The good, the bad, and the ugly - chainsaw pistons. When is it time to change them out?

[@230e4]

Thanks Gordy, Great video! Not letting a saw warm up properly and cool down is a common issue I see folks do. Another thing to keep in mind especially with aftermarket pistons is to measure them and make sure they measure the proper tolerance for your cylinder before installing, nothing worse than replacing a piston only to find out it was too loose or tight and fails. Also check your ring gap and chamfer the edges of the piston. I can attest to the fact that with proper maintenance, good gas and oil, proper tuning, and replacing the piston and rings before failure one can get many years out of a oem cylinder. I own several with 25+ years on the original cylinders production logging. One thing I don't hear folks talk about that I have personally experienced is having debris get into the muffler of a saw then end up in the cylinder. It has made me reconsider removing the muffler screens. One was a ms361 that had gotten a piece of wood in the muffler when I pulled the saw over it seezed when I removed the muffler to check it out I was surprised to see the wood jammed between the exhaust port and piston, damaging the piston. The other was a ms461 that was in the back of a friend's pickup loaded with firewood that got rain water in it and was left to sit for a while when it was started later the crank bearings failed. I am getting ready to rebuild and port that saw now, so I would be interested in your take on a ms461 build. Something to be mindful of with mufflers and saws in pickup beds.

[@westcoastsaw1368]

All great tips thanks for chiming in 👍

[@230e4]

@@westcoastsaw1368 👍

[@ryanjoyner6853]

What kind of oil do you use?

[@230e4]

@@ryanjoyner6853 Bel-Ray H1-R

[@GuiltyofTreeson]

Great video Gordy 👏

[@timfoster7979]

Super info!

[@richardflagg3084]

Ur a natural Gordy. Love the content. The more you do the easier it gets

[@westcoastsaw1368]

Thank you Richard I am trying buddy 😁👍

[@FYMM69]

Excellent info brother. I’ve been preaching for years to anyone running 2 strokes about the importance of letting these engines warm up to avoid excessive p/c wear and cold seizures. Keep up with the informative videos.

[@edwarddarby3195]

I would definitely be keen to see a when it's time to change them out series, air filters, bars/chains, AV mounts. Other stuff that just wears out with use

[@mulishapatrol]

Gordy could you do a video when you are out falling next of how you would warm your saw up and the amount of time you'd let it idle for. Also the amount of time you'd leave in between bucking timber etc pretty well how you'd treat your saw in a general work day cheers mate.

[@HuckThis1971]

Listen to your saw. The sound will change from a cold start. I tend to have it run 30 seconds to a minute from cold and shut it down and let it heat soak for a couple of minutes. After cutting or bucking, same. 30 seconds to a minute depending on outside temp.

[@kennethbrewer2495]

I'm the guy that didnt warm up my new west coast 461 and heat seized it. It was a sharp, hungry chain on a brand new built saw. I was pressed for time to get 4 cords of softwood out and was cutting large rounds and ripping them as fast as I could. Long story short I knew better but it was cutting awesome and I had people waiting on me. The saw was toast, completely my fault. I had Gordy repair it and it gets treated properly, warm up and cool down. It has made me a lot of money and still runs strong. I never run my good falling saws in the wood yard just like I never take a firewood saw to cut timber. Great content and am anxiously awaiting more videos on when to replace wear parts, clutches, air filters, carbs etc. I am famous for running until fail then losing time getting another saw out of the truck. Most of my fails are pistons, broken skirts, hanging a ring in a port and breaking the top of piston or simply breaking a ring. Last one was a 660, broke the wrist pin out of piston and shoved it into oil tank. God bless and stay sharp.

[@elonmust7470]

Fire it up & hold it wide open. If you run enough good oil, it will never be a problem. Sound crazy, but I know of many oldtimers who run modern ported saws just like that.. strongest 046 I've ever run was treated just like that every morning. That saw would spin the clutch it had so much torque.

[@elonmust7470]

@@kennethbrewer2495 that happened from being lean, not improper usage.. Your breaking piston problems are also from lean conditions. Too much heat... I've cut tens of millions of Mbf with 92cc stihls & have only ever blown up one of them. Happened moments after grinding through the backcut after hitting something. Too much heat turned the exhaust skirt into pebbles.

