We ran a Husqvarna distributor van in the late 70’s to early 80’s in Upper Midwest States. We would personally take the Dremel to every new saw we sold. We would just clean em up to be forever saws. We made hot saws to race everywhere. We were Scooter Enterprises at the time. All the money we made from saws we put into our race motorcycles 🏍. We had bikes on the track at Daytona.
Lots of love for them Meteor pistons and their topend kits too!!! They are just like the OEM part…there might be a tad bit of difference in some of those shapes and sizes but they are the closest to OEM and they just require a little bit of love and they are ready for a lifetime of service!!! That’s what I put in my work saw’s… 👍❤️🇺🇸🤘🔥🥩
The variations in combustion chamber were very interesting to see. I’ve been very happy with porting Hyway although there does seem to be a more noticeable brittle aspect to their plating compared with OEM. Thanks for taking the time to make this - good solid observations and information.
I run a crane in a scrap yard. I also heat my house with wood. All of my saws were pulled out of the scrap pile. I love working on saws. Guess what showed up yesterday... husky 372xp! I haven't had time to look at it yet, but I'm thinking of porting a big bore kit. I can't friggin wait.
Thanks for the honest review. Its been years since I used a Hyway because of how bad the last one was. Poor casting and port shape etc. Looks like they are much different today.
Get you a roll of the 6’x300’ of the filter fabric and scrap and grade then spread your old material then top dress with your new… it’ll keep it from sinking into your soils and being a mess… I wasn’t big on the filter fabric until I really built some larger stone driveways and patios… you gotta have it… at one place we welded up a wedge with three panels of expanded metal sheet so we could reclaim their 20 years of stone… then graded it with good drainage then the material layer then the stone and then the top dress of stone… compaction between your laying is key to making a solid grade that will stay there for quite a while…. If you just dump your stone over a clay or sand base then it’ll just continue to sink over time…. 👍😁
Thanks for the comparison, bought a Farmertec once, open the box and found it in the same condition. Put in on the shelve it is still there 3 years later. I like the Hyway, rebuilt quite a few saws, always had good luck with those kits.
Thank you Tinman for pointing out the various after market characteristics. Nice to know what to look for when rebuilding a saw. Budget is important but most of the time you get what you pay for and the saw will run for some time either way. Hyway definitely looks like a solid mid price range high quality brand. That's where I'm going for my saws going forward. Now having said that... I put a $56 complete top end on my 55 husky and it has been cutting 20 to 30 cords for the last three years without issue🤞. Maybe just got lucky. But it will be Hyway next time, for sure. Thanks again, all the best to you, the Mrs. and baby. Take care Tinman, Mahalo 🤙🤙🤙
I used the Meteor kit when I built my 288, I hogged the lower transfers, deleted the base gasket (gotta trim the carb support plate if you go that route), raised the exhaust to 100*, plugged the decomp…. It’s hard on starter ropes but it pulls a 30” full comp chisel with authority…. 288’s make a lot of compression, with that hiway kit you’ll likely be north of 220psi with a gasket delete…. If you want to go nuts grab an 066 piston and machine a pop up out of it but you’ll NEED a decomp… think you’ll need the 066 wrist pin and bearing too. Now the 365xp I built got a 372xp Warhawk top end, needed tons of hogging in the transfers and intake/exh, the wrist pin was tight, there was still circular casting marks in the combustion chamber from casting, needed to grind the burrs out of the upper transfer ports…. But I wouldn’t expect anything less than that on a $60 top end.
I have a ms660 kit saw from farmertec. I didn’t touch anything in it and just put everything together as it came. I’m really curious to see how long it runs before it blows and see what fails first. I just do firewood, so it might take a while! Putting together a ms440 kit this year and using a hyway top end and stihl bearings. I like the farmertec stuff so far. Makes power affordable for someone who doesn’t use a chainsaw for a living.
I also built an ms440 kit. Stock farmertec cylinder chrome failed at about 12 hours. Replaced with out of the box hiway top end. Very noticeable power difference ) increase). About 45 hours stabbing. Runs strong.
My farmertec 660 blew up a couple weeks ago. The circlip came out on the flywheel side. Bottom end looks like it’s in good shape and I have a hyway top end for it. Trying to decide if i should split the cases and put stihl/skf bearings in it, or keep running the farmertec bearings.
To be vulgar the farmtech is hammered dogshit, although the worst cylinder head that I've ever gotten for a chainsaw was from Italy. I was pretty cruel in porting it, it's on my 268xp and holy hell that thing rips!!!
Your 281 jug is a super peach!!! That’s a real testament to the husky quality…25 years worth of opti-2!!! That’s a freaking beautiful cylinder and piston!!! Just beautiful!!! There’s a ton of life left in that cylinder!!! With the $50 dollar meteor piston kit!!! Great video buddy!!!
