I recently posted about the fix of the my 460's chain brake handle. The saw was damaged by a tree landing on it. I was looking at the saw last night and noticed a variation in the gap between the air filter cover and housing. Also noticed the same underneath in the gaps. I had run it after the incident and it seemed to run fine. Did something with the antivibe get bent? Is this worth fixing or is the saw okay to use as is once the brake lever is fixed? Id post pics but my camara died recently and havently replaced it. Flip phone takes poor pics. Any input greatly appreciated. Maybe this is a good "excuse" to upgrade to a 461? . Dang CAD!
Like skeeter said check the handlebar. Also check your antivibe mounts to make sure none are torn or loose.
Heres what happened. Felling a 20' tall dead norway maple spar maybe 20-24" dbh. Notch and back cut, drive in some wood wedges and she wont go. Drove in a couple steel wedges, still no go with kerf opened 1.5". Plunge cut from the front to make another notch from the stump and inadvertantly cut the hinge. Tree suddenly lets go as i was in a one point stance. No chance to pull saw out. Got outta Dodge real fast.
Yeah, I get it things happen. I can tell you what backing over a saw feels like or maybe the sound of a running saw falling in a lake. Take plenty of photos and take it apart and see what you can see. If something gets your attention post a picture and someone can help you out. A good time to buy anything rubber and replace it along with a good cleaning, filters ect. Not much you can screw up if you pay attention and don't get to rough especially with plastic.
id say it’s worth fixing. Need to look close at the case to see if the AV mounts are snapped/cracked And pull the handle bar off. If things look to align better with the bar off, your probably in good shape, if the mounts arent cracked. New bar and brake handle. Anti vibes don’t usually bend permanent if you can carry the saw away with one hand.
Yes, check the AVs. The air filter cover gap can indicate problems with alignment. Sometimes removing a bent handle will straighten things up unless the AVs are torn. The main tank 1128 buffer is a good design. It’s easily visible and should be checked. The smaller fw side “1122” AV is prone to failure after hard use and wrenching the saw out of binds. Check the case for chipping in that area. The larger 1125 AVs can also fail but I don’t see it too often in 1128s. Do not use aftermarket AV buffers.
I actually prefer aftermarket buffers as they are a bit stiffer than the oem ones. If I have to replace them so be it, but I do have some time/years on a few sets.
I was of the same opinion until we’ve been having failures. They are not good and will ultimately rip/fail.
They’re a bit like when AM fuel lines first became available. Lots of guys tried them. A few failed right away, but some didn’t. Eventually, most guys who tried them came to the same conclusion; most AM fuel lines are garbage. I’m actually surprised that more people haven’t posted about AM buffer failures. I had multiple issues... some were fairly old (7 years), but OEM has the longevity advantage for all things rubber.
The ones on my 440 are 3 or so years old and the ones on my 026 are older by a few years. For the price and how hard they are to replace I would do am again. The reason I replaced the oem bushings was because they failed so...
I figured you’d respond with that. Listen, I was a fan of them... until I went back into saws that had ‘em and found multiple failures (tears away from the metal or plastic base). I also had an 1122 style tank mount shear after a few tanks logging NY hardwoods. Have you been back into the saws? Some appear ok unless you open the saw and see the massive cracks/tears that just shouldn’t be there. The worst disaster happened to my Mennonite buddy felling a tree. He had a hard kickback in a plunge cut and tank/case separated. In terms of easy to replace, some are. Some require separation of the tank to at least a point. Torn impulse lines or intake boots are not worth the risk. Yes, OEM Stihl AV mounts fail, but that’s usually after a lot of hours/years and some degree of operator error. These AM failure rates for me are too high.
