Stihl MS290 carb kits

I cannot get one of my 290's to stay running. Had it in the only shop available (that is reputable) near me. Googled and hit on this on Amazon.



What I am wondering/asking all of you, have you actually purchased this set? If so, what was your thoughts on it? Seems to good to be true, must be the pessimist in me!

 

All of the Zama stuff probably comes out of that same factory. When I was doing repair work in the shop, we used some of those carb kits when the OEM stuff was stupid expensive. (With full disclosure, and choice given to the customer...) Bought 5 or 6 all told, from replacement Subaru carbs to Stihl stuff. Knock on wood, didn't get a bad one. That said, how much is the OEM carb from your dealer? Some of the Zama's are only 30-40 bucks.

 

He wants to stay a repair shop and won't price or sell items unless he installs them.

 

I'd give the ebay kit a shot then. I never understood that- I'd rather sell you parts and have you come back a happy customer. We weren't the only game in town though, there were 7 or so Stihl dealers within an hour of us and every little bit helped...

 

I don't see a link or pic in post 1. Anyway, an AM carb is $12 on ebay. I don't mess with a kit when so cheap. And you can do it yourself - take pics during disassembly. Take your time and it will be easy.

 

You can buy a new AM carb....I use them in clamshell saws a lot and can’t recall any problems...

 

Hi - I bought a MS290 a few months back that had a cracked case. The owner didn't know the case was cracked, so tried replacing the carb to 'fix' the problem. I have the OEM carb and the aftermarket carb which has not seen any use. I've parted out most of the saw but haven't listed these yet - if you are interested, send me a PM and we can talk. Thanks! Cheers!

 

If was me I'd keep using the original oem hoses they rarely go bad and I have seen aftermarket hoses be bad in a little over a year
The aftermarket carbs do work good on the 290,310,390 but they don't supply enough for a bigger saw such as the 046

 

I am a terminology person, AM carb, that is the carb in the picture?

Clamshell saw???????

It's the teacher in me, I asked in another post about logs what CSS meant, haven't heard back on that one yet.

 

AM just means aftermarket (non-OEM). Clamshell saws essentially have a different case build - the case does not split like many other higher end or older saws - don't worry about this issue - doesn't affect you at all for what you need to do. Cheers!

 

am means aftermarket
the 290 is a plastic case and the bottom of the motor has a aluminum removal cap and why they call it a clamshell
css is cut split stacked

 

the 290 /310 has probably cut more firewood than most any other saw because they was big enough to handle a decent sized bar and also cheap enough that most people bought them
they can be made into good runners just by opening the muffler up because they was epa regulated

 

Aftermarket.....I buy on eBay...

I am no professional chainsaw repair guy...I don’t really mess with carb rebuilds though....after a saw gets the ethanol built up In the carb, it wreaks havoc....I ALWAYS use OEM fuel lines.....you can get away with SOME aftermarket parts, but some just won’t hold up....that’s something I have learned over time three trial and error!!!

Ask the shop you took the saw to how much a new carb is.....

And yes the 290 is a tried and true firewood saw, nothing wrong with them!!!!!

 

Yes to oem hoses, not aftermarket.
Some 1127 carbs (290, etc.) had an issue where the H would not lean out. The saws would run rich at around 10,000rpm. This was about 3yrs ago and I bought one. I went through it last year and finally got it right but have no idea what I actually did (disassembled, cleaned, worked the screws in, etc). It’s on a running saw now.
For me, I’d rebuild oem and buy a cheap AM, but I have the sickness.

 

CSS = Cut, Split, Stacked

 

NH, thank you, appreciate the information as well knowing I am not a second class citizen based on the saws I use.

 

Thank you for the information. I knew I should know what CSS stood for!

That is what created the opportunity for me owning a pair of MS 290's. Big enough for most of my needs and as heavy as I now want to handle. Is there a specific plan/way or even a thread about "opening the muffler"? I had never heard of this before.

The scenario is I took them to an older guy that used to work as a small engine mechanic in a shop. He does great work but getting my saws back in a timely fashion, well, he doesn't work under normal hours and is hard to find many times. It was not uncommon for him to have a saw for a few months. I actually bought the smaller saw, a couple of years ago when he had both of my saws. So, the little saw hasn't run right from day one, been back to that shop a couple of times and still the same. So am going to try to tackle this myself. I just haven't done much with 2 cycle engines. I am sure that the carbs, hoses are all AM and so my thought process is, even though it has a more limited life span, by buying the kit I should see how to do it as well as see if the saw runs when I am done. If within a year or two if it starts acting up again then I can be somewhat assured this is what has happened now.

Thanks for the confidence on my saw selection!

Your last sentence has confused me. "You would rebuild oem (original equipment) and buy a cheap AM"???? I am getting the impression I can make it back into a working saw with the AM purchase.

Yeah, thanks, somedays I have "oldtimers disease"!


Thanks to all of you for the helpful positive help. It is greatly appreciated.

 

How mine looks like

 

i run a 325 chain and 8 pin sprocket on mine