Stihl Warranty????

[CarbonHunter]

They said my mix was correct. (50:1) and it had only been mixed for 1 week. Both gallons of mixed gas that I ran through my machines were mixed right before I started work for the weekend and most of those 2 gallons went in my MS460 and my 036 pro and no issues with those saws.

My main issue is why will the old saws run fine on my fuel but a new one throws a bearing in 3 weeks. There is only slight damage to the piston and the shop didn't even remove the piston to inspect where the bearing came from.

[CarbonHunter]

What does everyone else think about running at 40:1? Besides shortening the life of a spark plug is there anything else that would be affected?  Would it bog down or clog the carb?

Up in Enumclaw JD is the guy that they said they would call for me. If I get out of work early enough today I will check in with them and see what he said.

[b23]

If it's apart still, could you post some pictures of the internals with the head off?  Two strokes can be very "telling" by how they look after you've squeaked the motor.

[wildweeds]

Stihls ain't what they used to be IMO,the newer things I've bought a saw and weedwhacker have been nothing but problematic junk.I had an old 056 Pro from the 70's that spit the bit on me a few years back and it served me quite well for over 20 years,never had a lick of problem with it in all that time and then one day it was over,carb trouble whose parts had been obsolete for years.I buy non ethanol fuel for all my two stroke and yard equipment,such as mower and edger.It's a go to thing to blame the ethanol,but sometimes I think its just a patsy for substandard parts made by the lowest bidder in a third world country.... getting ready for carb #3 on the FS90 weedwhacker even though I use the super premium gas and prep it for winter by running it dry and choking it out with fogging oil treatment,it continues to have problems every couple years.Stihl is currently on my don't buy anymore of list.

[ICEMAN]

What does everyone else think about running at 40:1? Besides shortening the life of a spark plug is there anything else that would be affected?  Would it bog down or clog the carb?

Up in Enumclaw JD is the guy that they said they would call for me. If I get out of work early enough today I will check in with them and see what he said.

We run at least 40:1 or thicker in our tools. I love the smell of extra oil fumes in the morning... Have never smoked a stihl or other small engine. 

[Gobble Doc]

It seems bogus that a small engine should fail after 2 tanks of gas, even if the gas contains some ethanol.  Does the owner's manual explicitly say to use non-ethanol gas?  I have a bunch of 2-stroke motors, including a Stihl chainsaw, and I always go to the co-op to get the non-ethanol gas for them and my outboard.  I understand that over time the ethanol causes problems.  But still, I don't buy that 2 tanks of gas should have caused a complete trashing of the new piece of equipment.  Bad news for Stihl.   I think something else broke and they are blaming the gas to get off the hook. 

[ICEMAN]

It seems bogus that a small engine should fail after 2 tanks of gas, even if the gas contains some ethanol.  Does the owner's manual explicitly say to use non-ethanol gas?  I have a bunch of 2-stroke motors, including a Stihl chainsaw, and I always go to the co-op to get the non-ethanol gas for them and my outboard.  I understand that over time the ethanol causes problems.  But still, I don't buy that 2 tanks of gas should have caused a complete trashing of the new piece of equipment.  Bad news for Stihl.   I think something else broke and they are blaming the gas to get off the hook. 

I agree. too soon of a failure with even a fresh tank of crappy gas.

[BigGoonTuna]

don't run 50/1

I can pretty well guarantee you're engine would still be running fine if you mixed 32/1 or even 40/1.  Cylinder wash was probably from too much ethanol and very little lubricant. 

that's BS, you'd never smoke an engine on 50/1 and have it live on 40/1 gas, much less within a few weeks.  using more oil and less gas actually results in a LEANER mix, and that's bad news for an engine with little adjustment(that's my bone to pick with the EPA).  you can find the tools to use on some carb adjusters online, but it's actually illegal to own them if you aren't a commercial repair shop(not really enforced though).

when i was in the repair business, you know who had the least amount of issues with bad fuel?  professional loggers and other guys that used their equipment year-round, because they were constantly cycling new fuel through them.  that's the key.  most ran 50-1 fuel too.  the big problem with ethanol is when it sits, it attracts water and then falls out of the mix.  when it's being burned up quickly, it doesn't cause many problems.

[CarbonHunter]

I can't figure out how to upload a picture from an iPhone. Maybe if someone sends me their email I can email the photos to them and they can post them.

You can't see much damage to the piston because all they did was remove the exhaust to look at the piston. I took the carb off to get a better look at the Intake but there wasn't much damage there either. They never even tried to figure out where the bearing came from.

[Gobble Doc]

I might consider writing a letter to the main corporate office and cc the local business where you got the equipment.  Explain your problem and maybe they will give you some kind of compensation.  Not much to lose.  I still don't think something like this should break after only running a couple gallons of gas. 

[270Shooter]

I know for a fact that the shop I work at has given full warranty replacements for guys that bring in stuff that has taken a lot more abuse than your blower got. It should not have siezed up like that and I think that it is possible you got a bad apple. The guys at the first shop may have screwed you though because of the report they made on it. I'd for sure have those other guys call jd and see what he says, I know the guys at the shop I work at have called him on some questionable warranty claims and unless it is obviously from lack of care we usually end up warranting it. Also, always run 50:1 in all stihl equiptment, that is the #1 issue we get with people bring in equiptment saying it won't run or doesn't have power, too much oil in their mixture.

[follow maggie]

I bought a stihl bg86 last summer and had nothing but trouble with it. It eras next to impossible to start and ran poorly when it did finally start. After two days I threw it away and bought another echo.

[CarbonHunter]

I think got the picture thing figured out.

[CarbonHunter]

Let me know what you mechanics think of the pictures.  I don't see where there is enough damage on the piston to warrant "cylinder wash down" but I'm not a mechanic. 

What about the bearing in the sparkplug? Any ideas as to where it came from?

[BigGoonTuna]

that damage doesn't look like a typical seizure at all.  it's hard to tell exactly what happened with the cylinder still on the case, but it looks to me like something got into the engine that shouldn't have.  it doesn't bear the marks of a seizure due to heat or lean mixture at all, since the piston in the exhaust port is pristine looking, and you've got scoring on the intake side.  a "normal" burnt up piston would be totally fried on the exhaust side.  perhaps a bearing let go or some foreign material got in through the carb?

i would absolutely seek a second opinion, sounds like the shop doesn't know what they're talking about.