MS290 Oil Cap fell off....I'm screwed...venting

[Beer Belly]

Sounds like you give your wife too much choice in the matter

She handles the books, and we have gotten ripped off when buying used in the past

 

[Beer Belly]

Damn wrote that before reading whole
Post. Lol good on the fix sometimes it just takes another set of eyes

Yeah, but what really gets me is that I've worked this saw for 3 1/2 years, and have been battling this Oil Cap issue for at least a 2 weeks....yup, I deserve the "Idiot Reward", and all that it stands for

 

[jb6l6gc]

At least being an idiot didn't really cost you Anything just a little pride when talking to the dealer lol

 

[DUMF]

The old dog new tricks syndrome strikes again kemosobbee. Tough to follow directions with a new tool, new technique, new device.
I LOVE STIHL'S FLIPPY CAPS ( notice this in caps? ). No tool to remove cap, can be done with gloves like now in the cold, and..., and...
once you do it right, they are LOVELY. No tool needed to open caps anymore; the screw driver head would often 'hole' the older caps with use spilling oil or gas. Too bad you can't retrofit older saws with those oh so delightful tool-less caps. Have them on 2 out of 4 saws.
Did I say I love Stihl auto caps ?

 

[barmstrong2]

So, I go to Autozone to look for a compression type rubber plug.....none that will work. Next stop Lowes to see if I can get a Threaded PVC pipe with a Cap....found one that will work, also picked up some Plastic Epoxy to glue the PVC to the case. On the way home, I decide to swing by the local dealer (Newtown Power) to see if they had any ideas (never showed it to the dealer, all was done over the phone).....guy looks at it, grabs the Cap, and puts it on....I look at him and ask "What the heck did you do ?"...he said, "Sometimes they hang up, and that notch is not a broken section, it's there for the lock to seat into"....now needless to say, I feel like an idiot, but a happy idiot....sorry guys.....almost too embarrassed to write this, but I didn't want to leave anybody hangin'....probably get "that look" from the Wife when she finds out too

Tell her you fixed it and leave it at that.

 

[jrems]

The flippy caps need to be reset sometimes or they won't lock down. Glad you got it sorted. Which dealer did you go to first? Usually Kevin at bethel power knows his stuff. I have a pile of parts for that saw if you ever need anything in a pinch. I'm rebuilding a ms310 that I got from him that was junked by a homeowner. They straight gassed it. New piston and cylinder on its way ( upgrading to the ms390 cylinder ).

 

[Beer Belly]

The flippy caps need to be reset sometimes or they won't lock down. Glad you got it sorted. Which dealer did you go to first? Usually Kevin at bethel power knows his stuff. I have a pile of parts for that saw if you ever need anything in a pinch. I'm rebuilding a ms310 that I got from him that was junked by a homeowner. They straight gassed it. New piston and cylinder on its way ( upgrading to the ms390 cylinder ).

I use Newtown Power.....won't step foot in Bethel Power, I'd saw wood with a Butter Knife first

 

[jrems]

I'm new to the area. Something I should know? I was only in there 5or 6 times to get parts. The owner was very friendly. Sold me the saw for close to nothing.

 

[Beer Belly]

I'm new to the area. Something I should know? I was only in there 5or 6 times to get parts. The owner was very friendly. Sold me the saw for close to nothing.

I just have a trust issue with them.....but thats just me, everybody has their own experience. I have found that Newtown Power has been more helpful without gouging and they are a little closer to me.

 

[D8Chumley]

Tell her you fixed it and leave it at that.

Exactly what I would do! BeerBelly I was going to say I have a parts 290 I acquired and I'm going to be in Conneticut middle of May for a wedding I'd hook you up with parts if you needed them. I want to say it's in Simsbury

 

[Beer Belly]

Exactly what I would do! BeerBelly I was going to say I have a parts 290 I acquired and I'm going to be in Conneticut middle of May for a wedding I'd hook you up with parts if you needed them. I want to say it's in Simsbury

Thanks for the offer, but we're good. It seems a lot of guys have 290's for parts...whats up with that ?.....not a good sign

 

[D8Chumley]

I got one with low compression for free from a nice guy I work with. It was going to get thrown out so I grabbed it for parts for my other 290 project that I got running.

 

[woodhog73]

Thanks for the offer, but we're good. It seems a lot of guys have 290's for parts...whats up with that ?.....not a good sign

It's probably because the 290 is Stihls best seller. It's been their cash cow I guess. Unless you know the saw you want, most often if you go into a dealer and say your looking for a general purpose firewood saw they almost always suggest the 290. Sometimes that's fine as it's a good saw, but other times it may not be. Just depends on what your using it for. So for lots of reasons there are no shortages of used 290s on the market. That's great for guys who do their own repairs. I guess the 290 has been replaced by the 291.

 

[D8Chumley]

The company I work for has exclusively bought Stihl for all saws, chain and demo for pipe work, forever. They deal with the same saw shop I do, as its close to them and I just like that shop better. They are an honest Mennonite family run business. Recently we have been buying Echo chainsaws. They recommended me the CS 590 when my MS 360 tanked. Guys that use these tools in the field are way harder on equipment than I would ever be, we will see how well the Echo saws hold up. I saw one in our small tools shop that somebody blew up through neglect, and the guy that runs our shop said its way easier to rebuild the 590 than the Stihl 290

 

[Beer Belly]

The 17 Oaks are being dropped by a tree svc, I need to cut them on the ground....I know it will give my MS290 a run for the money, but it'll get-r-done. As far as used......Wife would never agree to buying a used, therefore, I'm screwed

Just my luck......I went and had the Chain professionally sharpened, had the Bar dressed, and no call about the "17 Oaks" coming down.....not a big deal, got one down in my woods, and can call my Tree guy that usually will drop a load in my back yard.

 

[woodhog73]

Just my luck......I went and had the Chain professionally sharpened, had the Bar dressed, and no call about the "17 Oaks" coming down.....not a big deal, got one down in my woods, and can call my Tree guy that usually will drop a load in my back yard.

So your saying a tree company didn't follow up with you to do work? That's strange . I work part time for a tree service I know real well for extra cash and no matter how busy the guy is he never turns down work . I know because he calls me all the time asking me to work more , but I've got a regular job too so I only work for him 2 days a week !

Why not take them down yourself and save the money ? If there in the woods and no risk of hitting a house etc, why not ? If your new at felling then that's the best way to get better at it, by doing just take your time, be careful, start with obvious easier trees, etc. if your a good feller than disregard this. I don't live in your neck of the woods or else I'd offer to help take them down for beer.

 

[Beer Belly]

So your saying a tree company didn't follow up with you to do work? That's strange . I work part time for a tree service I know real well for extra cash and no matter how busy the guy is he never turns down work . I know because he calls me all the time asking me to work more , but I've got a regular job too so I only work for him 2 days a week !

Why not take them down yourself and save the money ? If there in the woods and no risk of hitting a house etc, why not ? If your new at felling then that's the best way to get better at it, by doing just take your time, be careful, start with obvious easier trees, etc. if your a good feller than disregard this. I don't live in your neck of the woods or else I'd offer to help take them down for beer.

What happened is a guy who does tree work told my Wife (She does child care, he was dropping off his son) that he had a job taking down 17 Oaks, and if I wanted them, I can have them....this would of been my second scrounge from one of his jobs......I called him, and he said he'll be in touch....been ahile. I do have a tree service, who will drop off a load (free) if I give him a shout....might take a couple of weeks, but at least it's in my yard, all I gotta do is C/S/S. I do have one down in my woods I can play with for now I guess.