MS290 starting issue

UPDATE: I went back out to the shed and played with it some more. At one time the saw pulled normally. Then it reverted back to being hard to pull. I am guessing it is those after market pawls and pulley not engaging correctly. The guys on here were pretty sure that was the problem and they know these saws.

 

I did not think about that; let me see if I can find that post.

 

Stihl sells a completely assembled recoil. Buy one and sell the old one. Problems solved. Should be around $35 iirc. Subtract what you get from the old one, and you'll be in it for $20ish. No shipping that part twice, plus buying more parts etc.

Faster, easier, and hell, probably cheaper.

 

Can't find it online; saw one on ebay for around $46; guy took it off a new saw; guessing he breaks saws down for parts? Plenty of after markets and plenty of used ones; I have a used one so won't buy one of those

 

I was able to get the saw started; so I can used it but don't like it the way it is.

 

Jon, I counted 52 of the shark fins guide things.

 

Hello, me again. I decided to take the muffler off the 290 and check the screen, clean. Also, the piston looks good, took a photo if anyone interested. I am wondering if I should mod the muffler and if so, how does that affect the tuning of the saw?

 

I would just leave the muffler as-is. It will get louder, and might give more power, but do you need it? If your response is "I want it, whether I need it or not," fair enough, but be prepared to fiddle with it more to get it tuned. It will need to be richer in the high end after the mod.

 

When I have used the saw, it performed quite well; it is probably at the limit in size of what I can handle and I take breaks when finding myself tiring. I came across a youtube video on moding the muffler and have read posts here where it is mentioned. I don't particularly want it in any way, just wondering if it was something that really mattered or not. I will leave it as is. I just wanted to check the screen but it is clean and clear. My friend still insists that it is a compression problem and not the recoil.

 

I just called a dealer and was told the whole starter recoil would be $126.49.

 

ebay has MS290 recoil assy for $18 new AM or $25 used OEM.

 

To much compression is not a problem. That's a good thing!!!

And based one another post you put up you don't know how to tune a saw. Don't mod the muffler till prepared to learn. You will probably have to richen it up. I am confident when done right that saw will be 25-30% faster with a muffler mod. It will be louder and use more fuel, but not that much more fuel. Not like you fill it after 6 short cuts.

 

I brought aftermarket pawls and spool unless something else in the recoil is the problem; used OEM is what I have. Unless they offer refund with refund of shipping I am not taking guesses at a used OEM off of ebay.

 

If you have put OEM parts on and this didn't solve your problem, that's not the issue. And yes if someone sells a part that's not functional on ebay if seller does not offer a full refund ebay will. But if you have put AM parts and OEM and not fixed it yet you need to look elsewhere.

 

I don't know, maybe I should try one of those cheap aftermarket recoil assemblies. I am wondering if the shaft the spool sits on could have worn; but I don't see that happening unless a lot of grit got into the mechanism and I don't think it did; I take care of my tools. It sort of happened overnight. Then again, maybe the new pawls just need to wear in a bit. I am just going to use the saw and be careful when starting it; push harder on the handle when I pull.

 

No, after market. OEM is hard to find except at dealers. I am sure that $126 recoil has a 100% or more mark-up in price.

 

If it were me and I thought the issue was bad AM parts I'd not hesitate to buy the $25 used one.

If you were closer iD take the recoil off my 390 and let you see if it made a difference.

 

You don't know a single person with a farm boss that will let you Mount their recoil to see if it changes?

 

I don't know anyone; seriously. Outside of a few family members that live somewhat close I have no one. All my friends are on the net and far away. I guess I could post the recoil to someone and let them examine it; try it on their saws. Probably would not cost much to put it in a padded envelope. I think I will mount the bar and chain and see how it does tomorrow. Maybe I am being overly critical.

 

It would cost less than $5 to mail it. I or probably anyone would probably be willing to look at if for you . I'd put it on my saw to see if it had an issue on it. I am not an expert in saws like some of these other guys but I could tell you if it had the issue on my saw or not and if anything stuck out to me.