Another great video post, I respect your opinions. I been busy cuttin and chopping lately since winter set in. I been utilizing my 3.5' Manual crosscut giving my Homelite SuperXL a break. Getting alot quicker cutting through logs without stopping for breaks. My uncle rebuilt my saw and he did an awesome job. I gave him my MS250 and now im considering on getting a Husky460 but not too sure👍👍
As for Farmertech, I have used several, and a few other un-branded China cylinders, with mostly good results..I am sure the supplied piston rings are fine, but I almost always use a Caber ring instead, unless it is a kit for a lower-end consumer saw like a Husqvarna 440, 445, etc....as for the pin circlips, I ALWAYS use the ones supplied with the kit..same with the piston pin..some guys like to use OEM circlips in them, but I have found that the grooves in the piston are machined for the supplied clips, and often the OEM ones do not fit correctly..sometimes too loose, sometimes too thick or thin..I'm afraid the OEM ones will come out like that, so I'd rather take my chances with the supplied ones..yes, the China cylinders are definitely hit and miss..sometimes they are machined very well, other times there are quite a few flaws, and they have to be cleaned up..OEM and Meteor kits are better for sure, but I have found most cheap cylinder failures have been because someone had, say, a Husky 51 or 55(very common ones) that toasted a top end, and the owner threw a new China top end on it without finding the air leak that caused the cylinder failure to begin with..and surprise, surprise, it doesn't last long..but the "cheap cylinder" gets blamed... :)
I built for my father a Husky 51, I bought it with a toasted OEM top end, I fitted a new Farmertech 55 cyl/piston. The plating looked good as did the porting, piston looked good too. He is still using it many many years later.
@@MegaDirtyberty ..yes, you really got lucky, then..usually, there is an underlying cause of the initial failure, and when lay-folks just replace the bad parts, the underlying cause re-surfaces, and presto-you have the same failure again...
@@dyer2cycle I wasn't expecting much but the p/c looked top notch, ports also measured to be in the same places as the OEM p/c, was surprised from Farmertech.
YES, YES!..very true about an underlying cause...read my comment again..I mentioned this..I've been doing this for 30+ years, so it wasn't my first rodeo...all too many times, a lay person just buys a Farmertec kit online, installs it, and calls it good..then when it blows again after a few tankfuls, he blames it on the Farmertec kit, because he didn't identify and fix the underlying cause for the initial failure...
thanks Tinman. i will shortly be in the market for a 288 piston, after seeing this i know the Hyway fits with my wants. edit. if i can find one for sale seperately in australia. hopefully it gives a nice tight deck height in an oem cylinder. loving all the 288 content.
Very big difference between the different brands. It clearly shows that spending a bit more money is well worth it in the end for performance and longer life.
..and I agree 100% with your assessment that Farmertec would not be the way to go if you are going to spend hours porting it to make more power..just clean them up a bit and use them on stock bread-and-butter saws.. :)
Tinman thank you great video on the quality or lack of in some cases. I have a little MS171 that the flywheel key shered as result of my bad on the impact trigger. Anyway I was thinking to make a steel one and cut a groove in it for the steel key. I know the flywheels are around but I been fixing mechanical stuff all my life and like to take the challenge. Thanks for the great content. Cheers to you Friend Bill
I think another aspect is longevity. Alloys and the base materials make a huge difference in how long something is going to last. Homeowner using a saw 3 times a year to clear storm damage is different from a logger using a saw every day for 8 hrs a day.
Aluminum and all its diffrent alloys just as well be apples to oranges, I build towers and marine fabrication, no 2 grades of aluminum are alike , especially as far as expansion due to heat and cold
Excellent sir! My wife is always excited to hear what TinMan taught her husband, sometimes... I find you're best watched around 1.75 speed with my trigger finger on the pause button. Why? Cause I need more exposure to your wisdom, and I don't have that much time. The cutaways are excellent as well. THANK YOU! -- Retired software engineer. -- North Central Florida -- 12.19.2022
You have to really check the circlip grooves. Sometimes they arent real deep or have bits of crud in them. I like to clean them out and make them deeper.
i think considering the farmtec is a hundred minimum less, i would try one, chamfer it out and clean it up.. I have a farmtec 070 that has been amazing for almost two years now and it is used pretty heavily on a chainsawmill. it has needed zero work or parts minus one pull rope.
I'd LOVE to see you fix that farmertec cylinder with a Dremel. Especially since I have 2 Farmertec cylinders sitting in a box waiting for me to try my hand at porting.... :) I'm planning on leaving the timing alone assuming that they matches the timing on the current OEM cylinders.
Intake and exhaust passage roughness may contribute to turbulence which may help with fuel and air mixture on the intake side. Exhaust should be smooth to allow faster flow!
I am rebuilding a 288 with a toasted top end for an arborist customer, he wanted to know what cylinder to use and I told him Meteor so he got the Meteor piston/cyl kit, kinda disappointed in the finish considering people rave over them, while not bad it does have imperfections. A little flash and casting imperfections in the transfer ports and some in the intake and exhaust ports, not enough to get the dremel out but they are there, I also had to clean the flash out of the piston port windows, It came with the Caber F ring. It's getting new gaskets, bearings, seals, piston/cylinder, new rubber anti vibe mounts and tank handle because it's warped. I have deleted the base gasket, It should be a good running saw when I am finished with it.
