Stihl ms250-hard to pull start rope

[Wood Doctor]

I sold a vintage Stihl 025 to a lady who operates a poultry farm. It has good compression and I service it for her. She starts it by herself and loves the saw. She sells good brown eggs and says, "I have a Husky 450 but that vintage Stihl 025 is my go-to saw."

 

[Okie]

How does it act if you warm up the saw, dump all the gas out of the tank, start it up and let it set and idle until it burns all the fuel, choke it and let it burn more fuel with choke on.
Then test the crank force while warm and then again while cool. This will eliminate fuel hydro-lock theory.
You say it's got worse and getting worse. I'm inclined to agree with Harley that most likely it's carbon building up. You can get a bore inspection thingy that works with your cell phone or buy and complete inspection camera (colonoscopy scope) now days very reasonable (less than $50 and go into the spark plug hole or run the piston down and take a peek through the ex port.. You can even do your own colonoscopy. (so I've heard) Some people do not even need a scope to check themselves because their head goes there easily, but that is another subject.

I've got a 250 (and see lots of hard crank complaints about the 250 series) and from time it was new it never has pulled as easy as my other Stihl saws such as 028's and 034's. Have to get tough and manly with it, bring it up on compression stroke slow then pull through with force.

But a guy gave me one that pulled hard and would actually lock up and then pull through very hard and start and run but just did not sound right. When I pulled the spark plug And the flywheel side cover plate and turn it over by hand I could feel a lock-up, reverse the direction of the flywheel and would make rev or two and get tight or snug again. Long story short the crankshaft roller bearing plastic separators were broken and the bearing would start sliding instead of rolling.

Here is a link where I worked on the saw and replaced the crank bearing with the steel type. (with help from forum members here)
Saw worked great afterwards but it being a 250 does not crank as easily as my other Stilhl's, just the nature of the 250. (lots of felt compression on the pull rope)

https://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/ms250-need-expert-advice.319343/#post-6533110

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I have a couple of things to do tomorrow but if I get them done I'll pull out my 025 which hasn't been started for several months and see if I can start it. Oops, I guess it's an MS250.

 

[Honyuk96]

Try a “D” shaped handle on that saw, they help. My BIL recently got a new 250. He’s 6’ and 200#. 45 YO and i almost always have to start his saw for him.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

Okay, I got my little job done and remembered to start the 250. The saw has sat for well over a year with no fuel in it. I gassed it up, put the choke on and pulled it about 6 or 7 times, decided it wasn't gonna fire so changed the (wet) spark plug. I pulled on it a few more times and decided it was flooded so I turned the choke off and pulled it 7 or 8 more times and it started. I adjusted the H a little more rich for throttle response and the L a little leaner so it would idle smoothly. Saw wasn't any harder to pull start than any of my other saws except one worn out Homelite XL or a few with compression release. Like said, I'm 78 and not exactly a fitness guru...
I didn't check the compression but I can tell you it is substantial..

 

[Wood Doctor]

Okay, I got my little job done and remembered to start the 250. The saw has sat for well over a year with no fuel in it. I gassed it up, put the choke on and pulled it about 6 or 7 times, decided it wasn't gonna fire so changed the (wet) spark plug. I pulled on it a few more times and decided it was flooded so I turned the choke off and pulled it 7 or 8 more times and it started. I adjusted the H a little more rich for throttle response and the L a little leaner so it would idle smoothly. Saw wasn't any harder to pull start than any of my other saws except one worn out Homelite XL or a few with compression release. Like said, I'm 78 and not exactly a fitness guru...
I didn't check the compression but I can tell you it is substantial..

These saws have carbs that tend to flood the engine rapidly. My 251c does the same thing. It will sometimes flood in three choke pulls. I've tried a few carb settings to correct it, but I still have to be careful. This one has the spring assist that makes it easier to crank (and easier to flood). The decomp valve will often fail to pop up as a signal that it's firing on choke pulls -- just a few of my observations.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I'm pretty sure my 250 doesn't have the original carb. I've changed just about everything on the saw, actually I think I started with just the engine cradle and added to it until I got a running chainsaw. Probably has an ebay China carb on it, but yes, it does flood easily...

