I received my Huztl MS440 kit yesterday. This is my first kit build chainsaw. Last night I started working on it and got the two crank case halves assembled over the crank. A few observations so far:
Shipping: I placed the order on 2/25/28 (late sunday night) and it arrived at my house in WA on 3/7/2018. 10 days(9 realistically). The shipping box appeared to have been dropped/smooshed in transit and had one or two slight punctures. I carefully went through all the contents and so far have found no damage to any parts inside.
Cylinder: There are a few burrs and rough edges in the intake and exhaust ports, I plan to clean these up with a dremel prior to installation. None of the burrs stick into the cylinder bore so as to interfere with the piston, but I plan to clean them up for better air flow and to eliminate the risk of them breaking off during use and causing damage to the cylinder/piston.
Assembling crank/crank case:
I wiped a little bit of 10w30 motor oil on the crank shaft seal surfaces to help prevent rolling a seal. I baked the two halves of the crank case in a pre-heated oven at 240 degrees for 15 minutes. Installed the crank in the flywheel side of the case first. It didn't slide in as easy as I expected it to. I used a rubber mallet gently at first with little effect. Then hit it harder with the rubber mallet. Still little effect. It wouldn't seat all the way. I flipped it over and tried to pop it back out so I could re-heat the case. But the bearing started to come out of the case instead. So a couple hits on the other side put the bearing back in the case.
I used the supplied case gasket, with no additional sealant on it.
I pulled the PTO side of the case out of the oven, and set that on by hand. I then used the case screws (the 3 around the crank) to seat the two case halves together. This pulled them together well, (including the first half that didn't seat properly when I did the first half) but the crank was not centered in the case and one of the counter-weights was rubbing slightly on the PTO side of the crank case. I used the rubber mallet to try to center the crank, but was unsuccessful. (And I cringed every time I hit the crank shaft with the mallet. I don't want to damage the crank shaft bearings.)
I then used the flywheel nut and a couple spacers(washer and the round end of a couple wrenches) to pull the crank towards center. I was concerned about how much torque I had to put on it, but I was able to get the crank shaft to shift over far enough so that the counter weight would not rub on the case.
I can now turn the crank by hand without it rubbing on the case. There is still some resistance, more than I expected, however I can turn it with my fingers on the PTO shaft. I think the resistance I'm feeling is from the flywheel side seal. The resistance feels smooth. (not rough or grinding).
More to follow....