Stihl MS 291 burnt out after 1 hr

[west041]

I have lots of 291 parts from a seized saw . Let me what you need and I'll price it out.

Thanks a lot for the offer!

In my earlier post, I mentioned what I am looking for:

-sprocket/needle bearing 9512 933 2260
-worm gear 1133 640 7100
-oil pump 1141 640 3203
-brake band 1141 160 5400
- clutch 1121 160 2051

PM me if you're interested in parting it out.

 

[west041]

Again, if anyone can point me in the right direction as to whether I need a new clutch and sprocket based on the pics on page 19 that would be great. Just trying to start with the bare essentials right now. Also if anyone has the 291 parts I need, I'm available on this thread and PM.

 

[west041]

Update - I found a bunch of lightly used OEM clutch/brake parts on Ebay and slapped them in. I left the oil seals in the clutch end and was able to reuse the oiler hose. Put an older b&c on and tested it out in some cedar.



I even popped the chain brake on at the end to show that I know how to use it.

The 291 won't win any competitions but it should be a reliable runner. We are going to give it to my brother who just bought a house with some property. Total cost of repair was $45. A lot better than $550! Thanks to all who encouraged me to fix it and to those on the thread who gave advice. I consider this a good learning experience and hope there are no hard feelings to those on here that I butted heads with.

 

[67L36Driver]

Is everyone in agreement that the clutch springs probably got cooked and the clutch needs replacement? I've never cooked a clutch before so I don't know.

Yup, may be annealed and lost a lot of tension. Three spring for less than five bux at my local dealer.

 

[alderman]

I think the dealer ought to cover it if the manufacturer won't. He's the one who sold the saw.

 

[west041]

Yup, may be annealed and lost a lot of tension. Three spring for less than five bux at my local dealer.

I didn't know you could replace just the springs. I put a slightly used clutch in off a straight gassed 291.

 

[west041]

I think the dealer ought to cover it if the manufacturer won't. He's the one who sold the saw.

This was debated several pages back. Many commentators felt that the cooked clutch/plastic on the saw was due to operator error from either:
1. running the saw with the chain brake on
2. over revving while buried in wood with chain either stopped or moving too slow
3. cutting with dull chain

Personally I can rule out #'s 1 and 3 but I can't rule out #2. It is possible that it happened, since the saw was new to me and I was previously used to low end torquey saws such as the 041 and 038 mag.

I'm fine with whatever people want to believe. The saw is now fixed and lesson learned.

 

[Brettl]

Glad it worked out for you. Lot of good people here, I'm glad you weren't discouraged by those you butted heads with.

Sent from my VS880 using Tapatalk

 

[west041]

Glad it worked out for you. Lot of good people here, I'm glad you weren't discouraged by those you butted heads with.

Sent from my VS880 using Tapatalk

I came in with the attitude that I did nothing wrong and had nothing to learn, so I blame myself for becoming confrontational when faced with constructive criticism. Some of the comments towards me were more rude than others, but you have to have a little bit of thick skin when conversing online. No hard feelings on my end.

There are lots of great people here I've met already since returning to the forum, and I've gotten tons of help with my recent 026 problems. Happy to be part of the forum.

 

[67L36Driver]

Yup, we do rude here![emoji6]

 

[Full Chisel]

Glad you got everything straightened out. Turned out to be a good learning experience!

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I've had three MS290 saws now that have had weak clutch springs, chain turns even while at slow idle. Maybe they got hot and lost their temper or something. I usually just order a clutch. I have one ordered now, actually. I do think I'll check with my Stihl dealer and see what he charges for the springs.

 

[67L36Driver]

I've had three MS290 saws now that have had weak clutch springs, chain turns even while at slow idle. Maybe they got hot and lost their temper or something. I usually just order a clutch. I have one ordered now, actually. I do think I'll check with my Stihl dealer and see what he charges for the springs.

Three springs are much cheaper.

Changing them out is a trick performed with a chain nose pliers and an ice pick.

