stihl 290 conversion

You'll need a new bar ,chain ,and rim sprocket .

steeltowninwv said:

My stihl 290 uses a. 325 chain 18 inch...can I convert to 3/8 and still be good...I could probably even go down to 16 inch if needed..and what all is involved?...of course chain and bar..do I need to switch sprockets to?

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Sprocket, bar, and chain must all be switched to 3/8". It's an easy swap. You only have 1 e-clip to remove to swap clutch drums/sprockets. Take advantage of this opportunity to convert to a rim sprocket instead of the factory spur sprocket. Then you can easily switch from 3/8" to .325 or vice versa whenever you want. Rim sprockets tend to last longer and are inexpensive as well. You can order the whole kit, drum, bearing, and sprocket from Stihl.

Why do you want to run 3/8" chain on a 290? IMO you're better off with .325 unless your 290 is modified and making significantly more power than stock.

I converted from a .325 18" setup to a 3/8" 20" setup, same chain on both. I did not like it one bit. Not enough saw to me. If I went to 3/8", I would keep a 16" bar on it.

I much prefer to run standard 3/8 on my 310 (and also did on my previous 290 and on the half dozen or so 026/260s I have had). I hated running .325 on any saw. If you look at the kerf (cutting width) of 3/8 vs .325 size chains, they are about the same on 3/8 as .325. .325 has more cutters per inch, but that is about it. I have compared running full chisel .325 to std. 3/8 many times on many saws, and they were basically the same for me. So I converted to all 3/8 standard B&C as I can swap the same bars and chains between 026, 310, 361, 044 and 066 saws. I have picco 3/8 on my 025. I prefer that with the narrower kerf to the fatter .325. .325 NK is not available for Stihl.

I agree that the addition of a rim drive is a nice upgrade on a 290, 310 or 390. On the 290/310/390 the brake/clutch is the same as the 360, so the rim drive to get is the one for the 360. I would use a 7 pin rim on the 290 with any length bar. I typically ran a 20 inch bar on my 290, and it ran fine (with both full skip and full comp chains). I run a 20" bar on my 310. They will not oil a 25 inch bar well enough, even with the oil pump set on high. I also updated my 290 and several later 310 saws with a European muffler modification and I trimmed the H setting tap on the carb to allow for full tuning of the saw (richen them up and open the muffler up to the original design of the Euro 290 and early year US 290 and 029 Super saws). That way the saws are not much louder, but they run a lot better and cooler. You can gain about 10% in power doing that and get the original design HP of those saws w/o stressing the saws or damaging them.