Well, I bought an eBay saw as a fixer upper for my nephew. It will be his first chainsaw. Was trying to do a budget build, but things don't always go as planned. It felt as though compression was OK and it would fire up and sputter briefly. The saw after a pressure washer bath...not too bad a shape. There were a few janky bits on it Broken muffler cover and incorrect screw Started tearing down to further diagnose and clean....
Broke a muffler stud off trying to get a peek inside the cylinder and found this...ugh Yep, toast. I decided to go ahead and buy a new shortblock for it...I hate giving up. Whole other pile of rubber parts and some small bits on order also to bring it back to like new condition. I will have ~$220 in it when all said and done. Glad I wasn't looking to make any money on this! I will update progress when the Short block and parts arrive.
Ouch. I've bought a few project saws on eBay and found such unexpected problems more than once. Bad photos, sellers who aren't mechanics... it's risky for sure. Are you sure you want your nephew's first saw to be a top-handle?
I initially tried to get the seller to ship me the saw as he was about 60 miles away. He was hesitant and my spidey sense went off, but I ignored it. The pictures on CL gave me a good idea of overall condition. I was OK with his price. Went to meet him. I gave it a couple tugs and it felt very similar to my CS3400. It sputtered to life and then promptly stalled. I had my money on old gas/carb issue. Sold. Now here I am. Could I have found something maybe cheaper...prolly. I keyed in on this saw due to my experiences with my CS3400, which has just been a great little saw. Took a chance and rolled craps. I'm going to make lemonade though...it will be a nice saw when I'm finished that I know can run for 20 years if cared for. My first saw was an Echo top handle? Above mentioned 3400. I gave $279 for that baby way back in 1998-99. It still serves me well to this day.
I sold my cs330t for $100 and it was a runner! Used anything is a gamble, you take your lumps for sure. Good luck with the rest of the rebuild.
Indeed and Thank You. I contemplated chucking it in the dumpster for a moment. That's not me though...too stubborn/hard headed for that. I love my Mighty Mite 3400. It's been one of the more reliable pieces of equipment I have ever bought. Only thing I had to work with for about 2 years until I got my 350 husky...which I also still have...even though it is a bit of a frankenstein now.
New SB showed up yesterday. Remaining needed parts on order. Should have rest of needed parts this coming week.
