Intro and MS250 REBUILD Q'S

[fatkerf]

First post on this forum so i'll do a real quick intro. I live in the southeast U.S. and have a small timber tract I own and manage (it has just been cut) I also work in industry to some degree on pine plantation site prep and pine tip moth research. Enough about me, not that anyone wants to hear it anyways.

Saw shop just called and my Stihl MS250 is blown, overheated and motor is finished they say. I just dumped money into a new bar, chain, filter, etc two weeks ago. It has been run hard for three years straight now and admittedly i have used ethanol 10% most of that time. Other than that I'm not sure what caused this on a saw I would've expected to run much longer. They're telling me it's cost prohibitive to have them rebuild the motor, i get that, labor ain't cheap. 

My question: Are rebuild kits available, and has anyone here had luck rebuilding stihl saw motors? Not sure when I'll have time get into the shop to talk with them, but I need to be running a saw before the weather heats up too much down here. My preference would be to buy a new saw and rebuild this one myself so i can have a backup. Fact is the CFO at my house keeps the purse strings tied tight. Any and all input you fine gentlemen may have is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[sawguy21]

Welcome! You have come to the right place. It is rebuildable but most of us would not spend the time and money on an entry level saw. You will need a few tools which are not expensive. Do you have mechanical experience?

[hms11]

The MS250 is a clamshell saw, which many consider not worth rebuilding. Depending on how you value your time, and how handy you are, that might be true.

I just did a complete rebuild on another clamshell style saw, an 039/MS390. Many people consider clamshells hard to work on, but i didn't find it bad at all.

Depending on how cooked the motor is, there are multiple levels of rebuild it could need. If it wrecked the cylinder and piston, but the bearings feel fine, I would likely go with a cylinder and piston kit myself. If the bearings got nuked too, you can buy complete Farmertech/Hutzl motors relatively cheaply and from all my reading, other than swapping out the piston circlips for OE ones they really aren't a bad option. I put a Cross piston with Caber rings in my 039 and while there isn't much time on it yet, I was impressed with the apparent quality of the piston when I had it in my hands.

While your at it, check your fuel, impulse and oil lines thoroughly. I like to work these hoses through my hands, pulling, bending and kinking the hoses to inspect for cracks or dry rot. If it does need lines, go OEM only for them, especially the fuel, aftermarket lines tend to kink. 

It's probably worth doing a muffler mod on it as well if you do decide to fix it. Most of these newer saws have horribly restricted mufflers and it makes them run much hotter, possibly part of the reason it blew up in the first place.

They aren't the same chassis, but here is my complete rebuild on another clamshell style saw so you can have a rough idea of what you might be into. https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=108672.0

That all being said, if you are using this saw in a professional/commercial situation.... It's probably going to die again "relatively" soon. @Al_Smith is a firm believer or pro saws in pro use, and this is probably a great example of "why". Now that I've torn down an 038, right after my clamshell 039, you can certainly see how the pro saws are built to be abused substantially more than the homeowner grade jobs.

[Al_Smith]

just to reiterate clam shells are just fine for their intended usage .As been stated I usually don't fool with them only if somebody can't get them running .Which usually is just a simple carb rebuild and once it was  an air filter plugged tight as a bulls behind in fly time .I just shake my head .
I have some clam shells of course everyone a freebie ,trading stock,loaners or give aways .
More times than not they take them to a dealer until they find out how much they might have to pay for the repairs then I get them . Fact I've got a half dozen they were just dropped off ,they still don't run and may never again as far as I'm concerned .Freebies are one thing but taking advantage of somebodies generosity is entirely another .