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Stihl MS250 Chainsaw HARD To Start! It Wants To Rip Your Arm Off! Let’s Dive In and Find Out Why!

Married with Small Engines

1,177,237 views

#stihl #stihlchainsaw #stihlusa #chainsawrepair #chainsaw #smallenginemechanic #nostart

Let's dig deep into this Stihl MS250 chainsaw!

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20 Comments

@r.l.7160 2 years ago

I have rarely used a chainsaw. I watched this video because it seemed interesting. This person was very engaging, knowledgeable, and interesting to watch. In the end, she placed the responsibility for not checking "the small things first" directly on her shoulders. I live in South America where it is shameful for a person to admit they did something other than perfection. I love people who are strong enough emotionally to understand that we can't all be perfect all the time. Great job, and if I had a chainsaw that needed servicing, I would hope to find someone like you to work on it.

@erdemir5641 2 years ago

"fishing around in the dark, trying to not put your tool in the wrong hole" Hahaha that was hilarious

@dougwelch7069 2 years ago

I like your no BS methodical approach to resolve the problem. Nicely done

@joncloutier9597 2 years ago

Not on you! I worked in the service field for motorcycles, lawn and garden equipment, generators, etc. What I learned and it saved me a lot of time was while I was writing up the ticket and talking to the customer was, "what did you do to try and fix it?"
9 out of 10 that was where the problem was.
Great vid. Excellent presentation. Very methodical. Just remember a lot of times is if we're not making errors, we're not learning. Thank you and keep up the great work.

@ThirdEyeThrive 2 years ago (edited)

Bad ass
Take away notes never put your tool in the wrong hole especially while fishing in the dark.

@frodrickfronkensteen9241 2 years ago

MS250 owner here. Excellent information. Thank you!

Bad arms and back here... and I'm on my second MS250. It's a good saw. I'd only add that...
the saw CAN be a real stinker to start... IF care is not taken under full choke.

Suggestions:
- Find a good video on the proper starting procedure. Doing so has delayed my meeting Jesus and reduced my profanity tirades by a factor of at least 4. That's probably what happened to my first MS250 (it died of shame as I verbally assaulted it over the years). Don't be me. Learn (early) how to properly start your MS250. So, here's what I learned...

- I've found that it's important to listen and be super-aware on the initial full-choke pulls. If you don't hear/acknowledge the priming (final) pull in full choke, and continue pulling/fail to advance to half choke, it takes ONLY ONE superfluous full-choke pull to vapor lock (or flood... not sure) your engine.
When this happens, you can cuss and pull till your arm comes off... and the saw WILL NOT start (not anytime soon anyways).

- To help avoid this, I learned to slide half of my hearing PPE up so I can LISTEN while I was pulling in full choke. I've also found that going gloveless (just on start up) helps the senses detect the very subtle priming/final pull. Listening is the main thing.

- If you lock/flood your engine in full choke, the best solution I've found is to remove the cover, air filter, winter screen, plug wire and either loosen or remove the plug, pull several times to clear, reinstall parts... and pay better attention when you are on your full-choke initial pulls.

- Bonus: treat your plug wire (on the saw) with kid gloves. Parts quality (I believe) has gone down hill as of late. Early on, my second MS250 became difficult to start, the gremlin going undiagnosed for an entire season (complete profanity relapse ensued... I was down to learning curse words in other languages by the end of winter... that poor saw). The next spring, the long-fatigued plug wire gave up the ghost and came off in my hand. Replacing it confirmed the elusive problem... frayed or fractured plug wire that chose which days it was going to close the circuit and allow starting. Moral... plug wires (on saws) are not designed for repetitive un/reinstalling. Possibly my fault, but likely a crappy plug wire.

- Lay in a supply of spare parts for a rainy day(s) and/or chintzy part failures brought on by the communist invasion and resulting decline of society, infrastructure and build quality.

Hope this helps. Good luck and be safe.