Ive not done many top end replacements, but so far, ive used Hyway 3 times, and Farmertec 1 time, no Meteors yet. The first i did with Farmertec, it worked OK, but like you, i was not very impressed with their fit and finish. I did do a bit of smoothing and chamfering to it, although the price is quite low, i decided to tey something a bit better and also a bit pricier. I did a Husky 440, an Echo CS-370, and my Farmertec 372xp with the Hyway top ends, i was impressed with the Hyway, the looks and the performance were quite good. I may try Meteor in the future, but i dont feel like I'd go far wrong with Hyway. Thanks for your review on these brands. ~Chris~
I put the $25 dollar Duke’s moly popup piston in the 088 Stihl rebuild… better numbers and that lighter popup and that 088 became quite a angry girl!!! She’s yanking that 42” bar like it stole something!!! LMFFAO!!! That Hyway piston has some nice looking window’s!!! That Hyway cylinder is going to make more power with the smaller chamber and bigger windows… I would save the $50 bucks after watching this video!!! Love your use of my “Mo-sheen’s”… verbiage… I uncle from Indiana/Michigan said Mo-sheen’s!!! When he was talking hill racing cycles…. When your brains wide awake and you are clicking on all 8!’ Or in our case’s now… all one!!! LMFFAO! We are down to just a single cylinder… pure and raw!!! 😂😂😂😂
Nice comparison! Thanks! I have had plating issues with farmertec cylinders. Love their saw kits but I would bin the cylinder if you want to put hours on the saw.
I built for my father a Husky 51, I bought it with a toasted OEM top end, I fitted a new Farmertech 55 cyl/piston. The plating looked good as did the porting, piston looked good too. He is still using it many many years later.
Great video, good to see the parts side by side. I’d be an OEM believer… for that hundred+ bucks difference I’d skip my beers for a while to buy the real thing, only have a few Pro Stihl saws… I can see how the aftermarket parts appeal to some, if you’re not fussy they have their place I suppose. Thanks for the interesting video.
I built a 288 for myself in January. I used the Meteor jug with a popup piston. The piston was a bit pricey at $40 but I'm pretty sure it's not Asian. The box is marked lil red barn. I didn't feel comfortable with the bearings or seals so out they came. Used an OEM 394 carb. She pulls a 42" bar like a wildman.
I bet she does pull with that carb, he k yeah, always improving where we can, I can tell ur a sharp man, I bet shes got gooobs and goooobs of torque with the 394 carb
@@travisweldmaster7815 actually I only started doing this in the past year. I have many years using these saws but professionally I was a helicopter pilot. 😆 Kind of an odd mix but I've enjoyed the mechanical side of everything since I was a kid.
RUclips shows me stuff late. The meteor top I put on a saw I built. I put it next to a oem saw while they both idle on concrete. the oem bounced around, while the meteor sat like a bull. cut great. I always use oem pins and clips. the stihl pin is a little lighter. I would always replace with the meteor. i like wolf creek too. thanks
The cheaper the price of the part that’s the more “Quality Control bench final finishing station work” that you will need to do to have a good quality results… that’s the way that I started thinking about the aftermarket parts and what they really cost…it’s their initial price point and your hour’s of “necessary finishing work to get it to a good running condition. Please folks remove the little tab off those cheap C-clips and don’t install them with those ears on them because they pop out and kill your engine… ! Listen to the TinMan!!!
Hey Tinman, can i ask would using oem rings with a farmertec cause premature wear or failure because of the difference in materials? im building a stihl 070 kit and the oem rings here are only £5 and cant source caber rings..if anyone else can help either to would be much appreciated! thanks!
Did I hear you say Opti 2 in the video? I have always looked at it at Walmart wondering. Is that an oil you run and or recommend? I usually run either Echo Red Armor or Husky XP a little heavier than 50:1.
I know this an off topic question, but is there any other piston/ cylinder I can use to repair my Stihl 041 ? I was thinking maybe an 044? I take and exhaust are on the same side
So ive been just pinging back and forth on what saw to get for mostly milling but also some falling. Im looking at the 660 or the neotec version but idk if i should get just the base parts kit and get a big bore and some other upgrades and build it up right off the bat. Also note it would be the first saw ive ever actually dug into
I wonder if mine has lasted flawlessly for years now big bored pop up piston, ported, 52mm, piped...solely because I never ran the factory jug or piston and didnt break of plating to eat up the bottom end and bearings, just went straight to bb ported pop up and piped keeping the crap farmer cylinder completely out the picture?
Just did a farmer tech on a 288 and the intake was soo low I couldn't even bolt the carb on without cutting the aera underneath the carb out, started grinding and ground till I decided it wasn't going to fit unless I cut it out compelety
Getting ready to rebuild a stihl 044 magnum was looking at aftermarket jugs and found your video. How are the hyway and meteor for longevity? I’ve heard horror stories about some of the Chinese jugs wearing out after just a few hours. I will be in an area that only has a stihl dealer and at least two weeks to get anything shipped. Also have a husqvarna 440 I will be rebuilding
Farmertec is China.... Hyway is Taiwan....and Meteor is Italy......I've had problems with China kits before, piston rings are VERY brittle and break Super easy!!(cheap cast iron).......it ended up costing my Customer time and money!! so I had to Re-order piston rings for that saw, this time they were Italian Made, steel rings, and went on no problem!....I've also done a Mako Top End on my Stihl 041.....made in Australia, very nice Top End, runs great. I'm in the process of rebuilding my MS460 Magnum right now.....cylinder is fine, but piston is Burned......I have no problems getting a Hyway, but since this might be my "new" personal saw, I'm probably going to get Meteor.....Like I said, you are taking a risk with cheaper kits, the machining can be Hit or Miss.
Just finished my G660 bb port and tickle. I will be porting the exhaust via TIG braze. I have got to say of the very few cylinder heads that I ported, the farmtech had so many impurities in the aluminum it wasn't even funny. I'm no aluminumologyt, I deal with mostly 7075 at work though.
