Building the MS460

[MasterMech]

The time has come!

Awhile back I aquired (freebie!) a MS460 that got in a fight with an F550 and lost. The saw was barely a week old from what I understand. It's a total loss except for the cylinder, piston, crank, clutch and a few small items.

I bought another 460 from flea-bay with a toasted Piston/Cyl but with what looks to be a good chassis to build on. The plan is to carry over as many engine parts as possible, bearings, crank, piston/cyl to this saw and replace the AV buffers and clutch along with other good parts from the donor unit as well. I have new crank seals and gaskets for the build already.

I am undecided as to keep the finished product or flip it. If I decide to sell it, I wonder how much the broken fin on the donor cylinder will affect value of the finished saw vs. just doing an aftermarket cylinder? I've yet to disassemble the receiving saw so the actual condition of that cylinder is unknown. Power of the OEM Cyl vs. Aftermarket? I welcome everybody's experiences here.



The loser......


The cylinder is like new except for that damn chip.


Next step will be complete disassembly to salvage engine parts.



The willing recipient.

 

[lukem]

If it were me, I'd probably keep it depending on how much profit were to be made.

 

[ScotO]

That chip is meaningless. As for keeping/selling, you run that saw and it'll end up staying with ya! I've done many carry-over rebuilds (even re-using gaskets when possible) with great results. The OEM piston/cylinder will be fine, why not do a match-port while you have it torn down? Also a dual port muffler! Might as well, both are very easy mods to that saw! If I was closer I'd help ya with the porting, brother.

 

[smokinj]

Easy choice run it, only then will you know if your going to keep it. I had alot of saw's and the 460 is the only one NFS!

 

[ScotO]

MM I see a 'magnum' air cleaner cover on the one saw, is that the bad P/C? See if you can salvage the P/C on it, maybe a re-ring will cure it.

 

[HittinSteel]

Hopefully the OEM cylinder cleans up. Then just put a Meteor piston in and away you go!

 

[MasterMech]

Easy choice run it, only then will you know if your going to keep it. I had alot of saw's and the 460 is the only one NFS!

I have run a 460 before, on a few occasions. Dropped a 460 Rescue (Our dealership demo saw.... ) through a workbench made from 8x's and a heavy 2x top. He said he wanted it about 18" narrower than it was. That made a lot of guys in the shop ! I certainly had everybody's attention!

I don't "need" a 460 per say, not with the 034 around. Flipping the saw for a new piece of shop equipment is mighty appealing. I think I would have a harder time parting with the 034!

MM I see a 'magnum' air cleaner cover on the one saw, is that the bad P/C? See if you can salvage the P/C on it, maybe a re-ring will cure it.

Both saws are Magnums.

Hopefully the OEM cylinder cleans up. Then just put a Meteor piston in and away you go!

Got a brand-new OEM piston in the donor saw.

That chip is meaningless. As for keeping/selling, you run that saw and it'll end up staying with ya! I've done many carry-over rebuilds (even re-using gaskets when possible) with great results. The OEM piston/cylinder will be fine, why not do a match-port while you have it torn down? Also a dual port muffler! Might as well, both are very easy mods to that saw! If I was closer I'd help ya with the porting, brother.

Scotty if I keep this thing it very well may wind up being my first foray into porting. Especially if I wind up having an extra cylinder around.

 

[smokinj]

I have run a 460 before, on a few occasions. Dropped a 460 Rescue (Our dealership demo saw.... ) through a workbench made from 8x's and a heavy 2x top. He said he wanted it about 18" narrower than it was. That made a lot of guys in the shop ! I certainly had everybody's attention!

I don't "need" a 460 per say, not with the 034 around. Flipping the saw for a new piece of shop equipment is mighty appealing. I think I would have a harder time parting with the 034!



Both saws are Magnums.



Got a brand-new OEM piston in the donor saw.



Scotty if I keep this thing it very well may wind up being my first foray into porting. Especially if I wind up having an extra cylinder around.

You must be doing lot smaller tree's than me then.

 

[MasterMech]

You must be doing lot smaller tree's than me then.

Yeah, I don't get into 50"+ Oak every day. Lot's of 18-24" trunks.

 

[MasterMech]

Ok gang, I have been wrenching on the MS460 again after a long hiatus. Got the "good" crankcase stripped down and ready to split.



Pulling the flywheel, that's Stihl's flywheel puller. You could mess around making one from pressure washer/hydraulic fittings (22mm) but for less than $10 (List price too!) why bother?


This is the crankcase splitter tool. You could fabricate one of these pretty easy if your handy with a welder. I bought this one because it comes with the sleeves for pulling the crank/bearings back into the case as well. I also don't have enough welder to put something that heavy together @ home.

 

[MasterMech]

This is the flywheel side press tool. This one is well worth buying if you do this kind of work. The plates are numbered/drilled for multiple saws and make pressing the crank out of the case half a snap. Also works for pulling the crank/bearing assembly back into the case.

