Chainsaw Repair

 The Cs8000 started out orange then went to gray then back to orange..    Steve

correct. when they returned to the orange color, they also added a lot of plastic to lighten up the chassis.
now that's not to say the whitish ones didn't have plastic parts. they were sort of an 'in betweener' where they could have either or.
the best top end for them is the one they introduced in the last couple few years. nothing has changed in the bottom end department since their introduction. still a mag case and very beefy crank and rod. they are very strong built saws.

the older top ends also run very well. and can be made to run better with little work. a muffler mod is essential on these. they will run with some bigger saws.

i like having a manual oiler. if your getting into something dirty, the extra oil will help keep the chain cleaner and sharper longer.

 I just raced the one I just got running with the new domed piston and cylinder, not muff modded yet.  It is dead even with my Dolmar 7900 and spanked a 372xp.  .  Should do real good with a muff modd and broke in.  Steve

Check out this early JD 800v version, without the brake just the handguard, that sold on ebay 10-27-13 for $700..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Big-Bad-Huge-John-Deere-800V-Gas-Chain-Saw-Excellent-Condition-Runs-Perfect-/190938093404?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT&nma=true&si=3GcTiu8ZS0QgU9fdhgYM1%252BIl0zo%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

The 8000p was the strongest of all but only made for a couple years because the EPA came knocking.

I looked through the 8000 IPL's today for a brake band and found that Echo downsized the carb on the latest model to a HDA-153 with a 15.8mm venturi.  They also changed ALL the 8000 drawings to show that same small carb?  Talk about going backwards...  I guess that means Walbro will obsolete the HDA-63, like they did with the HDA-45.  If you want a spare you better get it now.