Used Ms290

[bigbadbob]

I am going to look at a used ms290 from a local person on Friday.
He says it runs great. Here is a picture. Thinkits work $175 Canadian??
Maybe a winter project??

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

If it runs, yeah maybe. Especially if you can find a 310 or 390 piston and cylinder for it.

Welcome to AS if I haven't already welcomed you.

Jeff

 

[ciscoguy01]

Welcome dude

And yea, it's worth that all day. The bar is beat up, but that doesn't mean squat, it's just paint. The body looks to be in excellent shape. Pull the muffler off and look at the piston, pull it up and down very slow and shine a light on it. Also, look at the spark plug and see what color it's running, I'd rather see a dark black than a light brown, that way your pretty sure it's been getting enough lube, rich is good, lean sucks, IMHO. Start it up, does it take like 20 pulls? See if your air filter is clean. Just a few checks will let you know of it's past maint. and how well they maintained it. If it's halfway decent, go for it dude. If not, your better off with something else unless you want a toy to build, lol. Nice saw by the looks of it I'd say. Good luck and let us know what you find eh?

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I'd rather see a dark black than a light brown, that way your pretty sure it's been getting enough lube, rich is good, lean sucks, IMHO.

Too rich can be bad and lead to excessive wear. Myself, I'd rather see the brown.

But yeah, lean sucks.

 

[ciscoguy01]

It does?

Too rich can be bad and lead to excessive wear. Myself, I'd rather see the brown.

But yeah, lean sucks.

I always thought you were better with a richer mixture??? That's not so? I thought the leaner it was the more wear you would have. Can you explain this to the dude??? Thanks eh?

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I always thought you were better with a richer mixture??? That's not so? I thought the leaner it was the more wear you would have. Can you explain this to the dude??? Thanks eh?

You're right. Rich is better than lean. But like I said, "too" rich can be bad. I guess I was warning against a blanket statement of "rich is good." If you're coking up and running stuff severly black, you can build up those deposits and wear your piston/cylinder. Now, if you're milling, then yeah, go richer than normal, but that's because your saw is running super hard in a sustained cut for several minutes under constant load. It all depends, but one should be careful to not just run rich for the sake of running rich. Too much of anything can be a bad thing.

You weren't wrong, I just just elaborating. But I would still shy away from a black, coked up muffler.

And yes, lean still sucks!

Jeff

 

[ciscoguy01]

Black

I notice a little black soot on the inside of my 044 muffler the other day. I'd guess I should prolly lean that bugger up a little bit. It's hard getting used to running all my saws so lean after running so many of the older ones richer. I fear and I mean FEAR burning them up.

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

I notice a little black soot on the inside of my 044 muffler the other day. I'd guess I should prolly lean that bugger up a little bit. It's hard getting used to running all my saws so lean after running so many of the older ones richer. I fear and I mean FEAR burning them up.

If you're not coking and choking your screen (provided you have one) you're fine. A little soot is OK. It's a muffler. There's gonna be some. Brown might be ideal, but I'm not going to chase my saw's tuning all over the place to make sure it's brown. As long as it's not blowing too much smoke warmed up and my screen isn't gummed up, I'm good to go.

 

[bigbadbob]

So a 310, or 390 piston and jug will fit that too!! Nice to know. Im new to these reals saws, presently have a couple of homolites. I need something to keep me tinkering inside while the good woman quilts and it snows, as I work outside. I want the saw for firewood at my cabin. This site has a wealth of information on it. Thanks for all the info on my 024, have recieved the parts from Baileys and it runs like a gem.
Thanks to all glad to be here.
bob

 

[RiverRat2]

Worth it,

umpkin2: If it is as he says yes defintely, especially if there is a little life left in the chain & the bar is straight, tensioner works, and you make the checks, no cracks in the handles or tanks, no leaks from the fuel/oilcaps, is the chain oiler is working, Jazz the throttle a few times and you should see a little oil right @ the cover where the chain comes out or on the chain/bar, IF possible see if he will let you run it and cut with it a bit, does it stay runnin under load, does it re-start easy? & idle well, after it's warmed up and if it's properly tuned you should be able to restart on a short little pull on the starter


Good Luck they are decent little saws and yes the 310 or 390 will slip right in it

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

So a 310, or 390 piston and jug will fit that too!!

Yep, they're all the same lower end. Just a different bore.

 

[windthrown]

Go for it...

$175 CDN is (calc calc calc) is about $150 US. I say go for it if it starts and runs. They go for $100 broken around here. They sell more of this Stihl model saw than any other. I have one and it drives a 20 inch bar 'no problemo'. From the looks of it it is not that beat up (as Stihls go). A saggy chain does not mean anything. New chain and bar is not that much, and you can size it to what you want/need from 16 to 20 inch. Get a new plug and filter cover, and you are pretty much set to cut.

 

[Lakeside53]

If the engine needs work, it's NOT worth it... A new piston and cylinder added to your base price make it more than new. I'd pay $25-$50 for a bad one, then drop a used (but good) entire engine in it for say $80-$90

My 2c - If you want to work on a saw, buy a broken 026...

 

[wagonwheeler]

I'd buy it for the use it will give ya' not for the 'investment'/'upgrade' capability.

Piston and cylinder swap may not be difficult, but cost aside (unless you go Golf or AIP or somesuch) from what's been said here the lower end is a PITA to work on in comparison to others.

I would look at it as though you wanted to get your money back out of it with no more than filters/chains/gas/oil invested - but not any significant hard parts.

If it were a 260, 360, 440, etc... that would be very different.

Chaser

 

[bigbadbob]

Thanks for all the input. Good used saws are hard to find here, especialy if you want it for a good price !!!
Will keep you posted on the saw. If its a no go will bide my time and maybe wait for a 026, there are only positive posts about that model.opcorn:
Bob

 

[Lakeside53]

Ha... not true.. read Ben's posts on the 026 - he goes from loving it to antiquated in about a year What a difference a year makes!

 

[zzrcanuck]

Wow,my first post on this forum, hope it works!!
Our ms 290 has done a lot of firewood cutting and still runs like new,seems pretty tough. I don't care much for the buzzy handles(I'm used to silky smooth husqvarnas). I got it used from a friend,didn't really need the saw but my friend really needed the money. Good luck!

 

[Lakeside53]

Welcome to AS! post some more!

 

[zzrcanuck]

Welcome to AS! post some more!

Will do

 

[spacemule]

Ha... not true.. read Ben's posts on the 026 - he goes from loving it to antiquated in about a year What a difference a year makes!

Let's not forget about this post either--not exactly a beaming report. :hmm3grin2orange:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?p=346247&highlight=026#post346247