I'm mainly anodized towers at this point, marlin magazine covers ect,, start low amperage and turn ur pos up to 25/75 let it cook for a few sec where ur going to weld let that cleaning action cook the crsp out before you puddle, world of difference, not saying your wrong just what I do on dirty cast. And anodized...250-300 amps ac on off switch 25%ckean+, and 75 pen-, blast dap, skip blast dab, zkip and so on. 100npercent pen an nothing but shiny dimes
Oh and I love tig brazing, it blows people's mind who arnt In the industry, gold dimes of all diffrent materials stuck together and about as strong as 3000 series aluminum easily, pretty good to not actually be fused
There’s definitely a lot to that cry once… in those $100 dollar type topend options… I’d be curious which of the Hyway or meteor pistons fit that older oem the best??? I’d definitely try to clean up the used cylinder first then I’m going meteor kit… It is pretty embarrassing that the 25 year old Husqvarna still has a better tolerance than the new Farmertec!!!😂😂😂👍
The Husqvarna is probably a Mahle or Gilardoni if it's older...I do think Husqvarna either makes a lot of their own cylinders now, or has them made for them by some undisclosed supplier(China or Taiwan maybe?)..not sure..
I had crap luck with farmer tec and only tried them once. The cylinder was replaced, but was still not great. The bearings didnt fit in the seals by .020" in diameter. Oem for me.
The Hyway jug I purchased recently for my MS461 was comparable to stock. The plating actually looked better than stock. *However* the pop-up piston that came with it had an issue. One of the (2) piston ring pins in the ring groove wasn't in the correct location. Instead of half the pin interfering with the ring and stopping overtravel, it was almost completely buried in the piston skirt, with just a couple thousands of the pin actually protruding into the channel. It was actually the aluminum swelling around the pin that stopped the ring travel. A bit concerning.. I went forward with the installation, but I'm keeping a close eye on it. The Duke's coated (flat top) piston for the MS461 looked better than OEM, and had tighter clearance in the OEM jug than the Hyway. It was a perfect fit. After watching John's Custom Saw Shop review of the CCC Racing piston, I wish I'd known about them / could find one of their pistons for the MS461. As it stands right now I think they only make 'em for the MS500i. Fit and finish is out-of-this-world.
@@docteur-stihl Made the mistake of buying on EBay instead of direct from Hyway. Reputable sellers, but that can all be faked with bots... In any case, I suppose the lesson is; buy from the manufacturer.
That basic Hyway kit is 20times the quality… and those Hyway rings are a little softer and they are designed to ware and not kill their lining in the cylinder where a Caber ring will be cutting down that cylinder lining more! Not a good deal… should run their rings in that standard quality bore… Cabers in the titanikel don’t matter!! They are worth the double that super cheap price because there’s way less finishing work and much better quality and a much stronger cylinder lining!!! Way way way better quality!!!
Авто/Мото
We ran a Husqvarna distributor van in the late 70’s to early 80’s in Upper Midwest States. We would personally take the Dremel to every new saw we sold. We would just clean em up to be forever saws. We made hot saws to race everywhere. We were Scooter Enterprises at the time. All the money we made from saws we put into our race motorcycles 🏍. We had bikes on the track at Daytona.
Lots of love for them Meteor pistons and their topend kits too!!! They are just like the OEM part…there might be a tad bit of difference in some of those shapes and sizes but they are the closest to OEM and they just require a little bit of love and they are ready for a lifetime of service!!! That’s what I put in my work saw’s… 👍❤️🇺🇸🤘🔥🥩
man! thx for taking the time to make & compile all this and for delivering this priceless information! 🙏🏽
Thanks for the comparisons pretty cool to see the difference of quality!
The variations in combustion chamber were very interesting to see. I’ve been very happy with porting Hyway although there does seem to be a more noticeable brittle aspect to their plating compared with OEM. Thanks for taking the time to make this - good solid observations and information.
I run a crane in a scrap yard. I also heat my house with wood. All of my saws were pulled out of the scrap pile. I love working on saws. Guess what showed up yesterday... husky 372xp! I haven't had time to look at it yet, but I'm thinking of porting a big bore kit. I can't friggin wait.
That's a great score for sure!!
Thanks for the honest review. Its been years since I used a Hyway because of how bad the last one was. Poor casting and port shape etc. Looks like they are much different today.
The hyway looks great. I think the farmer tech would be great to get a saw running again that will be mostly a display piece.
I use Hyway for almost every customer repair. They are almost tied with Meteor on most aspects, but usually 10-25% cheaper.
Fun to se them side by side like that thanks tinman 👍
Great to come back to your vids when l’m doing some saw mods. A great resource. Thanks @Tinman
Thanks man, top notch video. Exceptionally educational.
Get you a roll of the 6’x300’ of the filter fabric and scrap and grade then spread your old material then top dress with your new… it’ll keep it from sinking into your soils and being a mess… I wasn’t big on the filter fabric until I really built some larger stone driveways and patios… you gotta have it… at one place we welded up a wedge with three panels of expanded metal sheet so we could reclaim their 20 years of stone… then graded it with good drainage then the material layer then the stone and then the top dress of stone… compaction between your laying is key to making a solid grade that will stay there for quite a while…. If you just dump your stone over a clay or sand base then it’ll just continue to sink over time…. 👍😁
Thanks for the comparison, bought a Farmertec once, open the box and found it in the same condition. Put in on the shelve it is still there 3 years later. I like the Hyway, rebuilt quite a few saws, always had good luck with those kits.