 

[MasterMech]

I took a pic of the chain brake mech before disassembling it. Even if you have done these saws before, it's a good idea.


There is the clutch side press setup and the case is starting to come apart.


There is a pesky dowel pin in that hole at the front of the case, if it doesn't start to separate once the rest of the case is 1/8" apart, I drive it back into the clutch side case with a drift punch.


Success!



Shop Tip! I lube the pressure screw on any puller/press I use. Saves a lot of wear & tear on the tool.



Pressing the crank out of the ignition/flywheel-side case.

Everything is in the parts washer now, ready for me to clean. Of course there will be more pictures when it goes back together!

 

[Boog]

Coming along there nice, wish I was there to help play with it too. You're just going to have to be the judge as to whether you use all OEM or not once you get everything cleaned up. But I do think the broken fin will make a difference if you sell it. If I was the buyer I would wonder what else might have been damaged during the incident that broke the fin. A for keeping it, the saws that mean the most to me in my hoard are the ones that I did the major rebuilds on. They are also the ones I figure will last the longest since they have just been rebuilt.

 

[MasterMech]

You're just going to have to be the judge as to whether you use all OEM or not once you get everything cleaned up.

I have all OEM goodies ready for it. I think I'm going to try to clean-up the "fried" cylinder regardless of whether I use it or not. I might have a solution to make the other, "new" cylinder look better.


A comparison shot of the old "fried" cylinder on the left vs. the donor jug on the right.

 

[MasterMech]

The "press arbor" that is used to install/remove the flywheel side crankshaft bearing. You could use a socket or similar to press the bearing out too. Surprisingly, many of these little tools are very inexpensive. It's the crankshaft pullers, the vac/pressure test kit , and my crankshaft seal puller that were the real $$.


Setup on the press and.... Success!


This is what I wound up with after a good dunk in the parts washer and blowing things out. I'll still wash 'em down with brake cleaner before I paint the case halves. I've never painted a saw before!

 

[DexterDay]

Nice....

If you absolutely have to get rid of it........ I have some "stuff" to trade

If your lookin for smaller Pro Saws

Keep at it MM, that's gonna be a fine machine when your done. As Scotty Overkill said, if you run it, your gonna keep it.

 

[lukem]

Coming along there nice, wish I was there to help play with it too. You're just going to have to be the judge as to whether you use all OEM or not once you get everything cleaned up. But I do think the broken fin will make a difference if you sell it. If I was the buyer I would wonder what else might have been damaged during the incident that broke the fin. A for keeping it, the saws that mean the most to me in my hoard are the ones that I did the major rebuilds on. They are also the ones I figure will last the longest since they have just been rebuilt.

I think if you were straight up with the buyer...told them what happened..and that it was repaired by a qualified mechanic with OEM parts it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[MasterMech]

Nice....

If you absolutely have to get rid of it........ I have some "stuff" to trade

If your lookin for smaller Pro Saws

Keep at it MM, that's gonna be a fine machine when your done. As Scotty Overkill said, if you run it, your gonna keep it.

I've already made up my mind this will be a "for sale" saw. Question is, how long will I keep/run it before I let it go?

I've got it in my head that I want newer, lighter, more efficient gear. That means saws with 3-digit model #'s ending in "1".

So sometime in the future, the 031, 034, and this MS460 are going to get new homes. Really hate to sell my 034 but 60cc class saws have come a long way in 25+ years.

 

[amateur cutter]

Keep the 460, it'll make the 034 look like a limb saw. A C

 

[Boog]

...............................................before I paint the case halves. I've never painted a saw before!

Wow, one thing that I've done to a saw that you haven't! You just made my day!

I bought a can of the OEM Stihl paint (pricey) to see what it was like, but I plan to take a sample of it over to Lowe's/Home Depot and have them read it with their paint machine to get a cheaper brew for the future!

 

[MasterMech]

I bought a can of the OEM Stihl paint (pricey) to see what it was like, but I plan to take a sample of it over to Loew's/Home Depot and have them read it with their paint machine to get a cheaper brew for the future!

Ford tractor gray. Tractor supply. ( I too have the Stihl OEM gray)

 

[Boog]

.................................. Question is, how long will I keep/run it before I let it go? ...................................

That's the final decision that I ended up coming to on mine...........run it this summer cleaning up from the timber sale and lowering some stumps, then send mine to a new home too before it sees any more wear/tear.

 

[loadstarken]

You can always show the buyer this thread if they have any issues with the chipped fin.

Thanks for posting this rebuild thread!

 

[Jags]

Looking good MM. I have never done a saw rebuild. I run Stihl saws and keep them away from vehicles, so I don't have to.

 

[MasterMech]

Looking good MM. I have never done a saw rebuild. I run Stihl saws and keep them away from vehicles, so I don't have to.

Unfortunately I couldn't be there to save the donor saw. I'd actually love to find another parts saw or two and see how cheap I could pull one of these animals together. Unfortunately, everything 460 = $$ and I already have "too much" into this one. Oh well. Still going to enjoy the heck outta this thing.