[@robivlahov]

17:02 thats not chrome, thats aluminium 100%, chrome could be worn by the rings. but that part never sees a ring except on assembly, thats deposited there by the piston while its rocking, bet you could clean that off with some kerosene or diesel

[@ocsplc]

As a gunsmith, it’s ironic how in the smithing community, machining marks are to be removed, but in the power saw world, you need to keep them. Weird.

[@erikflickwir6524]

Think of them like rifling :)

[@elonmust7470]

You don't have to..

[@jimbefit3073]

Really? Can you cycle a bolt 9000 times a second? Sheesh.

[@ocsplc]

@@jimbefit3073 yes, I’m a Marine

[@spencergardner8654]

One of my favorite you tube guys is hotsaws101 he has amazing falling videos and really technical stuff and does really in depth shows of things. I really dig this stuff Gordy thanks man.

[@larrywarner9314]

Break in is crucial in a saw , I live on the northeast and we deal with cold weather and it's a good thing to let your saw warm up

[@paulrhodes482]

This is an amazing video Gordy! You explain things in a way that is so much easier to understand for us newbies. Please if you get the time make more of these instructional type videos. I appreciate all you do to take time out of your busy day to film the videos. Huge fan of everything you guys do and I will support you in any way I can. Have a Happy Thanksgiving Buddy.

[@rakersdownnz]

Yeah Gordy, great video, start the saw then put on yer gear, save 5 Hundy the easy way. Have been enjoying all the technical / felling videos with you and Jake and Antone. Youre getting much better at videos, now you have a tripod 🤭

[@christophercolt1361]

MAY AS WELL BUY A NEW SAW! REBUILD PRICES MAKE FOR THROW AWAY!!!!!!

[@Zach_R]

Great Job Gordy some real gold right here keep up the great work man!!!! Tube salad coming in clutch with the stand hopefully no agents show up to his house over it lol.

[@GuiltyofTreeson]

😂 yeah Gordy runs with a rough crowd for Sure

[@justinsullivan3718]

Awesome video Gordy. #tubesalad 😂

[@zenjon7892]

My order of operations is to start the saw first, let it warm up as I put my PPE on, then give it another minute or two before using it

[@stacyharmon5865]

Thanks for taking the time to share this, very informative. More videos on saw maintenance and saw modifications would be greatly appreciated

[@ToddAdams1234]

Good info to have about seizures and cylinders. And looking into the exhaust port is DEFINITELY the easiest thing to start with because that’s what I do. From 2-6 bolts and there you are. Having a good light source is often the hardest thing to have “handy”, but experience is a great teacher with life 😊

[@mattfleming86]

You can get a little coast hx5 for like 9 dollars and it is the perfect pocket light. Small, light, bright, and good runtime. Any man (or woman for that matter) not carrying a knife and a torch in 2022 needs to treat themselves to the 10 dollar upgrade!!! im so used to using one now that if im still within a couple minutes of the house i'll turn around to go back and get it. Id rather leave my house without pants than without knife, flashlight, and coffee.

[@johnclarke8180]

Awesome content. Thank for sharing your knowledge, we appreciate it.

[@ChrisLascari]

I don't know why this showed up in my feed bit I watched it and now I want to fix my busted old chainsaw🤷‍♂️

[@chad4132]

On the 661. Wonder if it’s possible to use a piston with higher pin and a longer rod that matches that height difference. Think there’d be less wear?

[@danmcburney3247]

Really great stuff Gordy.... you're the man !!!! 😉😁

[@brianpelton5888]

Good information

[@backwoodsraised4395]

Gordi your awesome bro! Do u want to build my new 500i for me? I got all you offer for my huskys so I had to buy a stihl to deck out but I'd like you to port it for me. Let me know?

[@drmikeyb1]

Thank you so much for your help. I'm a rookie with Stihl, got bronze working on silver. So much to learn, this video helped tremendously. It was explained perfectly. Thank you

[@jasonbobbett9234]

Awesome video keep them coming! Waiting on the carburetor tuning video

[@74stevedc]

I bought a $5 Stihl AV 034 at a yard sale. Ran for about 15 minutes after I put new mixed fuel in it before it died. Brought it to my local saw shop because I couldn't get it running, he said the rubber boot wasn't on all the way leaning it out. Bummer my good deal didn't last long. Ended up buying a used Stihl 361 from him and will rebuild the 034 with a 036 top end for the learning experience.

[@rtlm7868]

Great and informative video. Thanks for taking time to do this.

