Opinions of Stihl MS280

[a. palmer jr.]

I just acquired a Stihl MS280 and have to admit I don't know a thing about them and haven't heard much about them either. I was wondering how good a saw these are. Any opinions?

 

[Roll Tide]

I've worked on a couple and wasn't a fan of them but have never ran one.

 

[pioneerguy600]

They are a saw of a different design as far as Stihl goes, the MS270 and MS280 are an oddity, they really are decent saws, the AV is quite soft and can be pulled out of place by hard yanking but if used as designed they run and cut fine. I know many people with them and overall they are really liked. They are sort of half way between the homeowner class and the PRO class saws. I have rebuilt a couple and run them for break in, they seem to rev a bit better than the cheaper homeowner 025, 029 class but are not as well constructed as the PRO line of saws.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I bought this one and basically it was just a bunch of parts, no muffler, no bar or chain, no air filter, but the guy said it would run but revved up high like it had a vacuum leak. Turned out the throttle was stuck slightly. This saw has a few small scars on the piston which I have a new one for but it has great compression and I'm kinda reluctant to change it.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

This saw is a 46mm bore but the piston won't interchange with a 290 which also is a 46mm. I checked it out, they're too different, pin placement is higher in the 280.

 

[drf255]

I had and worked on both a 270 and 280.

Nice running saws. Very smooth.

Definitely large sized for their displacement, but weight decent.

NIGHTMARE to work on. The handle is tough to get on/off because of the AV setup. Then there's the case which is half Mag and half plastic and needs to be split in half in order to get the jug off. The bottom of the mag case half acts as the bottom of the crank case.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Huh, odd the 280 is way different than the 028.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I had and worked on both a 270 and 280.

Nice running saws. Very smooth.

Definitely large sized for their displacement, but weight decent.

NIGHTMARE to work on. The handle is tough to get on/off because of the AV setup. Then there's the case which is half Mag and half plastic and needs to be split in half in order to get the jug off. The bottom of the mag case half acts as the bottom of the crank case.

I think you've solved my question of whether I should replace the piston in an already good running saw...

 

[drf255]

Yes. 100% would not touch it.

And this is coming from a guy who thinks taking everything apart and cleaning will make it run better.

I'd leave it be. Sell it when you're done with it.

And, BTW, the bearings are an odd size too, and expensive.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

If I do take it apart it will be because the compression is so low that it won't start or run right. I have a bunch of wood I'll be cutting up and I'll probably just run this one to cut it with. Eventually if it tears up I'll tear into it. You always get differing opinions on saws: I just read and article that said this saw wasn't too hard to change a piston in. They showed pictures of a guy changing one and it appeared to be like about any other saw but I could tell it was a 280 he was working on. I'll wait though, never been one to fix something that ain't broke.

 

[salvagedrover]

I’m working on one right now. I got a carcass with no carb, top covers or clutch cover for free. It looks TERRIBLE, like someone polished it with old engine oil and let it bake in the sun (I never figured out how saws look that way, owned by some people) but it runs great with some carb cleaner sprayed into the intake boot. It was free, so I bought a pretty but cooked one without a muffler on fleaBay for $90 shipped. I JUST got into tearing them apart tonight, I focused on taking the ratty-looking one apart first to get the muffler and good top end off. There is no base gasket, it’s all dirko sealant (red rtv), the cylinder is a mile long and kind of a pain to get off. The build on this saw seems to be a rudimentary 1st generation of the newer designed saws with m-tronic and carb bracketry and such, it’s just such a bad designed hodgepodge mess of a build. Also, the cylinder comes off, and the worm gear is very clearly visible, as well as the crank bearings and such, plus it has seals like on a 4-mix engine, just a really stupid, not well thought out design, much like the 2004 BMW 5-Series. What an ugly turd of a car, even the M5 for that body is hard to look at. And this is a LARGE, HEAVY saw for basically the same power as a tiny Husqvarna 50/55 rancher saw, it’s just unnecessarily complicated and large for the power output, it’s also BUTT-UGLY, I hate how this saw looks. The only cool thing about the carcass is that it has the large chain brake button in the handle instead of that 2” skinny trigger interlock thing that’s normally on STIHL saws. It looks like a neat system, but then again, it wears out the OUTSIDE of the clutch drum, as well as the clutch wearing out the inside. And when you let it go, it STOPS the chain, so everything comes to a pretty quick halt, which stresses everything out. It’s good if you’re not smart and get a lot of kickback because you don’t know how to cut with a chainsaw, but overall I think after tearing two down, I wouldn’t take a RUNNING saw for FREE if one was offered, except to resell it quick for a profit, it’s just a stupid, ugly, hard to work on saw. Also, the carb is like $100 because it’s got wires going to it, but it isn’t even an m-tronic carb, so it’s got all of the price tag, all of the complication and headaches, but none of the smooth usability the m-tronic one has. But don’t get me started on how dumb m-tronic is either. It’s just a bad saw, go rebuild a blown up MS361 or 036 PRO with a Chinese kit instead, and be MUCH happier.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Yeah, I have a saw over here that came from a lawn mower shop, he says it's mine and I say it's his. The loser gets to keep it!

 

[stihltech]

Just another saw. Diagnose before tear down. Take pictures as you take things apart.
Check the wire harness carefully. Tend to wear through. Definitely crank bearings and seals.

I modded a muffler on a 280 (NOT an 028!) Really woke it up and was fun to run.