw Oil in this post.


Full Chisel Chain
A full chisel chain is designed for the fast cutting action. In comparison to the semi-chisel chain, this chain has square-cornered teeth which makes it more aggressive when cutting. Although this is a popular chain, it is also important to bear in mind that the full chisel chain is more sensitive to dirt, has a high kickback risk due to missing safety chain elements, and should always be regularly sharpened to maintain the life of your saw. Additional pros and cons are listed below.

Pros

Cuts faster
More aggressive
Sharp point edges

Cons

Dulls quicker
Harder to sharpen
High kick-back risk
More sensitive to dirt



With a few of my saws having no chain brake I will stay with the regular semi chisel chains in all cases I think

 

[Kram]

has a high kickback risk due to missing safety chain elements,

Not sure about that, either google is wrong or its somewhat insignificant difference. However they do cut a lot nicer!
Its correct they are not great on dirty wood or anywhere with metal. If the point gets damaged you have to take it back a long way.

No harder to sharpen either, unless you want square filed/ground which is not common over here.

With a few of my saws having no chain brake I will stay with the regular semi chisel chains in all cases I think

I use full chisel on my brushless top handle, no brake on that.

In that case one of the best choices would be a narrow nose bar. The smaller the radius, the lower the risk or force of a kickback.
Narrow tipped carving bars are good for climbing saws.

Most pro climbers will be using full chisel on their MS201T's.

 

[dobbslc]

I use semi chisel chains on my Husqvarna 236 with a 13" bar, they cut much better that the standard 'safety chain' it came with, I dont think a full chistle would be a good idea on a small saw either.

 

[Kram]

10-20% better cutting efficiency if they are sharp, (and a lot worse if blunted!) that makes it possibly ideal for a 25cc top handle.
The standard CS2511-TES comes with 3/8 LP chain and its said that fewer cutters for the same length might improve efficency even with a wider cut but less smooth. However one climber I know said its the full chisel that made his ms201t cut exceptionally smooth.

 

[JOEPRO]

MS201 parts arrived earlier than expected. Used crank is in near new condition.

These saws take a needle roller type crank bearing. I read that you must use genuine parts there only which I do anyway but worth noting. Heat the case with a torch and the new bearings just drop in.

I am re-using any serviceable parts including the cylinder and piston which were in good condition. And all genuine parts including service items for anything I am replacing.

Case going back together.

 

[JOEPRO]

Engine reassembled and lead tested. All clear but the temporary cap on exhaust was leaking a little. But shows how effective this test is:



I also noticed the original exhaust has a cracked in it. So that needs stainless tig welded.

But when I'm at it I may open up the exhaust port a little! When I look close I can see a very pitiful 5mm or so exhaust ole Stihl have in these. It looks bigger on the outside but inside it's a tiny hole. So I'm going to operate on it A bark box type deal I believe it's reffered to so it will be louder too.

 

[JOEPRO]

Exhaust crack Tig welded up. Like welding tin foil - 40 amps





This is the very small standard exhaust ole in the background



Looks like a big opening but only a 5mm diameter hole in behind.

Ground out and opened up:



Interested to see if this makes any noticeable difference at all compared to my unmodified exhaust on my other MS201T.

 

[pedrobedro]

I am wanting to try a full chisel chain on the Echo 2511,

Smaller is better with low capacity saws and most go down to 1/4 pitch.

 

[Kram]

Smaller pitch has more cutters so any benefit of the smaller cutter seems offset by more cutters in contact.
If somone made a mini cutter for the 3/8" pitch that might be better. However recently tried a Rotatech E0 chain which has much bigger 1/4" cutters, they are 3/8LP sized. The saw cut well and fast, didnt struggle with power which suprise me, but the E0 is no longer available.

As standard the saw uses 1/4" on the carving bar option, which I have. The normal saw is said to be better on 3/8LP.

I was looking at Oregons Speedcut Nano system, which looks to be a smaller cutter on a longer pitch, but again they are semi chisel and chains are not the cheapest. Given the E0 performed quite well I expect a 3/8LP FC to be better.

The carving bars are hard nose without sprockets so should work with any chain pitch of the correct gauge, just got to work out what length I need.
I'll swap to my spare 0.050" gauge bar and keep the .043" for 1/4" pitch.
The issue with 3/8"LP on a carving bar is the cutters may be too long for the nose radius and so wont cut on the nose, which in effect gives kickback prevention at the expense of no bore cuts until they are sharpened half way.

 

[JOEPRO]

I may have won an auction on a broken BR800 at 1.47am after approx 14 whiskeys Oops

 

[dobbslc]