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

[Beer Belly]

In a previous post I mentioned my Oil Cap fell off spilling Bar Oil everywhere, and so on. Now that I cleaned it all up, filled it up with Bar Oil to get it ready for a test run, the Cap won't stay on....come to find a small piece of the Casing was broken so the Cap won't lock down. So, I call the dealer to find out how much for this section of the Casing, and he said "It is very expensive, gotta basically tear down 90% of the saw"....the part is $165, and if he were to do the repair, it would be in the neighborhood of $380- $425. From looking at it, I thought it was just this one section of Casing I could replace ??. Anyhow, my next step is to go to Auto Zone to get a Rubber Plug that can be used on Oil Pans that have been stripped out, and try that....there is no way the Wife is gonna front me the $$ to get this fixed....Thank God for my ol' trusty Craftsman as a back up, I hope it doesn't let me down....working a scrounge this weekend.....17 Oaks coming down....yes, 17

 

[woodhog73]

Sorry to hear this. Was the saw dropped? The plastic they use is pretty tough stuff. Where is the crack ? In the threads ? If it just a small oil drip type of thing from the crack I wouldn't worry about it.

Perhaps someone else knows, cause I don't, but perhaps there is some type of epoxy or something made to repair this plastic? Honestly lots of folks run plastic clamshell saws , and they get dropped, beaten and abused , and the plastic shell holds up just fine.

As for repair my opinion if it's going to cost that much it's not worth it. I don't know what the new 290/291s sell for but it can't be much more than that.

 

[DougA]

The part is $100. or less on eBay but the dealer is right, it's a lot of work to replace it.
I'm wondering if this is the newer locking cap and if the old style screw cap would fit and be tight enough? Well worth a try. Other than that, epoxy piece back on but unlikely to hold too long. I'd clean it out really well and use Gorilla brand super glue. I've had good luck with it in difficult bonds.
Sorry, that really hurts.
Only other choice is sell it for parts.

 

[Beer Belly]

The piece that broke off is missing...gone. It broke right where the Cap locks down, almost like the Ear of the Cap broke that part of the Case from too much pressure....small piece, smaller than a pinky nail......the Oil Cap will not stay on because of this. If I can't find a rubber plug, I was thinking as a last ditch effort, Epoxy a very short piece of Threaded PVC and a Cap on to the case....just really p*ssed

 

[Jon1270]

That sucks. If you want help brainstorming, pictures of the damage might help.

If it comes to it, you can get the aftermarket part direct from China for about $73 shipped, and learn a whole lot about how your saw is put together.

 

[Beer Belly]

That sucks. If you want help brainstorming, pictures of the damage might help.

If it comes to it, you can get the aftermarket part direct from China for about $73 shipped, and learn a whole lot about how your saw is put together.

I'll try to get pictures up tomorrow. Just told the Wife (over the phone....I'm no idiot), she said "I don't know what you're gonna do...it's junk"....gonna make her eat those words once I / we figure out how to make this thing work on the cheap (I've got some change in my trucks Ashtray)

 

[Jon1270]

That's the way to do it. It's certainly not worth having your dealer fix it, which I think is what he was telling you anyhow. You'd be better off selling it on eBay for parts and putting the proceeds towards a good used 036.

 

[woodhog73]

You'd be better off selling it on eBay for parts and putting the proceeds towards a good used 036.

I agree with selling it on eBay but I have to say to the original poster you mentioned cutting down 17 oak trees this weekend. If your oaks are like mine ( 20 inches around or bigger and 4 stories tall or higher ) and being a very dense wood that sucks power from your saw not like cutting a poplar or pine, I'd go bigger than a 036. That's a lot of trees for one weekend and if you process that much firewood I'd say go bigger than a 60cc saw .

I'd go with a 70cc saw myself.

 

[DougA]

Let us know how it turns out. Sucks when you see posts like this and you always wonder how it gets fixed.