Excellent content, very informative and nicely done! Thank you!
Thank you Tinman for pointing out the various after market characteristics. Nice to know what to look for when rebuilding a saw. Budget is important but most of the time you get what you pay for and the saw will run for some time either way. Hyway definitely looks like a solid mid price range high quality brand. That's where I'm going for my saws going forward. Now having said that... I put a $56 complete top end on my 55 husky and it has been cutting 20 to 30 cords for the last three years without issue🤞. Maybe just got lucky. But it will be Hyway next time, for sure. Thanks again, all the best to you, the Mrs. and baby. Take care Tinman, Mahalo 🤙🤙🤙
I used the Meteor kit when I built my 288, I hogged the lower transfers, deleted the base gasket (gotta trim the carb support plate if you go that route), raised the exhaust to 100*, plugged the decomp…. It’s hard on starter ropes but it pulls a 30” full comp chisel with authority…. 288’s make a lot of compression, with that hiway kit you’ll likely be north of 220psi with a gasket delete…. If you want to go nuts grab an 066 piston and machine a pop up out of it but you’ll NEED a decomp… think you’ll need the 066 wrist pin and bearing too.
Now the 365xp I built got a 372xp Warhawk top end, needed tons of hogging in the transfers and intake/exh, the wrist pin was tight, there was still circular casting marks in the combustion chamber from casting, needed to grind the burrs out of the upper transfer ports…. But I wouldn’t expect anything less than that on a $60 top end.
Nice comparison. Another great video.
I have a ms660 kit saw from farmertec. I didn’t touch anything in it and just put everything together as it came. I’m really curious to see how long it runs before it blows and see what fails first. I just do firewood, so it might take a while! Putting together a ms440 kit this year and using a hyway top end and stihl bearings. I like the farmertec stuff so far. Makes power affordable for someone who doesn’t use a chainsaw for a living.
I also built an ms440 kit. Stock farmertec cylinder chrome failed at about 12 hours. Replaced with out of the box hiway top end. Very noticeable power difference ) increase). About 45 hours stabbing. Runs strong.
My farmertec 660 blew up a couple weeks ago. The circlip came out on the flywheel side. Bottom end looks like it’s in good shape and I have a hyway top end for it. Trying to decide if i should split the cases and put stihl/skf bearings in it, or keep running the farmertec bearings.
Farmertec looks like grinding practice on a budget.
Lol nice
To be vulgar the farmtech is hammered dogshit, although the worst cylinder head that I've ever gotten for a chainsaw was from Italy. I was pretty cruel in porting it, it's on my 268xp and holy hell that thing rips!!!
Yep.
Grinding practice on a budget, I love it.
Thanks for the comparison thinking about rebuilding my ms 390 and the video helped
Awesome comparison and talk👍 Very interesting seeing how much aftermarket parts differ, when they're all supposed to be copies of the same oem parts!
That was fascinating man. Thanks a million
Great vid very informative through comparison. Thank you. Be safe and be careful
Most helpful in planning how and where to invest your time n money
Thanks very much!
Your 281 jug is a super peach!!! That’s a real testament to the husky quality…25 years worth of opti-2!!! That’s a freaking beautiful cylinder and piston!!! Just beautiful!!! There’s a ton of life left in that cylinder!!! With the $50 dollar meteor piston kit!!! Great video buddy!!!
Wonder what my 1985 Stihl 028 super wb looks like 36-37 years of hard run and never been torn down. Still running and just put new carb on this year.
Got ms361 to help with hedge, with full chisel chain which can't find for 028 20"
Another great video post, I respect your opinions. I been busy cuttin and chopping lately since winter set in. I been utilizing my 3.5' Manual crosscut giving my Homelite SuperXL a break. Getting alot quicker cutting through logs without stopping for breaks. My uncle rebuilt my saw and he did an awesome job. I gave him my MS250 and now im considering on getting a Husky460 but not too sure👍👍
Thank you very for this clip! It was very-very interesting :)
As for Farmertech, I have used several, and a few other un-branded China cylinders, with mostly good results..I am sure the supplied piston rings are fine, but I almost always use a Caber ring instead, unless it is a kit for a lower-end consumer saw like a Husqvarna 440, 445, etc....as for the pin circlips, I ALWAYS use the ones supplied with the kit..same with the piston pin..some guys like to use OEM circlips in them, but I have found that the grooves in the piston are machined for the supplied clips, and often the OEM ones do not fit correctly..sometimes too loose, sometimes too thick or thin..I'm afraid the OEM ones will come out like that, so I'd rather take my chances with the supplied ones..yes, the China cylinders are definitely hit and miss..sometimes they are machined very well, other times there are quite a few flaws, and they have to be cleaned up..OEM and Meteor kits are better for sure, but I have found most cheap cylinder failures have been because someone had, say, a Husky 51 or 55(very common ones) that toasted a top end, and the owner threw a new China top end on it without finding the air leak that caused the cylinder failure to begin with..and surprise, surprise, it doesn't last long..but the "cheap cylinder" gets blamed... :)
I built for my father a Husky 51, I bought it with a toasted OEM top end, I fitted a new Farmertech 55 cyl/piston. The plating looked good as did the porting, piston looked good too. He is still using it many many years later.