@ferencszabo3504 2 years ago

Good Lord! I've never saw a more methodical fix that the lady does! Absolutely fantastic job!

@danbentsen 2 years ago

Watching your video is a good example of why I don't loan out my chainsaw. Borrowers don't take care of equipment. I remember my neighbor telling me a story about loaning out his chainsaw out to somebody , guy returned his saw but didn't tell him he had burned raw gas in it !

@SpruceGoose-qx8zj 2 years ago

Excellent repair vid! I love that you guys keep things simple and clear without a lot of annoying music and frivolity. Thank you Erica for taking us along on this learning experience. I love working on chainsaws and have been doing it for quite a few years and I learned something today watching you troubleshoot this 250. Another job well done. Good work lady❤❤

@janking2762 2 years ago

I also have a Stihl battery saw and it always starts very easily, has no fuel issues, etc. My go to saw for firewood. My sawing technique got better as this saw does not like to be forced at all. It will do the job on its own just fine. I can carry it in the car for blowdowns on the driveway and the roads.

@baby-sharkgto4902 2 years ago

I am a 20+ year STIHL Master Whench Service Tech in the Northeast U.S. The MS250 is an amazing chainsaw, the power to weight ratio is amazing. HOWEVER they have more pull resistance than any other saw in the line up. It will start in the same amount of pulls as any BUT you have to pull it like you are mad at it. I had a meeting with all of our counter guys and made sure that they pass that info onto the unsuspecting customer who is purchasing the saw. We have had hundreds of these come back for hard starting, meanwhile there is literally nothing wrong with them per se other than the customers not pulling hard enough. I own a MS250 and I love it. It’s my go to, my favorite.

@rossk4864 2 years ago

I have a 42-year-old, Stihl 028 Super that I first used for commercial timber thinning, running it very hard for 10 hours a day, seven days a week, for three years. It is now relegated to brush clearing around my property and other light duty. It has never had a rebuild, but occasionally becomes hard starting. A simple, quick carburetor clean and overhaul has always solved the problem and makes it run like new. New to your channel and this was very informative, especially pressure testing the fuel system, which I didn't know about.

@paulveenings6861 2 years ago

My MS250 is a great little saw. It’s the first saw I grab when I need to do a quick cutting job.
Thank you for showing us through the trouble shooting process. I’ll remember it when its needed🙂

@barnhooty2956 2 years ago

I'm 82 years old and had to give my 14 year old MS250 to my 32 year old grandson. The saw was hard to pull from day one but I lived with it till last year. No problem starting...just hard to pull (no decompression valve) which is a common complaint with the MS 250 when looking around the net.
Replaced it with a MS250 C-BC Z/18" bar easy start system. Now its a pleasure to use.

@sammason666 2 years ago

Good advice right there "try not to put your tool in the wrong hole"

@TheWhateverContent 1 year ago

As a mechanic with over 10 years experience I'm here to remind you to ALWAYS start with the basics.

@asw19B100 2 years ago

Like how neat your shop is, how professional and knowledgeable you are, and how well you narrate and edit. And you look beautiful with your hair down, a nice touch at the end of the video.

@craigg.2546 2 years ago

I have run mine wide open since I got it. Never failed to start once!
About 8 yrs old.
Never changed the plug. Use only Stihl mix period.
Have changed the rope once. Been throught 10+ chains.
Fine saw for me. But I only cutup trees that have been blown down. Lot of that here. Cuts them up great!😊

@leakanakaris9382 2 years ago

Thank you for being a female doing this video. I’m try very hard to do everything I can since my husbands works a lot . I try to take care of the yard . I just appreciate a woman doing this video (and I’m thankful for all of the hard work real men out there )!

@Smalltechguy 2 years ago

When you had taken the saw out without the bar and chain, you can hear the drag on the throttle response. I always hit the carb first when I see ready mix fuel. As for the special tool for the piston, use a pull rope this way your not messing around with a flashlight. You are spot on talking about the compression on that saw. It will rip your arm off if you don't find the sweet spot.