 

[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

 

[woodhog73]

As far as used......Wife would never agree to buying a used, therefore, I'm screwed

I should be thankful my wife ignores my chainsaws and doesn't know much about them cause if she knew how much I've spent on my saws she would think I'm nuts. But you got to keep the peace at home. Secret to a happy marriage " yes dear "

It's too bad on not considering used. I know where you can get an excellent condition husky 365 the older model that's 65cc not the newer 70cc. Saw is in excellent condition has a 24 inch bar on it and a 20 inch that comes with it. Pro saw thats well cared for and in great shape for I think he wants $300 for it. It would certainly outperform an 036 by a small margin and would be significantly faster than the 290. Just saying for the money it's a solid way to go. And you shouldn't have to go through the cracked case thing again, it's a magnesium case.

I agree the 290 will cut up your 17 oaks no problem. All I meant was if that's your typical day out cutting ( which is a lot the ground cutting is more work than just dropping them ) then I'd consider a slightly larger saw next time you are in the market for a saw. That's all. But those 290s will certainly get the job done I agree.

 

[Jon1270]

I'm still curious what the damage looks like. If it's only a piece of the protruding rim surrounding the flippy cap then it should still work. I mention this because those flippy caps can get their parts misaligned and refuse to seat until you reset them (there's even a procedure described in the owner's manual). According to the IPL the 290 uses the same flippy cap for both oil and gas, so you might swap them and see whether the oil cap will lock down the way it's supposed to. If it does, your problems are smaller than you thought.

 

[Beer Belly]

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

 

[DougA]

I officially put your name in for the ' Leading Idiot of the Day' Oscar nomination.
Glad your wife will be happy.

 

[BoilerBob]

Don't do it! Don't tell her, NOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Beer Belly]

I officially put your name in for the ' Leading Idiot of the Day' Oscar nomination.
Glad your wife will be happy.

I want my award !....I deserve it ! (lol)

 

[woodhog73]

Just more proof of why Stihl should not have tried to reinvent how a cap goes on and just stuck with regular screw on caps like the rest of the chainsaw world does. I mean why reinvent the wheel.

I like Stihl saws I really do I've got an old one from the 70s that's a garage queen. But a caps a cap geez

Glad it worked out and you found this out before you epoxy the thing you were planning on putting on it.

 

[Jon1270]

I like flippy caps most of the time, but I've had a few frustrating experiences with them. Definitely not an unalloyed win.

 

[woodhog73]

I like flippy caps most of the time, but I've had a few frustrating experiences with them. Definitely not an unalloyed win.

I can't say I have experience with them. However some guys I work with have them. They all hate them cause they break. But saws are getting thrown in and out of trucks. But they also tell me they don't like needing a tool to open a cover?? I say hey I only gently finger tighten mine and they are easy to loosen up. Tomatooo tamatoe I guess personal preference

 

[CTYank]

I was going to offer you some assistance this weekend, living not far away. No, I do NOT need any wood, but exercise would be good, for me and a couple saws. A second set of eyes (now that both of mine are fully functional) could be a plus, too. My wee polesaw could help a lot cutting up tops.
Having available saws from 25 to 75 cc, I would prefer to keep it to 2 or 3. You could PM me if interested.

 

[DougA]

I want my award !....I deserve it ! (lo

Ask and ye shall receive. Bask in the glory, it's only for one day.

 

[7acres]

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

Sorry to hear about the busted saw. I hope you devise a cheap solution. Processing 17 oak trees . You're going to get some exercise this weekend! I hope you have some help. With all that free firewood it should justify a nice new pro saw for your scrounging rig.

 

[Pyrate Dave]

I have had similar issues with the gas cap on my Stihl backpack leaf blower. I've broken one cap completely while trying to close it, and have had difficulties getting the replacement cap to snap down properly. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of having the same style of cap on both the gas and oil tanks on my new saw, but so far, so good (knocking on wood).

 

[jb6l6gc]

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

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

 

[jb6l6gc]

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