Tell me about your most catastrophic saw failure.

[RED-85-Z51]

Mine was an 064..did a 660 top end, stock was little M5 cylinder bolts, I was also unaware someone hadnt installed all the correct hardware..2 bolts were shorter. I noted it was exceptionally high compression but i had squish clearance all the way around...but it was snug (this, with an oem gasket). It fired off...i didnt have the top cover on. Picked it up, idling...held it out...gave her a quick rev...boom. Cylinder pushed all 4 bolts out...jug came off while running, piston shattered and shot the wrist pin across the shop.

Ordered another top end..drilled the holes and tapped m6 and used long bolts, ran great..gobs of torque, guy still runs it.

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[Patrick62]

that's pretty rough...
I have only had the occasional scored cylinder, or grenaded wrist pin...

 

[babybart]

Buying a saw off ebay in "great condition".

 

[Brufab]

Luckily my 1 saw purchase went great. Found out afterwards he is on the forum. About 5 pulls after gassing her up.

 

[MooneyPilot]

Had a small, 40cc or so, Husky break a crankshaft. It was several years old but used for disaster relief work, so it probably didn’t have over 12 or 16 weeks of actual use, but due to the infrequent use was well out of warranty.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Nothing yet, 60 years of running saws, only 4 hours today due to snow falling.

 

[Cynfawr]

Not at all the same style of failure...
Has someone send me up an ms440 several years ago. For whatever reason the clutch cover bolts were super loose.

He didn't check, I didn't check.

I spooled it up, ready to make my first cut and they vibrated right off. Nuts, clutch cover, bar and chain all departed the saw and headed towards the earth lol.

Was left hanging there with the powerhead feeling very silly.

 

[thenne1713]

Mine was an 064..did a 660 top end, stock was little M5 cylinder bolts, I was also unaware someone hadnt installed all the correct hardware..2 bolts were shorter. I noted it was exceptionally high compression but i had squish clearance all the way around...but it was snug (this, with an oem gasket). It fired off...i didnt have the top cover on. Picked it up, idling...held it out...gave her a quick rev...boom. Cylinder pushed all 4 bolts out...jug came off while running, piston shattered and shot the wrist pin across the shop.

Ordered another top end..drilled the holes and tapped m6 and used long bolts, ran great..gobs of torque, guy still runs it.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

Bought a new H570 to mill a 30" cherry a cousin had felled; finishing day 2, the saw suddenly died, and w/ backache, and dark approaching, I loaded and left; did not pickup for another 3-yrs due to back issues. Would not start, so carried back to dealer, out of warranty, low compression, dealer wanted $640 for new PC installed (I paid $660 new); I took home, pulled cylinder, found stuck rung, glued down by carbon layer so thin it looked like MAGIC MARKER, installed new ring ($12); (reused base gasket, but had new); still running great 10yrs later.

 

[VinceGU05]

wrist pin came out on a freshly rebuilt 084 at high rpm. piston in a million bits, conrod bent and cylinder totalled. expensive lesson

 

[RED-85-Z51]

wrist pin came out on a freshly rebuilt 084 at high rpm. piston in a million bits, conrod bent and cylinder totalled. expensive lesson

Had a 660 do that. I always verify mine are set...a stihl piston, stihl clips...ran 2 tanks no problem. Set it down idling to move something and...Clank. thankfully it only destroyed every single new part id installed

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[BrettS]

Rebuilt a Stihl ms260, fitted a new (china) cyl/piston, let another guy use it on the site and he comes up to me "doesn't go boss", I try to pull it over and it's stuck. I work it some and it comes free but very tight, get it home and pull the cylinder and it and the piston is scored, piston crown has pock marks all over it. I go to remove the piston pin circlips and there is none, they had vacated the piston. I bought another piston/cyl and reinstall but remove the little tag off of the end of the circlips, that cyl/piston lasted for some years until I pulled it down again.

 

[FamilyTradition]

Happy Thanksgiving! My stories aren't that interesting but I believe they still qualify. I backed over a Stihl 029 Farm Boss in the driveway. It was a really nice saw, and lesson learned the hard way. I lent my Stihl MS310 to a very good friend who straight gassed it. Lesson learned again the hard way, so now I cut for friends and family or am there to make sure the right fuel is used. Only saw I've bought new to date and it will be rebuilt eventually with a MS390 top end. Best, Max.

 

[TheTone]

Not expensive, but somewhat amusing. Take home message: when you're working on several saws at the same time, be SURE to leave a note on them telling you exactly where you left off. On this one the flywheel had been torqued, but the coil was attached, but not yet tightened.

 

[Brufab]

Happy Thanksgiving! My stories aren't that interesting but I believe they still qualify. I backed over a Stihl 029 Farm Boss in the driveway. It was a really nice saw, and lesson learned the hard way. I lent my Stihl MS310 to a very good friend who straight gassed it. Lesson learned again the hard way, so now I cut for friends and family or am there to make sure the right fuel is used. Only saw I've bought new to date and it will be rebuilt eventually with a MS390 top end. Best, Max.

Yea same goes for trailers. I would rather tow the trailer and do alil work than let anyone borrow it.

 

[Huntaholic]

Yea same goes for trailers. I would rather tow the trailer and do alil work than let anyone borrow it.

 

[Huntaholic]

Backing over a nearly new 576xp I left sitting on the dozer tracks pretty much takes the cake for me. Theres not a whole lot of salvageable parts left when 23K pounds of steel runs over a chainsaw.

 

[BrettS]

Not expensive, but somewhat amusing. Take home message: when you're working on several saws at the same time, be SURE to leave a note on them telling you exactly where you left off. On this one the flywheel had been torqued, but the coil was attached, but not yet tightened.

Yes, gotta remember to torque the flywheel nut and not start the saw without it done lest you break the flywheel key....... ask me how I know.....

 

[MrTwig2]

Tried to repair an early version Stihl 044 using chinesium parts. The crankshaft broke off in the cut, destroying the original vintage flywheel.
Later on, the 30 year old intake bellows ruptured, causing the top end to melt down.

Lessons learned: replace old rubber parts ahead of time, and never use chinesium.

 

[BobL]

Mac10-10

 

[thill]

Not sure if this qualifies, but I used to keep my saws in an enclosed trailer that I used as a shed. During the east coast "snowmageddon," a giant tree came down right across the trailer, trapping all my saws inside the crumpled trailer. After my brother in law came with a saw, we cut the tree off and got it opened. Inside was my favorite chainsaw IMPALED by a shattered tree branch. It was amazingly destroyed. Nothing else in the trailer was damaged.

My wife says the tree got it's revenge. I had to agree.