Echo CS-490 DEAD after 11.5 months?

[Listen Up Sonny]

Well, I put on my apple pie nice attitude today and brought the saw to Home Depot in hopes that they'd take care of a good customer. They basically told me to get F*&^ed. They told me they'd send it out for a fee, and the turn around was 3 months. At least the local dealer is only a 2 week turn around and they will apply the labor charge to a new saw if I need one. So, its at the local Echo dealership, which, interestingly enough, doesn't sell echo saws. They only deal in Stihl. I have done lots of business with them, and I feel that it's my best chance. Also, they will be who I buy a replacement Stihl from, so the $40 credit is good.

It is pretty simple actually; Echo nor their dealer has any interest in retaining a customer.

Edit; I guess the dealer did offer a discount on a new saw.

To be clear, this was bought from the Home Depot, and the dealer had no part in the initial transaction.

FWIW, What would adding fuel stabilizer do to the mix? I bet it doesn't burn/cool like gasoline therefor making the mix even leaner. So if you take a borderline lean saw setup for 50:1 and then run 40:1 and possibly with fuel stabilizer and it pushes it over the edge.

Another consideration is what was the ambient temperature the saw was most run at? Cold temperatures mean denser air and leaner tuning. If a saw is tuned ant 70 and then run at 20 degrees that will make a noticeable difference in tuning.

I run universal premixed which is good for both 40 and 50:1 according to the bottle. Other than that, I'll run echo little bottles of oil and premium gas station gas with stabil. I've been told I should/shouldn't have run it with so many different things that I think it's just a brainstorming at this point. But, I think that so long as I run fresh gas with an API 2-cycle or premix rated for the application, it should not be an issue. I am following the echo fueling recommendations.

What mix ratio are you running? Who tuned the saw? How sharp is the chain kept? Please forgive my ignorance but what does an Echo Tune Up kit consist of????

Nobody tuned the saw. It came out of the box and ran well. I did not remove the red limiter caps, so theoretically it should've been kept within safe parameters. No porting/modding etc. The chain is maitenance filed frequently, and it produces nice ribbons of sawdust. A tune up kit is: spark plug, fuel filter, air filter.

I'd get some advice from resident echo dealer members & perhaps get the saw on a trusted bench. My guess is that saw is not beyond repair or successful warranty claim.

My local dealer said it is only lightly scored and I could probably run it on a heavy oil gas and get some life out of it. I'm hoping that the dealer can just warranty me and make me whole again.

 

[JRHAWK9]

If my toyota blew up and I got a BMW, that would be a good thing, too...except for the payments.

nah, that would be a bad thing! I'd take a Toyota over a BMW any day.

 

[Jacklefty]

Hell, they should the warranty is 5 years

They will not give you a new one if it’s after 90 days. They will have it checked in to their own repair facility and repair it. Not replace it. If it is found under warranty it will be free and you should get your money back for diagnostic.

I am a Home Depot repair tech and that is the Home Depot policy on gas power equipment.

The warranty is through echo if you should talk to anyone I would talk to echo directly to be honest to see what they say. Most likely they will say take it to your nearest Home Depot repair faciclity.

 

[Listen Up Sonny]

They will not give you a new one if it’s after 90 days. They will have it checked in to their own repair facility and repair it. Not replace it. If it is found under warranty it will be free and you should get your money back for diagnostic.

I am a Home Depot repair tech and that is the Home Depot policy on gas power equipment.

The warranty is through echo if you should talk to anyone I would talk to echo directly to be honest to see what they say. Most likely they will say take it to your nearest Home Depot repair faciclity.

This was exactly my experience. Telling me to pay and wait three months to see if Echo decides to honor their warranty is basically saying "you're on your own" in my opinion. I understand that it's their policy, but it is not standing behind a product they sell.

It's at a local, echo dealer now.

Do you do Echo work or just in the in store stuff.

 

[Listen Up Sonny]

nah, that would be a bad thing! I'd take a Toyota over a BMW any day.

My 2000 tundra hauled 1600lbs of concrete and 11lbs of dead weight saw today. LOL.

 

[Frank Rizzo]

This was exactly my experience. Telling me to pay and wait three months to see if Echo decides to honor their warranty is basically saying "you're on your own" in my opinion. I understand that it's their policy, but it is not standing behind a product they sell.

It's at a local, echo dealer now.

Do you do Echo work or just in the in store stuff.

Yah ... that’s caca ... pay and have to wait 3 months to see if Echo “decides” to repair/replace ? That’s a load of horse-chit ! What if ya need the saw for work ? I could see a week or two max but 3 months and that’s pending Echos decision ... I’d steer clear of Echo if what you say are the facts !

