Chainsaw Repair Lesson

[VA_133Super]

Hi Guys,
Awhile back a Big Dutch Elm blew down in my front yard and I bought a Sachs-Dolmar 133 Super to cut it up....as my Poulan let out the Magic Smoke and would not run any longer... Anyway the Sachs cut great at first but then die after 1 round cut ( swapped fuel line and Filter new gas....) ...Managed to get what I needed cut then took the saw to the "Dolmar" service Rep. Well, this fella tried... but realized it was out his realm.

Was in a bind as another tree had fallen and took it to the local Stihl dealer here in Hampton. $30 too look at it no problem...He tells me...Intake leaks..and tells me to get all these seals oh yeah and it'll be $300 plus parts ( If "I" can find them and of course no guarantees ). Told him put it back together.

Found Howard's Lawn Mower Service in Gloucester, VA ( Father & Son Shop ) ....He looked at it and said get the parts and we'll take care of it ( glancing around seeing old Pioneer and all sorts of old saws and and old Generator they were rebuilding I had a good Feeling.

Ordered my parts from guys on here and Flea bay...$80 delivered.....Went buy today to check on it today and it's already done. Took it outside, fired it up and tore into some old Oak. Ran Great . So afterwards this fella says.."There were no leaks....this is a 25 yo saw...it was fine...the carb was hosed up though.

Well, $95.00 was my parts & labor bill from Howard's and I am Stoked to finish up my cuttin' job. Sorry for the long post.....I had to tell my good fortune of finding an Honest Dependable repair Shop.

Thanks,
Anthony

 

[shawn022]

Great Ending

Howards is definatley an old school shop. How'd you find it? Its 3 left turns past nowhere lol. I found it awhile ago when looking for some odds and ends. The old man gave me the history on every saw on that shelf. It was a great time. Its nice that you got your saw back running good after the old saw run around from the "typical" saw shop(just buy this here new one). enjoy

 

[VA_133Super]

Finding Howard's

Hi,
The local Hampton City Arborist put me on his trail...That's where I'll be going from now on!!

Thanks,
Anthony

 

[Javelin]

Congrats on a great old saw! Too bad about some dealers they are out there for sure!

 

[excess650]

Great story! Its good to hear that there are some good dealers out there.

 

[parrisw]

Sometimes I get the feeling that the dealers don't want to work on older saws?? I wish they would just be honest and tell ya no we don't work on that. Instead give ya a bull crap line on something, and give an outrageous estimate so you'll take it away.

 

[pioneerguy600]

To check for seal leakage is only a simple vacuum test and takes about 10 mins to do, if a shop can`t diagnose that condition accurately it should not be in business. To tell a customer to order up unnecessary parts is no way to conduct repair business. IMO.
Pioneerguy600

 

[Jacob J.]

Sometimes I get the feeling that the dealers don't want to work on older saws?? I wish they would just be honest and tell ya no we don't work on that. Instead give ya a bull crap line on something, and give an outrageous estimate so you'll take it away.

That's why you want to find these old guys that are out of the way, up in the woods, far from civilization. They've made their whole careers on fixing the old time stuff and they have the technical know-how. One of the best saw mechanics I ever met in my life put a crankshaft in the first saw he ever worked on- a Disston KB-7.

 

[parrisw]

That's why you want to find these old guys that are out of the way, up in the woods, far from civilization. They've made their whole careers on fixing the old time stuff and they have the technical know-how. One of the best saw mechanics I ever met in my life put a crankshaft in the first saw he ever worked on- a Disston KB-7.

Yup. for sure. I don't know of any around here though. If I phone around and ask about old saw stuff, that act like I'm outa my mind.

 

[bill268xp]

Yup. for sure. I don't know of any around here though. If I phone around and ask about old saw stuff, that act like I'm outa my mind.

now some of them could be right. but only in a good way.LoL ha! ha!

 

[parrisw]

now some of them could be right. but only in a good way.LoL ha! ha!

ha ha ha. Ya I suppose your right.

