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

[MustangMike]

Put the piston in the bore and mark where the skirts are with a sharpie.

Make the Exhaust as wide as possible, but do not go closer than .050 to the edge of the skirt.

Check the squish before you start. If you can go w/o a base gasket, bringing the Intake to 5/8" from the bottom will be about right. I also like to make that fairly wide and fairly flat. (you want to end up with .020 of squish). If you don't have a metal lathe, you can carefully sand the bottom of the jug (don't give it a slant) or put sand paper on a piston and sand the squish band.

Make sure you carefully bevel all ports so you don't hang any rings or scrape the piston skirts.

If you port the cylinder, I would also remove the baffle from the muffler and give it a timing advance (between .020 and .030 off the key).

It will run substantially better with those mods.

 

[smokey7]

Hey @MustangMike im not sure about some of what you said about piston 5/8 inch from bottom? I would be very careful giving numbers like that especially on a aftermarket part.

 

[Nutball]

According to those numbers, a lot would have to come off the base. Not an unheard of amount, but a lot. I had another FT 660 cylinder with an intake of 90 with gasket.

 

[MustangMike]

I'm not saying to take down the base that much, but if you get the cylinder where it has .020 squish w/o a base gasket, if you lower the intake to 5/8" from the base it will be about where you want it. (80-82).

For folks w/o a degree wheel it is an easy way to do it.

Perhaps I should specify to use a Meteor or OEM piston.

Sorry about any confusion, I was not recommending taking down the base that much.

 

[MustangMike]

Clarification … sand the base if you need to for the correct squish.

To get the intake where you want it, grind the intake port (or you can even use a half round file).

 

[Nutball]

Still I think that would put the intake at like 95deg comparing to my other cylinder, but I could measure a 3rd time.

 

[Nutball]

Stock it is at 94,125,81 with base gasket, .018sq. Coming from 93,123,90 on a year old cylinder, so they did fill the intake.

 

[MustangMike]

Most of the cylinders I have checked have the intake in the low to mid 70s, and benefit (performance wise) from lowering the intake.

 

[I Know Something]

Biggest issue I've had is the chain brake handle is bent enough or out if mold enough it hits the muffler. You will have to remove material from the bottom and select areas to get it to function properly.

Porting wise. It's the unevenness of the ports. Especially the exhaust. Of how much to remove from each side.

Otherwise, it's been all good. Just the piston pin bearing is replaced. So far.

 

[Bjorn]

Hello, I have just put togheter a kit, and I replaced the cylinder to a Hyway big bore and popup piston. I used all other parts exept for one screw. It was a nice kit to put togheter and all parts fits good. Oilpump Works, and Carburator works, about 1 1/2 turn on Low and High jet. So no problem so far.

 

[Bjorn]

Hello, been running the 660 about 10 tanks. And now the big Rod bearing have give up. So I ordered a Hyway crankshaft, With one year warranty. Hope it work.

 

[stihl_head1982]

Hello, been running the 660 about 10 tanks. And now the big Rod bearing have give up. So I ordered a Hyway crankshaft, With one year warranty. Hope it work.

Can anyone comment as to whether the cranks on the FT parts kits are unreliable like this. I have a friend that may want me to build one for him. Perhaps someone can chime in on parts to replace with OEM or other fairly reliable aftermarket parts (if that is possible). I had heard the wrist pin bearings need to be replaced right off and maybe a few more things. Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[MustangMike]

What oil and what ratio, and did you flush the bearings before using it?

 

[MustangMike]

Can anyone comment as to whether the cranks on the FT parts kits are unreliable like this. I have a friend that may want me to build one for him. Perhaps someone can chime in on parts to replace with OEM or other fairly reliable aftermarket parts (if that is possible). I had heard the wrist pin bearings need to be replaced right off and maybe a few more things. Thanks in advance for the input.

I've run several of the 440 big bores and 660s (one big bore), including my ported 660 that did 8.6 Hp on the dyno. I don't have a ton of time on them, but milling is tough on a saw.

I flush all the bearings with WD-40 (they often have grit in them) and run good oil / ratio (Saber at 40:1) and have not had ANY bearing failures. (However, I ALWAYS use an OEM piston pin bearing, had one of the AM ones go bad on me, but caught it before the saw blew).

