Stihl 291 parts . Where to order from?

[Bridgeboy]

My son has a two year old Stihl 291 that has scored the cylinder. Not having many hours on it we think it may have started as a fuel mix issue for sure. He has been using premix in quart containers since saw may sit for three months at a time.  Filled up with mix this weekend  and started to act up with second tank of mix.  Can was opened last fall and was a year old. Can premix that is about a year old cause an issue?

Where would one look for replacement parts that might be less expensive than Stihl?

Thanks,

BridgeBoy

[dougand3]

OEM Stihl parts must come from a dealer...normally must visit the shop as they don't allow online sales. I've never seen an AfterMarket 291 cylinder online. Maybe the AM hasn't tooled up to produce them yet.

[Texas-Jim]

Most premix from stihl has a two year shelf life un opened. It has a good stabilizer in gas so it probably would last that long. That being said id probably dump it. Id really check it out very well, i kinda doubt fuel is the cause of failure. The cyl and piston from stihl is 203.00 plus new seals and hoses. Lot of people don't replace those but im not risking new saw on couple seals. If you take in to dealer your looking at two hours labor plus parts, if i had to have it done in shop id buy new one. So 203 for parts and around 130 for labor your at 330 bucks if theres no other problems. saw only 499. if your comfy doing the work your lot better off but remember stihl warranties nothing a dealer doesn't do so if you break something doing the work its on you.

[Bridgeboy]

Thanks dougand3 and Texas-Jim.
He has been using Trufuel premix for his saws.  Not very many hours on saw . With the saw being almost new what other issue could have caused this failure.

Thanks,

BridgeBoy

[Texas-Jim]

Pre mix fuel will pretty much rule out a mix problem. So your left with two most common, one is an air leak either a seal or the carb boot. Second is over revving, thats usually caused by dull chain, without good sharp chain the saw rpms's go higher than its intended max. Easiest way is to look at piston, it will tell you why it failed. If your comfy doing it rebuild it, its worth the part price. Theres plenty of us can help guide you thru it. And post pics of piston if you decide to fix it. What ever caused failure you want to fix before running new engine.

[Bridgeboy]

Thanks again for your input Texas-Jim.  I have a feeling that he had a friend using his saw while he was working with an excavator clearing trees.  I believe he will want to rebuild unit as it has very few hours on it.  When he gets ready to dismantle I will post some pictures. Hoping you would see post again.

Thanks much,

BridgeBoy