 

[mountainlake]

You can bet your carb was gunked with ****** fuel, when a saw doesn't run right QUIT running it and clean the carb. This will happen to any Stihl you buy. 100% your fault. Steve

 

[Marley5]

Guy just brought a Stihl by the shop.....says it's not running right.
After a few questions.....it's running last years fuel, extremely dull chain and look at this filter.
Echo and Stihl are both great saws but must be taken care of.

 

[Listen Up Sonny]

You can bet your carb was gunked with ****** fuel, when a saw doesn't run right QUIT running it and clean the carb. This will happen to any Stihl you buy. 100% your fault. Steve

Guy just brought a Stihl by the shop.....says it's not running right.
After a few questions.....it's running last years fuel, extremely dull chain and look at this filter.
Echo and Stihl are both great saws but must be taken care of.View attachment 680623

So, honest question...looking back at what I've told you in the initial post, what could I've done differently and what's your definition of ****** gas? I know you're saying that I should've stopped using it when I noticed problems, but I essentially did. I shelved the saw when i noticed the bogging/stalling until I received the tune up kit, which took a week. Then, I didn't use it for a week. Then, I brought it back out, and used it for about 5 minutes until I realized the issue wasn't resolved. It took a few days to get to the small engine guy. Then, he had it for 8 days before he called with the bad news. When I say I noticed the problem start up a month ago, I was not using it daily.

Looking back, I changed the factory chain about 6 weeks ago because it just wasn't cutting as well as it used to. I attributed this to a worn out chain as I was still on the original. Maybe, that was the actual start of the problem? But, at that point, the engine seemed fine.

I know I'm not the most experienced 2 cycle guy, but I am very conscientious with my tools and aware of their behavior and discrepancies. I guess maybe you're just saying chainsaws are fragile beasts?

 

[Jacklefty]

This was exactly my experience. Telling me to pay and wait three months to see if Echo decides to honor their warranty is basically saying "you're on your own" in my opinion. I understand that it's their policy, but it is not standing behind a product they sell.

It's at a local, echo dealer now.

Do you do Echo work or just in the in store stuff.

I do. But I haven’t run into a roaches cylinder on an echo yet that was under warranty. Anything deemed fuel related will not be covered unfortunately.

 

[mountainlake]

It only takes one long cut to burn up a saw that is lean, most likely from a gummed up carb. Never had a seal go bad on a Echo yet. Steve

 

[SteveSr]

Looking back, I changed the factory chain about 6 weeks ago because it just wasn't cutting as well as it used to. I attributed this to a worn out chain as I was still on the original. Maybe, that was the actual start of the problem? But, at that point, the engine seemed fine.

Running a dull chain can also put excessive strain on the engine which leads to overheating and the damage that was found. A sharp chain should put out chips and NOT sawdust. If you see sawdust in the air you are past due to sharpen the chain.

Also adding more oil, stabilizer, whatever to the mix will also create a lean condition as the additives displace gasoline possibly leading to overheating and seizure.

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

If 490 comes lean like 590.
590 I got used from a local was to lean from factory. Had started scoring it. I put the H all the way against the epa stop to fatten it up and was still to lean. Had to remove the stops to get it fat enough.

Then went to muffler mod it and thats when I caught it had started to score. Otherwise would have never known it till she stopped someday.

 

[Frank Rizzo]

If 490 comes lean like 590.
590 I got used from a local was to lean from factory. Had started scoring it. I put the H all the way against the epa stop to fatten it up and was still to lean. Had to remove the stops to get it fat enough.

Then went to muffler mod it and thats when I caught it had started to score. Otherwise would have never known it till she stopped someday.

Yeppers ... not enough adjustment provided to properly tune the saw ... I’m sure the saw manufacturers are WELL aware of this and count on the ignorance of the customer to play the “it was run on bad fuel” game and not honor the warranty ! The question is why? Hmm ... free bananas to the 1st correct answer !

 

[mountainlake]

All new saws need to be tuned thanks to the EPA who makes them set them lean to get by emissions. Steve

 

[mountainlake]

(it started bogging down and stalling)

From the OP points to a gummed up carb as it was running good. BAD fuel is what caused it. Steve

 

[holeycow]

 

[mountainlake]

Holycow, you have no idea what your talking about. Have you ever worked on a saw?? Can YOU explain why it would start running bad after 11 months. Steve

 

[holeycow]

No, you?

You will defend your beloved Echo against all.

 

[holeycow]

Oh, and it’s Holeycow to you.