[@aubreyford9365]

Need to do one on changing over to your air filter

[@Pw2-p4x]

You solved my puzzle on what's wrong with my saw in 9 minutes. I couldn't figure it out. Cylinder surface is all shiny. Thanks so much! I'm now a subscriber.

[@JaseC80]

Great video Gordy. These kind of technical videos and how to videos are awesome content. Thankyou.

[@Horan.RealEstate]

Great Video Gordy!! Sharing your experience and knowledge with your ‘Followers’ is a great help to those of us trying to learn from other peoples’ experiences. It’s also very helpful to learn best method practices (warm up / cool down) in order to prevent premature expensive repairs and/or catastrophic damages.

[@fabzacres-blackcat]

👍💯🥩

[@BuckinBillyRaySmith]

Future KZbin star 🌟 cut from the high side 😉

[@Rhodesian_FAL]

Like the content videos from you.

[@richarddodds9326]

From what I see about aftermarket pistons I don't want them. Name brand genuine OEM parts have the correct dimensions for dependable service.

[@elijahmcgregor9193]

Grody, I live in Missouri, running saws in 95° + heat. How long should I my saw cool down?

[@westcoastsaw1368]

In that sort of heat I think running a few minutes idling wouldn’t hurt at all 👌

[@elijahmcgregor9193]

@@westcoastsaw1368 Thank you.

[@littlemechanicshop]

I dig these kinda vids.

[@darrenpierce9903]

Loved this video.great content.keep em coming 👍👍👍

[@lifeisthepittz]

Thanks Gordy!!! So many nuggets of info

[@sawmanbigtreeslayer2360]

Thank you for making this video Gordy. So much information to digest. Excellent explanation on machining marks on pistons. 😲😲

[@Ramdodge582]

Great info but what is good warm up time?

[@fabzacres-blackcat]

Cylinder hot 🥵 to the touch

[@elonmust7470]

The 1st face cut is the warmup time..

[@SteveSnowman]

Nice. Your Failure Mode Analysis ; spot-on. Thanks. BTW, Subscribed. - N Idaho -

[@turbot5672]

Right on brother well said 💪💪👍🤙🪓

[@billyb.9878]

That's the way to do it young fella. Not real long, to the point & some real good info. I'm an old man from Northern MI. Heat w /wood and running some old saws. Probably will be doing some investigating with the old 288xp, 365 special etc. Really good info about the cross hatching etc. Keep at it. Thanks.

[@jasonmcclure9335]

Excellent discussion Gordy, keep them coming.

[@JakePlisskin12]

Boring or not. I just need information on how to fix a chainsaw. Haha. On day when i can afford them i really want to buy a set of westcoast dogs and one of those racker gauges. But i need to get some proper climbing equipment. I took down a 5ft maple the other day a gen 1 ryobi battery powered chainsaw(the first one they ever made) becuase my mini mac wouldnt run as always. i used a ratchet strap to tie my self to the tree. Then took the trunk down with my dads husqvarna h350. Im about to buy a 545xp mark 2 though once i save up a little more money.

[@Wrangler98JPTJ]

When do we get a shop tour video??

[@rorynelson7548]

Have a question, was trying to clean the exhaust on my 291, accidently scratched the piston with the very end of the brush I used. How screwed am I? I did fire her up and runs like brand new. I'm taking it to a Stihl tech tomorrow to have a Compression test ran.

[@clrd4tkoff]

Great Video Gordy!! Always love to see your content! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@predatorkayuchannel7760]

Great video sharing

[@dennisyoung4631]

At 3:07 - looks like the piston of the F7. Had an air leak, rode home on the freeway. Lost power bad when I got off the freeway, then quit. No compression *at all.*

[@rickward4384]

Some dam good info right there, from an old worn out MX guy your explanations are spot on. That over heated piston also looked like a 4 corner seize starting but powered though...and screwed the whole thing lol enjoyed.

[@johndoe43]

Good video and info. Thank you

[@eriklong6390]

Very good video. Great information. Thanks!

[@mattwood9981]

Great video Gordy, thanks for sharing your knowledge. Time to tear apart a few saws. 🤔

[@crossan008]

I have a 661 I just pulled the piston on. It looked exactly like that 881. Can anything be done about that rocking? Or is it just part of the design

[@ryanmoy625]

Thank you sir well done.