 

[JayPopple]

What do you mean by "wore out"?
Not trying to fight, but am trying to picture what you mean.

The pin that supports the rope pulley wears and the bore of the pulley wears. Some saws have a bushing in the pulley and that may wear. When the assembly comes under load when you pull the rope it cocks in the fixture that holds it in place and binds up. As others have pointed out the pulley could be broken too or perhaps warped. My suggestion is to remove the starter assembly spray it with a silicone lubricant reassemble and try to pull it over. If it pulls over easier then you know the starter assembly is wore out. Then you can repair or replace what ever is your best option. Good luck.

 

[JayPopple]

Please let me know what you did and what you found out.

 

[osteoart]

Well I was hoping to find a blown seal or bearing separator or something I could fix to make my saw easier to pull. Alas, everything seems copacetic. I removed the rope/starter/recoil mechanism and the only drag I can feel is when the magnet on the flywheel passes under the coil. I even took the flywheel off and removed about a cup of greasy gunk from under it. Left handed bent over rowing exercises with 50-60 lb dumbbell should help. 3-4 sets every other day for a few months should help

A buddy of mine has a ms250 that is hard to pull. I can drop start it if I hold the throttle open while dropping it, of course with the chain brake engaged.
What worked for him was a 2 x 4 board placed through the handle to step on with the saw on the ground. By the way I have an old 1980's 025 that is lots easier to start. Do not know what was changed.

 

[cookies]

I have a couple of things to do tomorrow but if I get them done I'll pull out my 025 which hasn't been started for several months and see if I can start it. Oops, I guess it's an MS250.View attachment 929254

how do those stens silver streak bars hold up? I second the use of D handles on saws that fight back during starting, they just make it easier and are less likely to pull through your fingers hurting you. I have a feeling the recoil pulley is undersized on these saws after seeing so many complaints.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

how do those stens silver streak bars hold up? I second the use of D handles on saws that fight back during starting, they just make it easier and are less likely to pull through your fingers hurting you. I have a feeling the recoil pulley is undersized on these saws after seeing so many complaints.

I really haven't used the saw enough to know how the Stens bars hold up. When I was putting the saw together I had that one laying around so I just put a 3/8 LP chain on it and found that it cuts very well! I think the saw came with a .325 bar and chain.

 

[HarleyT]

I never understood why Oregon sold the "Silver Streak" name.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I never understood why Oregon sold the "Silver Streak" name.

I don't know, I have a buddy that sells Stens products and I guess that's where the bar came from. I'll take a close look at it and see if it says Stens on it somewhere, or maybe Oregon...

 

[HarleyT]

I don't know, I have a buddy that sells Stens products and I guess that's where the bar came from. I'll take a close look at it and see if it says Stens on it somewhere, or maybe Oregon...

No, Stens bought the name a long time back. Oregon took the name/company when they expanded to lawn mower parts long long ago. part numbers under silver streak carried over to Oregon's

 

[a. palmer jr.]

No, Stens bought the name a long time back. Oregon took the name/company when they expanded to lawn mower parts long long ago. part numbers under silver streak carried over to Oregon's

So, who actually made the bar, was it Oregon?

 

[a. palmer jr.]

So, who actually made the bar, was it Oregon?

The 250 of mine also has a fake primer bulb on it. It's not hooked up to anything because the carb is not equipped for one.

 

[HarleyT]

Not sure about the bar, Stens put them out @ the same time as they sold TriLink chain as SilverStreak, but I don't know. That was like 10 years or so ago.

 

[JayPopple]

I've got an old Stihl ms250 that has gradually gotten about impossible to start. I just broke the second pull rope out of it--it feels like it's got too much compression. Once started it runs and cuts great. I took the muffler off and looked at the piston, it doesn't appear to have much carbon built up on it. Anybody got any ideas what the problem could be??

I believe your starter assembly is wore out. Remove it Spray it with a silicone lubricant replace it and see if that makes a difference.If that is the case then replace it or rebuild what ever the case may be. Then please let me know how that works out for you.

 

[JayPopple]

So it was hard to pull with the plug out?

If you were hydro locked then when you removed the spark plug and pulled the saw over you would get liquid spraying out of the spark plug hole. I doubt if that happened.