 

[lesorubcheek]

Maybe I'm not reading your post right, but it sounds like you're saying that he did a vac/pressure test, found it didn't need seals (so he didn't change them), put in a carb kit and charged you $95 ! Did I miss something??? I hope you at least still have all the parts you thought you were going to need for possible later use.

Dan

 

[Fish]

Not to be rude, but most shops do not like working on old saws, because they need to make a living.

 

[lesorubcheek]

Not to be rude, but most shops do not like working on old saws, because they need to make a living.

I hope I didn't sound rude either. My only thoughts are if you got charged right at 100 bucks just for a leak test and a new carb kit install, I wouldn't be feeling like I just got a good deal. If more was done, that's another story, but it didn't read that way.

Dan

 

[Fish]

I was addressing the question of working on old brands that are hard to find
parts for, in general.

As far as the amount charged for that repair, it is not that bad even if it was
all labor. I usually charge 30-40 for a carb rebuild, and a leakdown test, that can a little time as well, depending on the model.

So the charge is a bit higher than I would charge, but my overhead is a lot
lower as well, so $95 is not out of line.

 

[VA_133Super]

Fixin' an Old Saw

Maybe I'm not reading your post right, but it sounds like you're saying that he did a vac/pressure test, found it didn't need seals (so he didn't change them), put in a carb kit and charged you $95 ! Did I miss something??? I hope you at least still have all the parts you thought you were going to need for possible later use.

Dan

Hi,
Yeah....He did the VAC check and a compression check and me just being me wanted to make sure the saw was good from the intake thru to the card ( cause I intend on keeping it and I wanted fixed right and good ) so I bought all the gaskets, spacer and filter etc....among other things and they installed it all, did the Carb Kit and Tuned it, cleaned the saw up AND it's FIXED....So I am a pleased customer.

Thanks for reading my long post you and my Rant!!

Anthony

 

[lesorubcheek]

Well, now its starting to sound more like ya got you're money's worth . I love to hear the stories of people getting a saw repaired. I love working on saws and its always interesting to hear stories of the "pros" and what goes on at shops. Great posting Anthony!

Dan

 

[parrisw]

Not to be rude, but most shops do not like working on old saws, because they need to make a living.

Whatever, charge accordingly. If ya can't handle it, then just say no. That wasn't my point, don't give me a BS line on repairs it doesn't need.

I'm a mechanic, I work on old cars all the time, no big deal.

 

[Normsworld]

Hey VA Super !

Who was the blow hard in Hampton ? Did it start with a C and is on a Boulevard ? I just had a crappy experience with the main Stihl dealer in Norfolk . The reason I bought Stihls was, local dealers and built right here at the beach .Parts should be easy ! NOT!! Most act like they are doin you a favor looking up the parts . From now on I'm goin to the "net " first . I once shipped the 60# OMC out-drive off my boat to a shop in CANADA to be repaired !Better warrantee and hundreds cheaper than local shops . I would ship my saw for repairs to a outastate shop with good feedbacks .$30 roundtrip shipping is worth the piece of mind when the locals are yo'cals ! Viva La Internet !

 

[Fish]

Whatever, charge accordingly. If ya can't handle it, then just say no. That wasn't my point, don't give me a BS line on repairs it doesn't need.

I'm a mechanic, I work on old cars all the time, no big deal.

Well, how a shops tells you "No, Thanks", that would be another whole thread.

I spend more time talking people out of having me work on their stuff.
As I need to make a living, an if someone brings me an old Pioneer, for example, is the guy going to pay me my labor rate to search online for
parts? No, he will likely bicker over what time it took me to diagnose what it needs. He will also bugg the hell out of me while I am waiting for the parts.
If I get the parts, and they are wrong, or anything is wrong with them, will
he pay for them and the shipping? Will he pay for the time spent trying
to get it right?

How about an old McCulloch? No, I need to pay my electric bill.

Go into any guys shop, and there will be a shelf of very expensive, oddball,
special order parts, and the owner will sigh and shake his head, and tell you
how he got burned by someone with an oddball piece of junk, had him order
this or that, it took too long, etc., and on and on.


No, I have got bills to pay. After this ice storm, and my wife's surgery, I
need to make a living.