[@magicone9327]

Wouldn’t the exhaust side piston scoring cause drag on up stroke then forcing the intake skirt to kick hard to the cylinder causing the intake skirt wear down

[@kevinsmallwood1718]

Great video however a few things you talked about im not agreeing with 100%. First of all i have close to 30 years as a faller and not letting a saw warm up has never been an issue for me and I have seized very few saws. The other is getting a saw super hot. Ive fell lotsa old growth back in the 80s and my saws were wide open for long periods of time. The biggest part of overheating a saw is keeping things clean. If you do you can run it wide open in a cut all day.

[@scottw.2450]

Good info, thanks. I've learned a lot from Donny too.

[@ericglaude4953]

Great info Gordy. I have my stock 461 that wears some WCS upgrades and the mods not only make the say run better it looks awesome too! I would like to see more on the 461 in the future as this piston tutorial was really helpful. I don’t think you ever have to worry about your KZbin equality, it always good.

[@dennisthemenace57]

Really good and informative video, hope you can keep them coming

[@dirtytsfarm2141]

Great vid man, thanks for taking the time to make it 👍🏻

[@RGD-Audio-Repairs]

100%.. The horizontal machining lines on the piston skirts, are there to trap oil, for lubrication.. Once they are fully worn away and no longer visible... Your seriously risking excessive friction and wear on the cylinder too...

[@larrywarner9314]

Thanks for the information gordy

[@billshiff2060]

NEVER trust anyone who tucks his ears into his HAT. WTF?

[@danielbenedict9236]

Awesome video Gordy!! I appreciate the information and knowledge that you shared. Extremely beneficial to those of us newer to the saw game. Keep up the content even if it doesn't turn out as great as you think it should.

[@nottstrees]

Very informative great video

[@StrUspeedy38racer]

For older saws like a 460, what is best piston to get since OEM is no longer available. Wiseco any good, I used to run them in my gokarts that spun to 15k

[@westcoastsaw1368]

I didn’t know they don’t offer the OEM 460

[@eastcoastozzy2884]

Great video!

[@ronniegonzales9985]

Thank you for this video gave me a lot of knowledge cuz I'm trying to learn

[@Maniacal_Saw_Works]

Cold seizure is a good one to bring up, not talked about often and definitely something to think about with the 661 and 461.

[@StobieOutdoorServices]

Great video Gordy I used to work on saws for friends and would find a lot of the same thing you talked about

[@jonathanglanville7953]

Recommendation on replacement and cylinder brand?

[@westcoastsaw1368]

OEM

[@hilltopper600]

thank goodness a chainsaw you can change cylinder and piston without tearing the whole saw down!

[@rooster3019]

We are our own worse enemy. We tend to run a bit on the lean side when a tad fat is where its at. We run crumby oil at low doses. We need to error on the side of being a bit rich instead of going for max rpm and drop some coin on the best oils at a little higher oil concentration in the mix. Might save on labor and parts.

[@rcf8367]

What’s your stated “tolerance” that you’re changing them out at?

[@betternfred]

Great tutorial Gordy. Thank you!

[@vintagesawyer6246]

👍Excellent video!

[@nateolmsted899]

Great video keep them coming

[@mfsaws8240]

Great video! I like the technical videos!

[@Balonishell]

Nice. Thanks.

[@DillonRehel]

Love the videos, doing a great job man !!

[@chrisbingaman4943]

Where do you get your replacement pistons?

[@TheFelipecarrion]

Could you tell me what preserve you used on the bench

[@joshpomponio2993]

Great vid

[@aubreyford9365]

Awesome video! Keep them coming.

[@billbezzant3033]

Invaluable!

[@dooletube]

So informative. love it !!!

[@rifleman1873]

Def like the tech videos. Thanks!!

[@noclass2gun342]

had a wrist pin needle bearing failure that generated so much heat it turned the wrist pin straw color recently. absolutely thrashed the cylinder and the piston. the piston just acted like a heat sink and soaked up all the heat that locked up bearing generated until the piston melted down. CHEAP BEARINGS ARENT CHEAP WHEN THEY COST YOU A WHOLE TOP END!

[@jimbefit3073]

Where the heck do you find a ball hone for$30??

[@billherrick3569]

excellent video

[@ScrewdriverTUNING]

MORE TECHNICAL VIDEOS 💪🏻🦾🧬

[@Macgyver-ranch]

Right front base gasket leak?

[@savethehoneybee]

very helpful, thank you

[@blade7734]

Where did you get that silvey hat.

[@gregbrown9271]

Nice job Gordy