@@MegaDirtyberty ..yes, you really got lucky, then..usually, there is an underlying cause of the initial failure, and when lay-folks just replace the bad parts, the underlying cause re-surfaces, and presto-you have the same failure again...
@@dyer2cycle I wasn't expecting much but the p/c looked top notch, ports also measured to be in the same places as the OEM p/c, was surprised from Farmertech.
YES, YES!..very true about an underlying cause...read my comment again..I mentioned this..I've been doing this for 30+ years, so it wasn't my first rodeo...all too many times, a lay person just buys a Farmertec kit online, installs it, and calls it good..then when it blows again after a few tankfuls, he blames it on the Farmertec kit, because he didn't identify and fix the underlying cause for the initial failure...
Hyway always seems to be more performance oriented. I really like meteor stuff too but Hyway will generally outrun it.
thanks Tinman. i will shortly be in the market for a 288 piston, after seeing this i know the Hyway fits with my wants. edit. if i can find one for sale seperately in australia. hopefully it gives a nice tight deck height in an oem cylinder.
loving all the 288 content.
Very big difference between the different brands. It clearly shows that spending a bit more money is well worth it in the end for performance and longer life.
Outstanding review! 👍👍👍
Thanks Man Great Video Try a Stens Piston and Cylinder Kit Too They Seem Well Done and Finished 😀
There's a chunk of casting stuck in the exhaust port threads on the meteor.
Great info. very useful for newbie saw builders.
..and I agree 100% with your assessment that Farmertec would not be the way to go if you are going to spend hours porting it to make more power..just clean them up a bit and use them on stock bread-and-butter saws.. :)
Wicked content ...great review
Great comparison vid! Thanks
Thank you. Great content and advice.
Tinman thank you great video on the quality or lack of in some cases. I have a little MS171 that the flywheel key shered as result of my bad on the impact trigger. Anyway I was thinking to make a steel one and cut a groove in it for the steel key. I know the flywheels are around but I been fixing mechanical stuff all my life and like to take the challenge. Thanks for the great content. Cheers to you Friend Bill
I did that with a ms270 the cast in place key sheared off. I cut and filed a keyway and ground another key. It's working ok...? Lol
I think another aspect is longevity. Alloys and the base materials make a huge difference in how long something is going to last. Homeowner using a saw 3 times a year to clear storm damage is different from a logger using a saw every day for 8 hrs a day.
Aluminum and all its diffrent alloys just as well be apples to oranges, I build towers and marine fabrication, no 2 grades of aluminum are alike , especially as far as expansion due to heat and cold
Excellent video my friend 😀
Love the info Tinman! I am thinking everyday Joe has to go Hyway!!! Ken
Back in thanks again good topic.
That Hiway kit looks the best to the eye. Id get it if i needed one
cool stuff 😎 keep up the good work.
Very good. Enjoyed it.
Excellent sir!
My wife is always excited to hear
what TinMan taught her husband, sometimes...
I find you're best watched around 1.75 speed
with my trigger finger on the pause button.
Why? Cause I need more exposure to your
wisdom, and I don't have that much time.
The cutaways are excellent as well.
THANK YOU!
-- Retired software engineer.
-- North Central Florida
-- 12.19.2022
Looks like Hyway is a real good choice. Thanks Tinman!
Cant go wrong(from experience)
You have to really check the circlip grooves. Sometimes they arent real deep or have bits of crud in them. I like to clean them out and make them deeper.
i think considering the farmtec is a hundred minimum less, i would try one, chamfer it out and clean it up.. I have a farmtec 070 that has been amazing for almost two years now and it is used pretty heavily on a chainsawmill. it has needed zero work or parts minus one pull rope.
I'd LOVE to see you fix that farmertec cylinder with a Dremel. Especially since I have 2 Farmertec cylinders sitting in a box waiting for me to try my hand at porting.... :) I'm planning on leaving the timing alone assuming that they matches the timing on the current OEM cylinders.
Intake and exhaust passage roughness may contribute to turbulence which may help with fuel and air mixture on the intake side. Exhaust should be smooth to allow faster flow!
Great comparo @Tinman, thankyou.
Was the Hyway a std bore or the Nikasil kit ?
I am rebuilding a 288 with a toasted top end for an arborist customer, he wanted to know what cylinder to use and I told him Meteor so he got the Meteor piston/cyl kit, kinda disappointed in the finish considering people rave over them, while not bad it does have imperfections. A little flash and casting imperfections in the transfer ports and some in the intake and exhaust ports, not enough to get the dremel out but they are there, I also had to clean the flash out of the piston port windows, It came with the Caber F ring. It's getting new gaskets, bearings, seals, piston/cylinder, new rubber anti vibe mounts and tank handle because it's warped. I have deleted the base gasket, It should be a good running saw when I am finished with it.
Ive not done many top end replacements, but so far, ive used Hyway 3 times, and Farmertec 1 time, no Meteors yet. The first i did with Farmertec, it worked OK, but like you, i was not very impressed with their fit and finish. I did do a bit of smoothing and chamfering to it, although the price is quite low, i decided to tey something a bit better and also a bit pricier. I did a Husky 440, an Echo CS-370, and my Farmertec 372xp with the Hyway top ends, i was impressed with the Hyway, the looks and the performance were quite good. I may try Meteor in the future, but i dont feel like I'd go far wrong with Hyway. Thanks for your review on these brands.
