MS 460 Saga

[Lee192233]

About a month ago I was surfing EBAY after 2 glasses of whiskey(BAD IDEA!). I found a MS 460 with low compression, pictures looked like it wasn't beat to hell so I bought it. Ended up paying about $50 more than I'd have liked. 4 days later it arrived. Pulled it apart and cleaned it up. I was able to save the cylinder with advice from Mastermind. Thanks! Ended up replacing the piston, crank seals, cleaning up the ports, opening up the muffler a little, setting the squish to .022" and replacing various other rubber parts. Passed the pressure test but failed vacuum. Damn. Found clutch side seal leaking. Messed it up on the install while going past the snap ring groove on the crank. Got a new seal and this time wrapped the crank with some thin mylar sheeting. Now passed pressure vacuum tests. Awesome! After work I hurriedly reassembled it. (Big Mistake #2). Pulled it over and it felt good. Went home and planned on firing it the next day. Next day I filled it up with 32:1 and bar oil. Went to start. Started on 3rd pull revved it a bit and then it bogged and died. Wouldn't restart. Thought it was fouled with oil from flushing crankcase with ATF. Cleaned plug still no start just sputtered a bit. Kept trying, plug kept fouling, I'm getting peeved. Then it kicked back hard and the flywheel just continued to spin. Turns out haste makes waste. I must've gotten distracted and forgotten to torque the flywheel. Pretty sure the key sheared the first time I pulled it over. Ordered a key. Got the new key and torqued the flywheel. Reassembled again and attempted to start again started on the 3rd pull. A little tuning of the carb and she's almost dialed in. Dang this thing runs good. Hope to run a tank or two through it this weekend. Thanks for all the info from all the posts I've read. I might have a few questions as I run it more.

Thanks again,
Lee

 

[kyle1!]

congrates on getting the saw back up and running.

 

[rupedoggy]

Have another couple glasses of Whiskey. Then visit the Russian girl friends site.

 

[Tobystihl]

Well done, the ms460 is a good all-rounder saw!

 

[Lee192233]

congrates on getting the saw back up and running.

Thanks!

Have another couple glasses of Whiskey. Then visit the Russian girl friends site.

Don't think that's a good idea!

Well done, the ms460 is a good all-rounder saw!

Thanks! I looking forward to cutting wood with it. I think it will be a great addition to my stable.

Thanks again everyone!
Lee

 

[drf255]

Sounds like a better than normal eBay purchase story. Congrats!

Now modify that muffler. They are super choked up from the factory.

 

[Lee192233]

Sounds like a better than normal eBay purchase story. Congrats!

Now modify that muffler. They are super choked up from the factory.

Thanks! Yeah, I think I was just lucky. If I wouldn't have been able save the cylinder I would've been totally backwards in this saw. I think from now on I will do the craigslist/Facebook marketplace route. Problem is everyone is looking for one now. The Huskies sit on craigslist for months but if a Stihl comes up it's gone in an hour.

I can't believe how small the port was on the muffler! My 026 had four holes the size of the hole on this MS460. I probably tripled the area of stock. I would like to put another port on the flywheel side. Don't want to pipe it, I prefer it not to be totally obnoxious. Best way to go about this? What size ports should I cut in? Also, do you remove or modify the baffle inside the muffler?

Thanks,
Lee

 

[Wood Doctor]

I installed a duel port muffler on my 046 Mag and it loved it. Only carb adjustment I made was to open the high-end setscrew a quarter turn. It's still a heckuva saw.

 

[drf255]

Personally hate front outlets. Lots of noise with not much return.

Even on a ported saw, I leave the baffle in, but lower the floor of the opening so that the area is the same to slightly bigger than the ex port outlet.

I weld on a Flywheel side defector and occasionally wrap the PTO side OeM opening with metal after I open it. I may have a pic.

The sound is different and quieter than the front cover with enlarged opening and the performance is better.

