Hi guys, I have an 075 with a roached top end....noticing a bunch of piston/cylinder kits anywhere from $60~$120.
Is this stuff garbage????
This would only be an occasional use saw for me, but would rather not install junk parts into it. With that said, I can only imagine oem will cost me more than the saw is worth....
Thanks for any info!
Look for cylinders with better plating than chromed style. As far as manufactures go several are out there and more than likely most or all were cast at the same plant. What your paying more for is quality depending on the seller. One person might be over a hundred but selling high quality well finished offerings or cheap chrome rejects with terrible qualities. No returns is always the cheap stuff bought on a direct "blank... insert country name, service pack." The pitfalls are many so buying from a trusted seller of better offerings and with returns is your best bet.
One thing you could do is order through a seller who actually has a hands on approach which I know of zero besides myself. Most don't handle or even see the product they sell. Many use drop shipping to save money and never stock anything. These methods make buying quality parts a crap shoot unless you have been there before many times like I have. People want cheap quality and those two words rarely mix together. Most are not willing to pay a fee to have things already inspected and checked over or spin tested possibly even ran before purchasing said parts. Now AM parts don't apply here in this example some will say but many pay double or triple for a polished or x-rayed parts in the racing world. Sometimes even quadruple is spent on a failure prone part that needs to be the best of the best and indexed then blue printed possibly polished before completion.
All that said cylinder chrome plating is a funny thing. Many are doing it well and many do it poorly. The better chrome will never be as durable as better cylinder wall coatings but does it need to be?
There in lies the dilemma. Does it need to last forever? How severe of an environment will it serve in?
Do I maintain my tools to the best or highest standards? Doubtful, most don't in reality.
Maybe you just want a cheap offering purely based on price but expected to get the highest quality control with a round well finished high quality bore and nice ports with great timing. Those companies charge a premium and many still fall far short in quality. To sum it up you need to pay more from a hands and eyes on supplier that inspects each unit as they sell. Good luck finding a volume seller of anything who does that like I do. Most people who rebuild engines including the OE dealers check nothing, fact! Your a number and price point most times. Your name, your parts consumption and many other things are not a factor on their bottom line. The others who do offer higher quality parts with returns charge for it and don't necessarily care if they need to field returns based on poor quality or any other factor. If people actually wanted this service I would provide it in blink. It won't be cheap but the quality would be kept very high. Even the OEM manufacturers make turds so don't think it's solely an aftermarket problem. We all know, that are in the know, many many companies make better or stronger parts than the OEMs do. Need a small engine example Wisco piston.
Will anyone pay for more quality control?... doubtful imho.
I'm here not there and will still be around tomorrow. Will people want the service I could offer, maybe. Is it worth the time, maybe. Is it very profitable, doubtful.
GL in your search and research.