 

[Fubar]

This was debated several pages back. Many commentators felt that the cooked clutch/plastic on the saw was due to operator error from either:
1. running the saw with the chain brake on
2. over revving while buried in wood with chain either stopped or moving too slow
3. cutting with dull chain

Personally I can rule out #'s 1 and 3 but I can't rule out #2. It is possible that it happened, since the saw was new to me and I was previously used to low end torquey saws such as the 041 and 038 mag.

I'm fine with whatever people want to believe. The saw is now fixed and lesson learned.

here is a 4 th one , i was cutting some extra sappy pine a few weeks ago ,and it was cold as h@ll outside , the sap gummed up in the bar on my husky 440 and locked it down , now if you was cutting sappy wood could it be a possibility that sap gum could of caused the extra drag ?

 

[7sleeper]

Personally I would invest my money in another brand! You can get brand new pro saws (mag. housing, etc.) easily for the price of the Stihl plastic line! Any Dolmar 5105, 6100, Husqvarna 545, 555, Echo 590, etc. is a MUCH better buy than plastic fan

...041 take it easy man, I'm not so bad once you get to know me.

Yeah we all know your are much worse...















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[west041]

Personally I would invest my money in another brand! You can get brand new pro saws (mag. housing, etc.) easily for the price of the Stihl plastic line! Any Dolmar 5105, 6100, Husqvarna 545, 555, Echo 590, etc. is a MUCH better buy than plastic fan


7

This was my dads saw. We bought it not knowing a whole lot about the differences between homeowner grade and pro grade. I'd take a used Pro saw any day over a new 291.

The abundance of plastic located in proximity to the clutch is a design flaw, in my opinion. However, I realize that Stihl has price and weight considerations to take in to account.

 

[west041]

Also, anyone running these 291s should know that they have the worst oil delivery rate out of any saw I've ever run. And a non-adjustable oiler.

 

[7sleeper]

This was my dads saw. We bought it not knowing a whole lot about the differences between homeowner grade and pro grade. I'd take a used Pro saw any day over a new 291.

The abundance of plastic located in proximity to the clutch is a design flaw, in my opinion. However, I realize that Stihl has price and weight considerations to take in to account.

I understood that this is your dads saw. Still I would seriously consider selling it since it is working again and buy something else. F.e. a Echo 590 can be bought for around 400$ and is a slightly detuned pro saw! After correct carb tuning it is a much better saw than the 291 could ever wish it could be. Other examples were mentioned by me above that would be equivalent or MUCH better choices than what you have in hand. And let us not forget Stihl stuff always get's premium prices on the used market.

7

 

[west041]

I appreciate the advise, and agree with you. However, if I sold it I'd have to disclose the melted engine case around the clutch. That fact alone would discourage most buyers and I doubt I'd ever get more than $100-$120 out of it locally. I feel it will be a good runner for my brother's property. He doesn't burn wood so it will be just for storm cleanup and thinning. He doesn't need a performance saw, and this one has a mint piston and cylinder with zero run time on it so it should last him many years with proper care.

 

[uglydukwling]

So which are the plastic saws? Everything in the "saws for farming and landscaping" section? Are all the saws in the "saws for forestry" section metal?

I ask because I'm in the market for a replacement for my old 038 and this thread has given me one more thing to worry about.

Since I gave up heating with wood the new saw will be mainly used for cleaning up storm damage, so I thought about going down a size or 2 to get something lighter and more compact, but I don't want to go down in quality. The dealer suggested a 251, but I have most of a spool of 3/8" chain I bought for the 038, and I'd kind of like to be able to use it up. The dealer said the smallest saw that uses 3/8" chain is a 391. Now I'm wondering if I have to go still bigger to get a decent saw. I see the 391 is listed with the "saws for farm and landscaping", the same as the 291.

What are the equivalents in Husquvarna or Echo?

If Stihl is making disposable saws now, maybe I should just buy the cheapest thing I can find. If it's going to wear out before it needs a replacement chain, I don't have to worry about what chain I have in stock.