~Chris~
I put the $25 dollar Duke’s moly popup piston in the 088 Stihl rebuild… better numbers and that lighter popup and that 088 became quite a angry girl!!! She’s yanking that 42” bar like it stole something!!! LMFFAO!!! That Hyway piston has some nice looking window’s!!! That Hyway cylinder is going to make more power with the smaller chamber and bigger windows… I would save the $50 bucks after watching this video!!! Love your use of my “Mo-sheen’s”… verbiage… I uncle from Indiana/Michigan said Mo-sheen’s!!! When he was talking hill racing cycles…. When your brains wide awake and you are clicking on all 8!’ Or in our case’s now… all one!!! LMFFAO! We are down to just a single cylinder… pure and raw!!! 😂😂😂😂
Nice comparison! Thanks!
I have had plating issues with farmertec cylinders. Love their saw kits but I would bin the cylinder if you want to put hours on the saw.
Morning buddy, good to see ya here!!
I built for my father a Husky 51, I bought it with a toasted OEM top end, I fitted a new Farmertech 55 cyl/piston. The plating looked good as did the porting, piston looked good too. He is still using it many many years later.
Gasket delete on 288 with Meteor 26-27 squish after bolting her down on 1184 sealant. FYI.
Thanks a lot for the information
Assuming that these are all for the same saw, it would be good to install all 3 stock and cut some cookies with them after a few tanks of fuel.
Great video, good to see the parts side by side. I’d be an OEM believer… for that hundred+ bucks difference I’d skip my beers for a while to buy the real thing, only have a few Pro Stihl saws… I can see how the aftermarket parts appeal to some, if you’re not fussy they have their place I suppose. Thanks for the interesting video.
That Farmertec cylinder i believe is made by Hanakawa. That marking in a base gave it away.
very helpful illustrative factual vid again
I built a 288 for myself in January. I used the Meteor jug with a popup piston. The piston was a bit pricey at $40 but I'm pretty sure it's not Asian. The box is marked lil red barn. I didn't feel comfortable with the bearings or seals so out they came. Used an OEM 394 carb. She pulls a 42" bar like a wildman.
Lil red barn is good legit stuff too, I've used numerous of their parts
@@travisweldmaster7815 that was the first I had heard of them myself.
@@DaveJohnsonad5nm lol side note dave Johnson was my construction teacher in high school lol, good fella
I bet she does pull with that carb, he k yeah, always improving where we can, I can tell ur a sharp man, I bet shes got gooobs and goooobs of torque with the 394 carb
@@travisweldmaster7815 actually I only started doing this in the past year. I have many years using these saws but professionally I was a helicopter pilot. 😆 Kind of an odd mix but I've enjoyed the mechanical side of everything since I was a kid.
RUclips shows me stuff late. The meteor top I put on a saw I built. I put it next to a oem saw while they both idle on concrete. the oem bounced around, while the meteor sat like a bull. cut great. I always use oem pins and clips. the stihl pin is a little lighter. I would always replace with the meteor. i like wolf creek too. thanks
The cheaper the price of the part that’s the more “Quality Control bench final finishing station work” that you will need to do to have a good quality results… that’s the way that I started thinking about the aftermarket parts and what they really cost…it’s their initial price point and your hour’s of “necessary finishing work to get it to a good running condition.
Please folks remove the little tab off those cheap C-clips and don’t install them with those ears on them because they pop out and kill your engine… ! Listen to the TinMan!!!
I always used OEM but have been using some hyway on a few things an like their stuff so far. Never used those others tho.
The farmertec TS350 cylinders I had were nothing like that not as rough anyway.
Thanks for the info
Hey Tinman, can i ask would using oem rings with a farmertec cause premature wear or failure because of the difference in materials? im building a stihl 070 kit and the oem rings here are only £5 and cant source caber rings..if anyone else can help either to would be much appreciated! thanks!
Did I hear you say Opti 2 in the video? I have always looked at it at Walmart wondering. Is that an oil you run and or recommend? I usually run either Echo Red Armor or Husky XP a little heavier than 50:1.
I know this an off topic question, but is there any other piston/ cylinder I can use to repair my Stihl 041 ? I was thinking maybe an 044? I take and exhaust are on the same side
So ive been just pinging back and forth on what saw to get for mostly milling but also some falling. Im looking at the 660 or the neotec version but idk if i should get just the base parts kit and get a big bore and some other upgrades and build it up right off the bat. Also note it would be the first saw ive ever actually dug into
I wonder if mine has lasted flawlessly for years now big bored pop up piston, ported, 52mm, piped...solely because I never ran the factory jug or piston and didnt break of plating to eat up the bottom end and bearings, just went straight to bb ported pop up and piped keeping the crap farmer cylinder completely out the picture?
You would think that they would come with a new bearing for the piston too.
Judging by the combustion chamber and lack of decomp, I'd say that oem cylinder might be a 181
Great comparison friend. Thank you for this .!!!!☀️🧬🌙🦾
👍 I wonder if the farmer tech piston expands more than the better quality pistons?
Absolutely
You didn’t mention Highway’s pop-up piston ? Would that piston with their barrel give you even more compression?
