Gave this MS440 a bit of run today, as well as a few other exercises while it's been hanging around the shop. Saw ran very well, performance expectations just reached and not exceeded. Goal here was a strong running work saw better than stock. Besides the replacement of all the lines filters boot drum and sprocket, carb and so on to get it back in shape, this is what I did. Saw came to me with light scoring on the exhaust side of piston. Cylinder was salvaged as transfer was light, cleaned up well with the Mastermind method. A Meteor piston w/caber rings was used, squish set at .023", ports were smoothed out, port matched and polished. Flywheel key reduced by .010" to advance timing just a tad bit. Muffler was port matched and a dual outlet cover installed. A HD2 air filter from HL supply with a Stihl outer cover was installed. Saw was tuned in the wood before limiter caps were re-installed.
While I'm quite sure this would seem like a conservative approach by most folks here, and it is. Air easy in, air easy out, smooth travel along the way. Something can be said though, that this simplistic approach does have its rewards. No, it won't win cookie cutting races, but then it never will cut them either. Real race here is out in the woods, where I believe this saw will hold its own(at least in these woods, this ain't the PNW). Really does not matter what I think of it, only that the owner is a happy one, that will be the true measure of success.
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