Ganesy
New Member
Has anyone else had problems with 500i seizing up?
Stihl Ms500i Chainsaws
- Thread starter Ganesy
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Ganesy
New Member
Elevator Guy. No I am not fishing. I am a qualified small engines mechanic in Australia with 40 years experience. I have my own business. I have a Treelopping customer who owns 5 of these saws that have seized. One saw has only done 8 hours. I am just asking to see if anybody else has had the same problem.
Maybe if they had been run on straight gas but if run on proper mix have not heard of them seizing up.
Problem customer, not a problem saw.
Ganesy
New Member
The saws definitely have 2 stroke mixture at the correct ratio in them. The same fuel is used in MS661 and MS460 saws. They have not failed. He has about 50 pieces of Stihl Equipment that they use. Pruning saws, polesaws, blowers, Chainsaws and brushcutters. The business has been operating for over 30 years.
Have you pulled data off these saws? Verified customer has been running proper mix ratio? Vac/pressure test? I’ve seen a few 500i’s with scored top ends they were all hammered on by the customer. Had one with an injector failure and a few others that were just straight abused.
Ganesy
New Member
I am not a Stihl Dealer in Australia. Stihl Australia won't sell me the MDG1 DIAGNOSTIC TOOL. I have taken it to my local Stihl Dealership and they aren't sure that they can download the software from before it seized. I am going to pressure and vacuum test it tomorrow. I will be doing this with the Stihl pressure testing equipment. Stihl Australia has done a report on 2 of these saws and say that they seized from overheating. Just looking at different options.
I don`t see 500I`s used for pruning or even constant limning of tree trunks, they are a bit heavy for that kind of work, around here they are used mostly for felling and bucking both softwood and hardwood species, the cut times would be longer in duration than light snipping of small diameter limbs or trunks. Very interested to hear if there is a problematic area of concern for them.
Did those 5 saws seize up at different times on different days? Or all at once on the same day?
It sure is a strange thing to have 5 saws seize. In 5 years as a mechanic at a tree service I never had one saw seized.
It sure is a strange thing to have 5 saws seize. In 5 years as a mechanic at a tree service I never had one saw seized.
There is a thread worth reading on the other site about cutting brush with the 500I,, and scoring. Similar results,,
You beat me to it , Lol
I think piss reving a saw in brush for hours with the 500, isn’t a good , especially with no load , would think cause overheating and a to light of a oil ratio , would be a failure waiting to happen,
Is there anything in Stihl's literature about using caution in how you use those electronic tuned saws? Like going back and forth between light and heavy loads?
FWIW I run 40-1 in all my junk,, never had a failure.
50-1 just doesn’t cut it , especially in rough conditions , and a simple muffler mods , to get rid of heat is a effective way to keep the engine cooler ,
I run 40:1. Amsoil saber. My 500i I have used for brushing. Never had an issue. A friend of mine same thing. However i blip the throttle when I need to make a cut. I don’t hold it wide open constantly. I’m curious too if they are working in dusty condition. Dirt ruins bearing rather quickly if you ask me. Could be something to look at too. Also I’m wondering if they could be running the chain supper tight to prevent it from getting thrown. This usually leads to pto side bearing failure. I myself have never seen. Saw seizures even in one that is strait gassed. Usually the compression gives up befor the bearings get hot enough to seize but you never know
I went from 40:1 back to 32:1 because I run a lot of old saws so I figure give the bottom end some extra oil.
But I know a lot of people run 50:1 with no problems, even working saws hard. Maybe the 500i is more sensitive to it.
I pretty much run 32:1 in ported and my older Macs , Pioneers, and 40:1 in regular, but who likes regular when you have ported ,Lol
