FarmerTec 660 "Kit" - What's the latest on quality?

[pgellers]

Hi all-

New forum member here from Georgia, US. I have on order a MS660 complete parts "kit" from Huztl/ Farmertec. It should be here in a few weeks I hope for building fun!

I've spent a great deal of time watching videos of the assembly process and have learned a ton and really appreciate the time and effort of those on here and others in posting those. I've read many posts here on the subject as well. I also ordered and received the crankcase tool from Matthew Olson that should help in that process!

My question...many of the videos and other sources mention various parts of the kits that seemed to have improved over the years- which is aweome. I'm just curious from those of you who have received a kit within the last 6 months or year- what parts still remain that should absolutely be replaced with OEM (or other aftermarket) to allow for better operation /longevity? Or have all the parts been improved to the point where the kit is fine as is?

Plans down the road will be to use with a 24" mill for yellow pine logs up to about 18" or so. Just occassional use, not everyday pro use.

Thanks in advance for any response with your experiences! Paul

 

[Czed]

Hi all-

New forum member here from Georgia, US. I have on order a MS660 complete parts "kit" from Huztl/ Farmertec. It should be here in a few weeks I hope for building fun!

I've spent a great deal of time watching videos of the assembly process and have learned a ton and really appreciate the time and effort of those on here and others in posting those. I've read many posts here on the subject as well. I also ordered and received the crankcase tool from Matthew Olson that should help in that process!

My question...many of the videos and other sources mention various parts of the kits that seemed to have improved over the years- which is aweome. I'm just curious from those of you who have received a kit within the last 6 months or year- what parts still remain that should absolutely be replaced with OEM (or other aftermarket) to allow for better operation /longevity? Or have all the parts been improved to the point where the kit is fine as is?

Plans down the road will be to use with a 24" mill for yellow pine logs up to about 18" or so. Just occassional use, not everyday pro use.

Thanks in advance for any response with your experiences! Paul

Welcome to the site
I have the 365/372 clones that I like.
Not a stihl guy
But @afleetcommand and @MustangMike
Have done the 660s

 

[pgellers]

Thank you Czed! I've certainly watched many videos by @afleetcommand and have read many@MustangMike posts. I'd certainly be curious to know their thoughts on the quality of items that Huztl is shiping these days.

 

[Larry B]

I put together a 660 kit. Stock top handle was junk. I put a wrap handle on it. Had to fiddle with the linkage for the choke to get it to work right. I put a Cross MMWS P&C kit on it with base gasket delete. Has decent compression. Has a gutted dual port muffler and filed key to advance timing and a max flow air filter. Got about 20 tanks of mix through it. It will flat get he job done. So far only prob was the brake handle breaking.

 

[MustangMike]

I think the quality has improved since the early kits.

My advice:

Always flush all the bearings (+ crank) w/WD-40 to flush out any grit. I like the Cross P+C kits, but think you will do fine with a OEM piston pin bearing and a Meteor piston (comes w/caber rings) would be a good idea. They are often less than $40 on ebay, and you can get an OEM piston pin bearing from your dealer for about $10, they are both cheap insurance worth the expense.

Always check squish to see if it is better with or w/o a base gasket.

A timing advance (.020-.030) off the key usually works well. If you port the cylinder (a good time to learn, and always check the bevels so you don't hang a ring) you can usually gain quite a bit.

I would shoot for the following #s if porting: Ex 97, Tr 120, In 82. I also like to add Bridge Ports to them.

Welcome to the site, good luck with your build, and keep us posted.

 

[SOS Ridgerider]

Hi all-

New forum member here from Georgia, US. I have on order a MS660 complete parts "kit" from Huztl/ Farmertec. It should be here in a few weeks I hope for building fun!

I've spent a great deal of time watching videos of the assembly process and have learned a ton and really appreciate the time and effort of those on here and others in posting those. I've read many posts here on the subject as well. I also ordered and received the crankcase tool from Matthew Olson that should help in that process!

My question...many of the videos and other sources mention various parts of the kits that seemed to have improved over the years- which is aweome. I'm just curious from those of you who have received a kit within the last 6 months or year- what parts still remain that should absolutely be replaced with OEM (or other aftermarket) to allow for better operation /longevity? Or have all the parts been improved to the point where the kit is fine as is?

Plans down the road will be to use with a 24" mill for yellow pine logs up to about 18" or so. Just occassional use, not everyday pro use.

Thanks in advance for any response with your experiences! Paul

Welcome to OPE! Glad to have you here.
You’ll find lots of info about the China saws here. Some of the guys really like them, and seem to have a lot of fun building them.
I see you bought one of Matt’s tools. He’s a member here as well. @Mattyo

 

[Czed]

Here's a lot of threads
https://opeforum.com/forums/sub-forum-for-these-rice-burner-660-builds.112/
On the kit saws

 

[MustangMike]

I will also add run good oil and mix ratio, especially if you port it. I don't think the Chinese bearings are as hard as OEM, but they seem to hold up just fine if properly lubricated.

 

[pgellers]

Thank you all for the helpful comments and feedback! I'm sure I will have more questions once I receive it and get into the build. Cheers!

 

[MustangMike]

If you want more specific advice, let us know when you get it and what you plan to do (ie port or not port, etc).

IMO, timing advance and muffler mods should be in line with the build.

 

[pgellers]

Hi all, just an update. I received the 660 parts a few weeks back and put the saw together over a two day span (maybe 8 hours), Matt's crankase tool made that bit a breeze and really most of the assembly went pretty smoothly thanks to some very helpful folks posting on YouTube. I decided not do anything out of the ordinary since this was my first build I just wanted to see if I could get a running saw. I did replace the piston wrist pin, bearing, and circlips with OEM but everything else. I did just order a HO oiler from FarmerTec and will make that switch. I feel that the majority of the parts seemed to be of very good quality and I enjoyed the process. The trickiest bit was perhaps figuring out which fastener goes where as the screws were not labelled.

I broke the saw in gently for the first 3 tanks, lots of "gentle" bucking in yellow pine...lots of cookies. 32:1 mix, After break-inI'm still running that oily mix now as I am milling with the saw. A neighbor was having a boxelder taken out and I was fortunate enough to get 4 logs out of it that are pretty stunning. They slabs are stacked and drying now.

I'm really impressed with the saw and how well it runs!

 

[P.M.P.]

This guy lol

 

[Nutball]

I noticed the kit now comes with a labeled model number tag, which used to be blank in older kits, the cylinder has the top milled to cool a little better, and they give you an old style filter (HD1?)

 

[pgellers]

Nutball, here's a couple pics of the filter that came with it...

 

[MustangMike]

Wow, that is a big change!

Wonder why they changed it, a lot of people liked those pleated filters!

 

[Nutball]

With the self oiling foam inner filter. Now it is one of those high surface area plastic air diverter things that goes under the filter.

I haven't checked nombers, but they may have filled the bottom of the intake port by the looks of it since it flattens off to a rough texture instead of continuing the angle seamlessly into the cylinder. It looks smaller and uglier too. I figured maybe the exhaust port was lower, but it was slightly higher, both the top and bottom of it.

Also, they include a paper type cylinder gasket instead of the metal one. Both about .022" thick.

 

[MustangMike]

Would be nice to see pics of the ports from the inside of the cylinder.

 

[Nutball]

I also think they thread the plug holes after plating because flakes of plating were hanging off the end of the holes. The transfer tunnels look a bit bigger.

 

[MustangMike]

I would do some port work to that cylinder and check all the bevels. Also, make sure you flush it clean.

 

[Nutball]

Thanks, this will be the first cylinder I've ported.