Thank you tinnman
My Grandpa would say that farmertec is about like throwing a hot dog down a hallway... Rip papaw.
The pits in the farmatec cylinder will cause lots of detonated. Which will leave it lacking in performance. Would be good for a new porter
Just did a farmer tech on a 288 and the intake was soo low I couldn't even bolt the carb on without cutting the aera underneath the carb out, started grinding and ground till I decided it wasn't going to fit unless I cut it out compelety
hi friend, after how many hours do you recommend changing the ring or piston on a 550xp, my piston looks dirty above the ring. Thank you
Getting ready to rebuild a stihl 044 magnum was looking at aftermarket jugs and found your video. How are the hyway and meteor for longevity? I’ve heard horror stories about some of the Chinese jugs wearing out after just a few hours. I will be in an area that only has a stihl dealer and at least two weeks to get anything shipped. Also have a husqvarna 440 I will be rebuilding
Farmertec is China.... Hyway is Taiwan....and Meteor is Italy......I've had problems with China kits before, piston rings are VERY brittle and break Super easy!!(cheap cast iron).......it ended up costing my Customer time and money!! so I had to Re-order piston rings for that saw, this time they were Italian Made, steel rings, and went on no problem!....I've also done a Mako Top End on my Stihl 041.....made in Australia, very nice Top End, runs great. I'm in the process of rebuilding my MS460 Magnum right now.....cylinder is fine, but piston is Burned......I have no problems getting a Hyway, but since this might be my "new" personal saw, I'm probably going to get Meteor.....Like I said, you are taking a risk with cheaper kits, the machining can be Hit or Miss.
Just finished my G660 bb port and tickle.
I will be porting the exhaust via TIG braze.
I have got to say of the very few cylinder heads that I ported, the farmtech had so many impurities in the aluminum it wasn't even funny. I'm no aluminumologyt, I deal with mostly 7075 at work though.
I'm mainly anodized towers at this point, marlin magazine covers ect,, start low amperage and turn ur pos up to 25/75 let it cook for a few sec where ur going to weld let that cleaning action cook the crsp out before you puddle, world of difference, not saying your wrong just what I do on dirty cast. And anodized...250-300 amps ac on off switch 25%ckean+, and 75 pen-, blast dap, skip blast dab, zkip and so on. 100npercent pen an nothing but shiny dimes
Oh and I love tig brazing, it blows people's mind who arnt In the industry, gold dimes of all diffrent materials stuck together and about as strong as 3000 series aluminum easily, pretty good to not actually be fused
There’s definitely a lot to that cry once… in those $100 dollar type topend options… I’d be curious which of the Hyway or meteor pistons fit that older oem the best??? I’d definitely try to clean up the used cylinder first then I’m going meteor kit…
It is pretty embarrassing that the 25 year old Husqvarna still has a better tolerance than the new Farmertec!!!😂😂😂👍
The Husqvarna is probably a Mahle or Gilardoni if it's older...I do think Husqvarna either makes a lot of their own cylinders now, or has them made for them by some undisclosed supplier(China or Taiwan maybe?)..not sure..
Like you reviews Tinman
I'm in Canada all I use is meteor.
What did you mix your Opti 2 oil mixture? Doesn't look bad for 25 years
I had crap luck with farmer tec and only tried them once. The cylinder was replaced, but was still not great.
The bearings didnt fit in the seals by .020" in diameter.
Oem for me.
Very Good
Be nice to know the difference in squish between the three...?
The Hyway jug I purchased recently for my MS461 was comparable to stock. The plating actually looked better than stock. *However* the pop-up piston that came with it had an issue. One of the (2) piston ring pins in the ring groove wasn't in the correct location. Instead of half the pin interfering with the ring and stopping overtravel, it was almost completely buried in the piston skirt, with just a couple thousands of the pin actually protruding into the channel. It was actually the aluminum swelling around the pin that stopped the ring travel. A bit concerning..
I went forward with the installation, but I'm keeping a close eye on it.
The Duke's coated (flat top) piston for the MS461 looked better than OEM, and had tighter clearance in the OEM jug than the Hyway. It was a perfect fit.
After watching John's Custom Saw Shop review of the CCC Racing piston, I wish I'd known about them / could find one of their pistons for the MS461. As it stands right now I think they only make 'em for the MS500i. Fit and finish is out-of-this-world.
Hello Guy ! Where did u buy it thank you
@@docteur-stihl Made the mistake of buying on EBay instead of direct from Hyway. Reputable sellers, but that can all be faked with bots... In any case, I suppose the lesson is; buy from the manufacturer.
Those CCC race pistons are constantly sold out I think they have preferred customers that get first dibs
@@joepesci8930 Yea, wouldnt surprise me at all, unfortunately.
I keep hearing just cutting fire wood that seems to be the hardest we are on the saws when we fire wood the whole tree
I'm looking for a rebuild kit for a steel 270. What are the websites for the highway and meteor?
you get what you pay for very easy to see in this video
That basic Hyway kit is 20times the quality… and those Hyway rings are a little softer and they are designed to ware and not kill their lining in the cylinder where a Caber ring will be cutting down that cylinder lining more! Not a good deal… should run their rings in that standard quality bore… Cabers in the titanikel don’t matter!! They are worth the double that super cheap price because there’s way less finishing work and much better quality and a much stronger cylinder lining!!! Way way way better quality!!!