Chainsaw Repair

The MS290 Farmboss I worked on, or rather rebuilt today today had its clutch side crank bearing worn to the point you could hear the "roughness" for lack of a better term when just pulling the starter "rope" however....all of the ball bearings were still within the "plastic" cage. The "slop" of the worn cage of the crank shaft bearing caused the seal to leak..... causing a "lean" condition ...end result...scored piston and cylinder.
Sure, the owner of the saw was probably at fault at some point of operation of the saw causing this falure but I wonder if the crank shaft bearing cage had been made of "steel" rather than the plastic fiber, if the saw would have served the user better or better stated....longer life of the saw in GENERAL even under proper use? In my opinion.....look....I am a number "1" fan of Stihl products...especially their saws but their "quality" is lacking in the use of plastic cages in the crankshaft bearings on the 029, MS 290, MS 310 etc. saws.
You tube has several videos on Stihl's plastic crank shaft cage failures of the above named models...not just my findings.

Dave

   

No one is doubting your findings, just some pros and cons being offered which is good discussion and informational.