How My Stihl Dealer Treated Me

[Pioneer]

Personally, I avoid running any cold I.C. engine at full throttle, two or four-stroke. It would have much less impact on a two stroke though, proper lubrication is carried in the fuel, and is there for the first power stroke it fires on.

I have seen someone pull apart a 350 Chevy who had the habit of revving the cr#p out of it when it was cold, and every single ring on all 8 pistons were broken. A four-stroke engine needs time to warm up the oil to get it to flow properly, high revs before this happens is a quick death for it.

On a two stroke there is probably little concern about lubrication differences from warm to cold engines, my concern would be for proper expansion of the metals to obtain the correct running clearances. It costs just a few minutes in time to warm it up, so I figure why not play it safe.

 

[JimL]

What the hell are you talking about?? Maybe a big bore diesel engine?
Were talking chainsaws here, 4-5 minutes of idleing makes no sense whatsoever, must be a typo or something.
Frans

I just fire it up and get it idling, set it on the floor and fill out the warranty form, might not be 4 minutes, just a guess..

 

[Cicero]

No worries on your new saw break in. What you are worried about would be a cold seizure. Cold seizures happen on the intake side of the piston and cylinder due to the fact that side of cylinder expands slower since it is a lower temperature. The fact that you pulled the muffler would give you no real idea of damage due to a cold seizure. Exhaust side seizures are an indication of lean running conditions. Again because this side of the cylinder heats up the quickest the breakdown happens on exhaust side.

In particular the MS440 and MS460 have a very durable crankshaft in them due to their use in log home building, particularly in notching. When a customer notches he is running that saw under now load for literally minutes. The saw will hold up to these conditions. For you Stihl dealers you can look back a year or two ago and see that MS460 have a new notched crankshaft to disipate heat and lubricate the bearings. This is because of failures due to the saws being ran at max rpms under no load. Your saw should be just fine.

 

[Chris J.]

While no harm may have done to the saw,

I see no reason to run a brand new saw that way without some kind of warm up. Next time remember that you're the PAYING customer, & speak your mind.

Chris J.

 

[Fish]

The saw will be fine.

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I agree that the saw will be fine. At my dealer you'll constantly hear them in the back revving saws WOT adjusting the carbs and oilers, and making sure the saw runs right before it goes out the door. Each new saw I've bought there has been treated the same way.

Take care all,
Jeff

 

[bvaught]

I think it would be wise for Stihl dealer to follow the advice of their own manuals. My manual specifically states "A factory new machine should not be run at full throttle off load for the first three tank fillings". What the dealer did was ignorant and unprofessional.

That being said I think the saw will probably be fine, Stihl manufactures an engine that is capable of sustaining some abuse. The only loss I am likely to suffer is sleep.

 

[sedanman]

To verify carb settings and to coax the oiler to prime full throttle MUST be used with no load. The only error I see was setting the running saw down on the concrete, this can rub the paint off but more importantly there is a running saw on the ground with no-one in control of it. As far as the full throttle thing, this is normal dealer prep get over it!

 

[scottr]

Factory carb set up

Paul or any of the other Stihl certified techs that have taken the factory tour , how do they adjust the carb in the factory ?

 

[sedanman]

Scottr, You don't get the factory tour until Gold school, I'm still a lowly silver level tech.

 

[stihltech]

tour

Well, I took the tour a few years ago when the 270 line was being set up.
The motors I saw being set were in a clear box, ran at full throttle and idle to be set properly.
Question, would you rather I ran the saw at full throttle to make sure it is not too lean BEFORE you take it home, or, take your chances,
Feelin' lucky?

 

[Lobo]

Well, I took the tour a few years ago when the 270 line was being set up.
The motors I saw being set were in a clear box, ran at full throttle and idle to be set properly.
Question, would you rather I ran the saw at full throttle to make sure it is not too lean BEFORE you take it home, or, take your chances,
Feelin' lucky?

Anything that is mine, run the sucker and make sure it is right before I leave the shop.

It's gonna get beat up and banged up anyhow, its a saw, a tool, something you work with, its not a freakin show piece.

Quit your wimpy whinings !

 

[Grande Dog]

Whether you're setting up new saws using a tachometer, or tuning a repair using a tachometer, you've got about a 1 in 5 chance of hitting peak performance. Using your ear and a log, you can't miss. I can't think of any reason to run a saw wide open under no load conditions for than a few seconds. A log is probably the best special tool a shop can have.

Grande Dog
Master Mechanic
Discount Arborist Equipment and Tree Care Supplies

 

[spacemule]

I am under the impression that peak performance is not the criteria for initial carb settings, rather, simply making sure the saw is not too lean. Don't you wait for a few tanks before peaking the saw out? Isn't that why Husky recommends you return to the shop for a tuneup not long after you get your saw? I don't see a problem with adjusting the saw full throttle for a few seconds.

 

[formersawrep]

All saws that come off the Stihl assembly line have been started and adjusted. There is a machine that starts and adjusts them. If there is some imperfection with the machine, they are routed to the side and re-adjusted by hand.
p.s.
They adjust them for max high speed (WOT),sooo either all Stihl saws will fail? or it won't kill them. I would add that they are only at WOT for a short period of time (approx. 2-3 seconds) to ensure that they do not exceed the max. RPM spec.

 

[Grande Dog]

You're right about the break-in period. It can take up 30 hours of use for some rings to seat. The vast majority of folks were setting up saws for are fallers. They'll go out and run 6 tanks or more a day. Alot of these folks have to drive an hour or two just to get close to where there strip is, and then they have a good hike ahead of them. If they have to come back to the shop before they get a full day in ( hopefully before they stop by the bar and they're balls swell up ) they aren't to happy. If saws got leaner instead of richer during the break-in it would definitely be a problem. I can't speak for Stihl's but, the Husqvarna's as a general rule have been usable right out of the box unless there's a altitude consideration.

Grande Dog
Master Mechanic
Discount Arborist Equipment and Tree Care Supplies

 

[Marco]

If your really worried I'll give you $20 for it, I'll donate it to the local high school's power and energy class to disect. When Stihls get streaks in the cylinder their about done, something with their porting.
Maybe your dealer thaught you where going to taker out and use it and wanted to make sure it would hang together

 

[Fish]

I am a brown belt, aluminum level tech, and proud of it!!!!

 

[Lobo]

I am a brown belt, aluminum level tech, and proud of it!!!!

Fish, glad to see you are still around and with that Ky humor.

 

[Noah]

To my horror he cranked up my brand new saw and "let her rip" wide open for a few minutes.

This must be a practice that is common to the indiginous peoples of Stihland. My dealer, I mean, FORMER dealer did this too. It was in a back room out of my sight, after spending umpteen minutes trying to start it. I spent a bunch of $ more than if I had bought it across the border from someone else. Why? Because I wanted to support a local business that had been around a long time, and a good reference as well. I'm just glad that there are other Stihl dealers w/in driving diiiiiissssstaaaannnnce. Just wish that the company didn't give them such a big zone. As a consumer, I LIKE competition.