MS 290 Piston Catches at the Top of Cylinder

[Craig Cassel]

 Greetings Everyone,

I'm no mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but here is my problem.

Bar oil was barely seeping out the oiler hole. I cleaned the bar, chain groove and oil seep holes on the bar. Drained and flushed the bar oil reservoir. Replaced the oil pump and work gear. The parts are after-market off of ebay. When I reassembled the oiler, the plastic elbow connector that joins the pump with the engine housing nipple would not fit flush, the oil pump inlet hole was too small I believe. Anyway, I press fit it in. Figured a little bit of force wouldn't hurt right? It was definitely a press fit, started it up and not a drop of oil seeped out of the outlet hole. Ending up damaging the elbow connector and it snapped off. Replaced it with an OEM connector and putting the old oiler back on before I repeated the same scenario with the aftermarket pump. Got it all back together and the starter rope wouldn't budge. Removed the muffler and spark plug and tried to engage the starter cord but it still wouldn't  budge. My piston stop I used was a knotted rope. I did have a piece of the rope shear off, but I thought I had it all removed.

I can engage the flywheel by hand after I removed the starter and housing, but it only rotates about 7/8 of a revolution either direction. The piston appears to be 'topping  out' at the top of the cylinder.

Does the piston sound like it is being obstructed by something in the cylinder?
Any and all help/advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Craig

[mike_belben]

Pull the plug and muffler, blow it out and look with a flashlight.  

[sawguy21]

You likely have a bit of rope caught in a port.

[Craig Cassel]

Thanks Gents. Will give it a look see.

[Guydreads]

I'd agree with Sawguy. Sounds very likely.

[ehp]

Piece of rope got cut off or you bent the rod . That does not happen much but it does happen but if you bent the rod bad it would catch at the lower rotation travel of the piston not at TDC so I'm pretty sure you got a piece of the rope in cylinder

[Craig Cassel]

Thanks Gents! It was a piece of rope that severed off and was stuck in the top of the cylinder. Pulls and starts like a charm now. The oiler seems to be working well without the bar on now. My old bar must be shot because it still doesn't get any oil on the bar and chain. I received a new STIHL 3005 000 4713 Oilomatic E bar for Christmas from my son and daughter-in-law. Problem is the distance from the tip of the saw to the chain tensioner holes measures 17-3/16" on my old bar, and the new bar measures  16-38". Also the new bar has an open end slotted hole while the old bar has an enclosed slotted hole. The box it came in shows it as an enclosed slotted hole and not an open slotted hole. Guess the store messed up. Bad thing is it is located in Bismarck, ND and I am in Nebraska. Oh well, maybe the local Stihl dealer will let me trade/trade-up for the correct one. We'll see.
Once again thanks guys. Will probably be picking your brains again soon.

[Guydreads]

Out of curiosity, is the oiler port on your bar or the groove clogged?

[Craig Cassel]

I cleaned and blew them out. Seems to be no obstructions. 

[Tacotodd]

Mechanical cleaning or chemical cleaning, or some combination. I'd try a parts washer sink or something along those lines. While in there also use a parts cleaning brush.

Be sure to soak the tip in bar oil before you attempt to get it into service. The bearings would hate you if they aren't lubed proper.

[Mad Professor]

Thanks Gents! It was a piece of rope that severed off and was stuck in the top of the cylinder. Pulls and starts like a charm now. The oiler seems to be working well without the bar on now. My old bar must be shot because it still doesn't get any oil on the bar and chain. I received a new STIHL 3005 000 4713 Oilomatic E bar for Christmas from my son and daughter-in-law. Problem is the distance from the tip of the saw to the chain tensioner holes measures 17-3/16" on my old bar, and the new bar measures  16-38". Also the new bar has an open end slotted hole while the old bar has an enclosed slotted hole. The box it came in shows it as an enclosed slotted hole and not an open slotted hole. Guess the store messed up. Bad thing is it is located in Bismarck, ND and I am in Nebraska. Oh well, maybe the local Stihl dealer will let me trade/trade-up for the correct one. We'll see.
Once again thanks guys. Will probably be picking your brains again soon.

That's the wrong bar for a MS 290.  It should be a 3003 mount bar (first 4 bar part numbers).  Besides the bar mount, the bar must have the same gauge as the chain you are running, and if equipped with a sprocket tip the bar sprocket must match the chain pitch
What is the part number from your old/original bar?

[Craig Cassel]

Part number on the bar will take some CSI specialist work. It's pretty much worn off, but I'll give it another go. Thanks.