Huztl MS660

[Kyler Monares]

Whew that cylinder looks bad. Let's see what kind of quality my cylinder will have. How does the piston look? Those cases don't look half bad

Haha It's pretty cool that you guys ordered your kits before I did. I thought I was going to be the Guinea Pig

 

[Bedford T]

"Haha It's pretty cool that you guys ordered your kits before I did. I thought I was going to be the Guinea Pig"
glad to help out.

here is 4 of the piston. i have give out on the pictures. i have asked for another cylinder i see a crack near one of the ports. that will definitely slow me down. bummer.

 

[trboxman]

Mine arrived as well. I haven't had a chance to dig in other than open the box and paw around and open the handle assembly 'cause I couldn't resist...and I won't have a chance to do anything with it till this weekend at the earliest.

The next step for me will be to inventory against the factory parts list posted earlier, sort by assembly/sub-assembly, plan order of assembly with check list and execute. My plan is to run exactly what I bought, no replacements, no upgrades, no modifications other than minor fitment or usability items. We'll see how successful I am...

I will say that the handle assembly is a little rougher finish than the real Stihl saws that I own, for instance the interlock lever that your palm presses in has a casting ridge that I feel much more prominently than my genuine Stihls. It's nothing that affects usability or that can't be easily fixed. I do appreciate that the trigger, choke, fuel line & filter and most of the wiring is already done. I wasn't looking forward to putting those fiddly bits together and now I don't have to fiddle with them.

I'll try to get some pics taken tomorrow and post them. I'm particularly interested to see if the machining looks like what's posted above, those tooling marks look like the machine tooling was overdue for replacement/sharpening.

 

[trboxman]

Hey Bedford, did you order that T27 t-handle wrench or was that a bonus surprise in the box?

 

[blsnelling]

Would you replace them if you bought a kit?

No. IMHO, if you're using their crank, you might as well use their main bearings.

 

[Bedford T]

I will go with what's in box. That was helpful.

The t wrench I ordered. I also ordered extra for clips they were in that bag as well. I have arthritis and if those little clips get away from me I can just go oh well and keep going.

They did a good job of completing the order I made. Some of the bags were not sealed completely and screws and bits could come out. After I went dumpster diving I only held the stuff over a plastic pan. So I am betting I got everything.

I hope they don't just ignore me on the cylinder because I will order another one and put the larger bore on it. I would like to have a 36" bar and a 24" bar with me ready to go. My next group to fell has some gaint old growth

If possible I going to see a machinist this morning to see if cylinder is just ugly

 

[Bedford T]

These tidbits might be interesting.

I took the cylinder to a local machine shop and asked the guy what if anything besides being ugly was wrong with it. He said on a 2 cycle he expects to see them need deburring and he said he could see no flaws that would cause any problems except he said why is it aluminum on aluminum and of course I had no answer. He checked the quality of the metal said it should work.

I went to my local stihl dealer who is gold and talked to the mechanic about putting the crank in for me he said he did not have the tool and they never worked on saws that big...go figure? gold level and they dont have every tool!

what type sand paper should i use on the cylinder?

 

[blsnelling]

what type sand paper should i use on the cylinder?

I doubt it needs anything more than a stone to bevel/de-bur the port edges. Sandpaper isn't going to work for that.

 

[Bedford T]

dremel kit, i got a stone.

 

[Bedford T]

I made some progress and also shot myself in the foot, not bad for a first timer. The progress was the short side of the crank went fairly easy into the case with a rubber mallet and a block of wood. I shot myself in the foot by forgetting to remove the seal on the other side. I got side tracked putting in the oil hose and filter and putting some yamabond on my pins and on one side of the case to hold my gasket in place. I put a little heat from low setting on a gun, not much before I tapped the second side and it went fairly easy too and I picked it up to judge where I was and saw the seal was still in place and was pinched, I avoided that on first side. I stopped. Another tap and it would have been sealed.