One of my friends had 2 failures using Stihl oil, I told him to use Saber at 40:1 and he has run the crap out of his current saw w/o any failures (all were 440 big bores).

I have not seen reviews of any AM cranks that did not have some problems.

 

[Bjorn]

What oil and what ratio, and did you flush the bearings before using it?[/QUOTE

I run Nordic Castrol 32:1 and I clean all bearings. The crankshaft is not totalty broke. But not tight enougt 0,2 mm Is the backlash and no scoring. Look like the bearing pins not hardened enougt. The piston pin bearing has Also a little backlash. So it Will be replaced With oem. Otherwise Im happy and its working okey.

 

[afleetcommand]

Has anyone who has had experience the the 660's kits in 2016-2018 buy one this year? Curious if a few of the typical issues from that ancient times have been rectified. To review:
1) Soft Bar Studs & Nuts
2) Less than perfect controls, trigger/choke etc. where they were soft and no consistent high idle.
3) Decomp
4) Chain brake needing to be shimmed to work well and was soft as well
5) Fuel lines soft after a year in use
6) Seals under the bar oil and fuel tank caps .. leaked new and then would swell and leak more.
7) Chain brake handle was soft and along with the linkage would get hung on the muffler.
8) Chain brake spring from kit to kit was different, some had the "hook" tangent to the side others (good ones) oriented in the middle of the spring
9) Carbs varied from kit to kit, some needed tweaking to help starts and idles..
10) Bar oil pumps varied from kit to kit...some better than others
11) The 56mm cylinders had casting flaws and plating flaws. AND the floor of the exhaust port was about .025 " low.

THOSE were the things I would solve on the kit saws I had build back then, thinking of buying a "blue kit" to do an update and curious what folks who stayed engaged have seen. If there has been no change, there is no point right? What was accurate then still is. So I'll save the money and time until there is a reason

 

[Czed]

@MustangMike
Is you're boy
On the 660s

 

[Czed]

Has anyone who has had experience the the 660's kits in 2016-2018 buy one this year? Curious if a few of the typical issues from that ancient times have been rectified. To review:
1) Soft Bar Studs & Nuts
2) Less than perfect controls, trigger/choke etc. where they were soft and no consistent high idle.
3) Decomp
4) Chain brake needing to be shimmed to work well and was soft as well
5) Fuel lines soft after a year in use
6) Seals under the bar oil and fuel tank caps .. leaked new and then would swell and leak more.
7) Chain brake handle was soft and along with the linkage would get hung on the muffler.
8) Chain brake spring from kit to kit was different, some had the "hook" tangent to the side others (good ones) oriented in the middle of the spring
9) Carbs varied from kit to kit, some needed tweaking to help starts and idles..
10) Bar oil pumps varied from kit to kit...some better than others
11) The 56mm cylinders had casting flaws and plating flaws. AND the floor of the exhaust port was about .025 " low.

THOSE were the things I would solve on the kit saws I had build back then, thinking of buying a "blue kit" to do an update and curious what folks who stayed engaged have seen. If there has been no change, there is no point right? What was accurate then still is. So I'll save the money and time until there is a reason

Did you see where they are going to introduce a 268/272 kit from farmertec?
Who knows when bug they had
61 components in the kit pics
I'm interested in the 288 kit if they ever release it.

 

[Nutball]

It seems too variable as they seem to have copies of older and newer parts. I have a kit I got from HL this year (I think), but who knows when they got it. It had a different cylinder and air filter, and maybe some other minor changes like Hyway style gaskets. I haven't put it together yet.

 

[Maintenance Chief]

3 friends and I bought saws recently, I ordered the g372xp and my friend ordered a 660, I know the color of the 372 has changed. When they all get delivered 3 of us will go over the saws for quality control.
The 036 I rebuilt this year I had a farmertech, Hyway and an OEM cylinder. Comparing all 3 side by side the Hyway looked the best of all 3. The farmertech had very restricted ports inside the cylinder and the outside had alot of the casting line unfinished, I used the Hyway and it is an excellent performing saw.