Stihl Ms 460, questions from a newbie

Hi guys I've been researching on your site for a month or so, I appreciate all the information I have found. I finally bought a used Stihl MS 460, off of ebay. I recieved the saw last night, and I'm very pleased with it's condition and how it runs. I have a couple questions for you:

1: There is a X before the serial number, does that mean this was a factory second, or possibly something else?

2: The Bar is a 25" Stihl, that is .63 gauge, Will 50. Gauge work with the same sprocket or will I have to change them out? I want to add a 20" Bar, I have noticed there are many more options in chain in the .50 gauge size, Is there an advantage from one gauge over the other? Also it looks to me in the stihl product book that a 84 link chain fits this saw, same as a 24" Bar is that correct?

3: The saw is all stock, are there any modifications or adjustments you recommend me to do to make this saw run it's best?

Thanks for any input and advice.

Hopefully by newbie you mean to the forum, not to running saws, becasue that is a very large powerful saw and is not a good saw to learn on. Yes .50 gauge chain will run on the same sprocket as the .63 gauge. Sprockets are sized by pitch only, not gauge, as to which chain they fit. So long as it is in good shape, it will work. I believe that is correct that the 25" Stihl bar uses the same drive link count as a 24" in Oregon or other makes. As to mods, try it as it is first and see what you think, if you want more, then opening up the muffler, either by putting in an extra hole and opening the inner baffle, or by replacing the cover with the factory dual port cover found on older models and opening the inner baffle, will give you a decent boost in performance. Beyond that, look to a larger saw or having this one modded by a saw builder.

Congrats on the saw. I think you'll really enjoy it. Is it your first saw? Because if so, it's kinda like starting off with a big a$$ Harley as your first motorcyle. Is it an "X" on the serial number, or is it a cross? I've noticed crosses, or plus signs as prefixes on Stihls before. I wouldn't worry about that. Maybe one of the dealers can shed some light on that.

As far as bar gauge, .050 is more common, and will work just fine. There's a couple of discussions on chain gauge on here, so do a search for ".050, .058, and .063" You'll find some good stuff, talking about different chassis for the different chains, discussions on kerf width and so on. I like .050, and there are more options for it. The rim sprocket on the saw will work with .050 or .063 gauge, but pitch of the chain, bar sprocket and the saw's drive sprocket all need to match. That saw should be 3/8", which is also the most common. And as far as drive links, that's dependent on bar length. 84 is for 24" in bars, and I think 20" is 72 drive links. Not really anything to worry about unless you're building your own chain. If you go into a dealer, just tell them you want a .050, 3/8", chain in whatever length and model you want. They'll know how many drive links it takes. Also, Stihl bars have the drive links laser etched at the tail of the bar, along with pitch and gauge. I'm guessing that your bar on there now is actually a 24" bar. I've noticed a discrepancy on their 24/25" bars, in that they say 25" on them, but the part numbers in the bar and chain manual lists them as 24" bars, and they have 84 drive links, as does a 24". Take the chain that's on there now, and count the drive links. That will tell you what you need to know. I'm guessing you'll count 84, but as soon as I say that, it'll be some homemade chain with 87 links or some craziness like that!

As far as mods, muffler mods are the most common. Again, do a search on this web site. Just put in "Muffler mods" and you'll get plenty of info. I've got a dual port muffler cover on mine, and that keeps me happy, even without the muffler mod. You can get just that cover from you Stihl dealer. I've got the P/N out in my truck with my manuals, but one of the threads you'll find when you do your muffler mod search has it in there, along with tons of good info.

Let us know how it turns out for you, and how you like your saw once you put it to wood.

Jeff

Thanks for the information guys, I'm a newbie to this site, not to chainsaws, sorry for the confusion. I have had Stihl saws for quite some time, 018, 021, 029, but this is my first big saw. Volunteered to do some tree clearing at the local golf course and will be handling some big cottonwoods, Elms and Ash trees. So thought a bigger saw would make the job easier. Thanks again for giving your knowledge to us young bucks.

Hey guys got to try out the saw today. It was everything I was hoping for. Tons of power that just won't quit. I was impressed that I couldn't bog it down with the 25" Bar. Exactly what I was hoping for. I been thinking of putting a 20" Bar on it, is this a good idea or should I just stick with the 25" bar? Thanks for all the information that lead me the right way, the Stihl 460 is one great saw.

sam2506 said:

I been thinking of putting a 20" Bar on it, is this a good idea or should I just stick with the 25" bar?