 

[drf255]

 

[Lee192233]

View attachment 823745View attachment 823746View attachment 823747View attachment 823748View attachment 823749

That looks great. I'll have to do that to mine after it's broken in. I've been running it easy, on the fat side. I think three tanks through it and I'll do the muffler mod and start leaning her out. From what I've read 13.5k rpm is the number to look for. Is that right? I'll try to get a video on YouTube once it's running at full power.

Thanks Lee

 

[grizz55chev]

Sounds like a better than normal eBay purchase story. Congrats!

Now modify that muffler. They are super choked up from the factory.

Dual port muffler, problem solved.

 

[Lee192233]

Finally got some real time in on the old MS460. Had a couple hours so I dropped this standing dead sugar maple. Sooo much more power than the 026! I have a 24" full comp chain on her. Just got her started in the cut and let it almost pull itself through. Great afternoon in the woods avoiding football!

Thanks for all the knowledge from all of you. I think this will be my goto saw for felling and bucking most trees.

Have a great night,
Lee

 

[Lee192233]

Hey all,

I was almost done bucking up that maple when the MS460 started acting weird. I would come out of the cut and let off the throttle it would quit about every other time. Just abruptly stop. I was fiddling with the carb LA screw and finally problem was apparent, the chain stayed engaged even when idling at 2300 rpm. Took the clutch apart last night and 2 of the aftermarket clutch springs were broken. Replaced the clutch with a good used one that I had and it now idles at 2500 without the annoying rattling like she had before. Problem solved.

I also took the time to pull the muffler cover and found the piston looks really nice after 6 tanks through.

I had a question regarding RPM. I have it tuned to run about 13.4k at wide open. It still 4 strokes pretty hard. Should I go more or stay on the safe side? I'm happy with it's power right now. Another question was about my chain selection. With the 24" chisel full comp chain I couldn't pull very hard on it in that dead sugar maple. She was kicking good chips and if I let it do the work it cut plenty fast. Should I consider a skip chain for the hardwoods?

Thanks for your input,
Lee

 

[lone wolf]

Hey all,

I was almost done bucking up that maple when the MS460 started acting weird. I would come out of the cut and let off the throttle it would quit about every other time. Just abruptly stop. I was fiddling with the carb LA screw and finally problem was apparent, the chain stayed engaged even when idling at 2300 rpm. Took the clutch apart last night and 2 of the aftermarket clutch springs were broken. Replaced the clutch with a good used one that I had and it now idles at 2500 without the annoying rattling like she had before. Problem solved.

I also took the time to pull the muffler cover and found the piston looks really nice after 6 tanks through.

I had a question regarding RPM. I have it tuned to run about 13.4k at wide open. It still 4 strokes pretty hard. Should I go more or stay on the safe side? I'm happy with it's power right now. Another question was about my chain selection. With the 24" chisel full comp chain I couldn't pull very hard on it in that dead sugar maple. She was kicking good chips and if I let it do the work it cut plenty fast. Should I consider a skip chain for the hardwoods?

Thanks for your input,
Lee

Dont go higher.

 

[Lee192233]

Dont go higher.

Thanks for the input. That was my thought. It's a work saw, not a race saw after all.
Have a great day,
Lee

 

[Ozhoo]

Nothing wrong with experimenting, chains are cheap but you'll prolly find little difference with a 24" bar. Dead hardwoods can be honeymoon hard.

 

[Lee192233]

"honeymoon hard"

LMAO

 

[Lee192233]

Hey guys,

I was running the this saw again today and it worked great for the most part. I ran two and a half tanks through it today. It has one annoying problem. If I'm running it part throttle to cut a limb or snip through the final bit when bucking a log sometimes it seems to go lean and stall out. It has all new rubber parts and passed vacuum and pressure tests when I put it together. It will idle all day and runs like an animal at full throttle. The only thing I didn't do was go through the carb. I'm thinking that is the most likely culprit.

Thanks for any input,
Lee

 

[rupedoggy]

Rebuild the carb!