Cursed the seals being in place and then to myself for making that mistake of overlooking it. I spent another hour and half pulling on the two case sides with my hands trying to pull them apart and in the end I was actually able to separate them. The final pull was using both boot toes and both hands and it gave and came apart. Wish I would have caught that on film. both pins stayed in place

The seal is not coming off easily of the bearing. I am going to walk away from it today and look at it fresh tomorrow. man vs machine, hand to hand combat. machine 1, man 1.

 

[blsnelling]

Careful beating on the ends of the crank, even with a mallet. You could knock the crank out of balance. If you notice, the crank webs are connect by an offset pin that is only a press fit.

It's also possible to break the end of the crank around the circlip groove.

FYI, you don't have to split the case halves to remove the seals.

 

[Bedford T]

Thanks I will stop. Unable to find anyone I could pay to use a press. I stopped @ 4 small engine places and also asked the machinist while I was there and he said he was two months behind, the 4 shops had no press. Surely they needed one. I will get on the phone tomorrow. I will keep trying.

I pulled the case apart because it would be easier for me to remove the seal. I am working with a basic tool set. I knew that fact would make it a challenge and would demand patience and persistence. I have those tools. But nothing to remove an installed seal.

I am learning and happy to do it, I will stumble. I will take time to examine the help as it's provided.

I can buy a complete engine for $100. But then I would have never deburred a cylinder...etc. this is all very interesting to me.

 

[Bedford T]

On the cylinder I ran the stone at the slowest speed against the cut with a light touch. Stopping to check the smoothness without do more than removing the roughness the cut created

Making the piston ride as smooth as possible.

That was what was needed??? Or do I need to do more?

 

[albert]

Just use the threads on the crank and some spacers and washers to pull the crank into the bearings.

 

[blsnelling]

On the cylinder I ran the stone at the slowest speed against the cut with a light touch. Stopping to check the smoothness without do more than removing the roughness the cut created

Making the piston ride as smooth as possible.

That was what was needed??? Or do I need to do more?

Now that you have actually debarred the ports, I'd go ahead and hit them by hand with some 220-400 grit wet/dry paper. Post up some pics.

 

[blsnelling]

Thanks I will stop. Unable to find anyone I could pay to use a press. I stopped @ 4 small engine places and also asked the machinist while I was there and he said he was two months behind, the 4 shops had no press. Surely they needed one. I will get on the phone tomorrow. I will keep trying.

I pulled the case apart because it would be easier for me to remove the seal. I am working with a basic tool set. I knew that fact would make it a challenge and would demand patience and persistence. I have those tools. But nothing to remove an installed seal.

I am learning and happy to do it, I will stumble. I will take time to examine the help as it's provided.

I can buy a complete engine for $100. But then I would have never deburred a cylinder...etc. this is all very interesting to me.

It's all good. In case it comes across like it, I'm not trying to scold you. I'm just trying to pass along some tips for both yourself and others that are following along. I believe you'll end up with a good running saw in the end.

 

[Bedford T]

Your good. I thanked you. I got it, no problem. Teacher pupil comes across like that naturally, to me anyway. That is the whole point of the thread. Other first timers can do it too.

I am beat I will get paper tomorrow and post. I wrestled those half's today and this old man is tuckered. I kept thinking about that cylinder and just had to do one more thing...i am like that..get consumed and love every second

 

[Bedford T]

ok, now i want my money back. no foil is included. ;-)

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I think I'll sit this one out...not crazy about the 660 saws anyway, I'm more the 346XP type...Now if they have a MS390 kit at a lower price I might be interested. I think they already have all the parts for a MS390 just not sure they're in a kit.

 

[trboxman]

I think I'll sit this one out...not crazy about the 660 saws anyway, I'm more the 346XP type...Now if they have a MS390 kit at a lower price I might be interested. I think they already have all the parts for a MS390 just not sure they're in a kit.

nope, they don't have a kit.