Click to expand...

You should put whatever bar on there you want. There's all kinds of opinions on that. Personally, I think the 460 is alot of saw to carry around to run a 20" bar. If you're in soft wood, you can run a 20 on your 029. (Before anyone jumps on me for that-I know of a guy who knows his saws, running that set up right now, and I've seen it cut, and it cuts just fine in soft wood.) It's kinda like a one ton truck hauling a dirt bike around. I run a 24, a 28 and a 32 on my 460, and use the 24 and 28 most of the time, with the 24 being on there right now, and having used it today on medium sized timber-it's a good set up, and will work in a majority of the wood you'll see.

Jeff

Glad to hear you're pleased with it. I just bought a brand spankin new 460 Mag a month ago and my serial no. is prefixed with an x; so there's no reason to worry about it. As for the 20" bar, thats what I'm running, with 3/8th Stihl RS chain it destroys everything. I don't know that it would make that much diff. but stepping down couldn't hurt. Stay safe and enjoy!

The "x" is stamped in front of the serial number during production to indicate that the powerhead has passed a test, usually crankcase vac/press. Sometimes it may be a star.

i tried out a 20"on a 46ms with square stihl chain that ive used for years with a 25" id prefer to use it with a 25"

Don't forget to match the bar groove width with the chain gauge. If you run a .050 gauge chain in a .063" bar, then the chain will be wobbly, and both the chain dirve links and bar rails will wear prematurely.

my 046 wears a 20" bar but will run fine on both 20" & 24"

around here, mostly hardwood that rarely exceeds what a 20" bar can handle.

Bar Length

I'm a newbie so take what I say with a grain of salt...

My suggestion is stay with the 24" bar for two reasons:

1. Less bending over when cutting off the branches once the tree is on the ground. The extra weight or slower rpm's isn't a consideration for this saw.

2. You have the power to drive the 24 bar just fine. I don't like the idea of only being able to cut part way into something and burying the chain. I would rather see the entire bar slice through the wood - I would guess its also easier on the saw and less chance of kick back.

Just remember you have one of the Big Dog saws and be careful not to touch any work with the end of the tip no matter what bar you are using and to have full rpm's before contacting your work. Actually read your manual very carefully to learn as much as you can about how to use that saw it's a certifiable monster! To my way of thinking the whole reason to buy a more powerful saw is so you won't have to make do with a short chain.

Be safe and enjoy,
Larry

PS... did I mention less bending over?

Larry:

I totally concur with your suggestions. After running the saw 3 or 4 times I have decided to stick with the 25" Bar, for a couple reasons: I haven't encountered any wood the saw wouldn't handle with the 25" bar and chain, I noticed quickly that you don't bend near as much when cutting downed wood with the longer bar. I love the saw and it's performance, I'm still not satisfied about getting enough oil on the chain. I have the adjustment turned up all the way, the bar channel clean, and have checked the output from the pump looks adequate. Everything checks out OK and it uses a about a tank of oil to to a tank of gas. But when I test the spray on a board it doesn't get near the oil spray that I have seen some other saws spray. Thanks for everyones input.

Oilomatic system

I think the theory behind the Stihl Oilomatic system is that the chain needs less oil because it keeps more of the oil on the chain. Implicit in that; less oil is slung off.

I have no idea if this system is doing its job good enough or not, and anyway it raises the question about what happens when using non-Stihl bar and/or chain on the saw.......

Maybe Stihltech can enlighten us?

The idea is that if the Stihl bar is used, it has two little ramps on either side of the oil hole that prevents bar oil from just leaking out at the saw, then each drive link has a groove that funnels the oil up to the rivets where it is needed most to prevent wear and stretch, some of the thicker gauge chains also have a hole drilled in the drive link, this helps lower the weight, or mass of the chain and carries some oil around the end of the bar to lube things on the bottom of the bar where most cutting takes place. If Stihl bar oil is used with this bar and chain, then the oil pump flow rate can be turned down to save the oil. Most pro saws have an adjustment screw on the bottom of the saw. Stihl claims savings as high as 40 to 50% in some situations, compared to using the non-adjustable flow and bar/chain combo without these features.