Craftsman saw questions

[MasterMech]

Thanks for the insight. I will take a picture of the plastic insert on the saw. I was just thinking this is where the oil comes out but i am most likely wrong. I will try and get the clutch off, and get a better look at it. Gotta cut the grass tonight and with the rider down, it may be a little while. At least my wife will be at her mothers so if I hurry and cut the grass I can get some tinkering time in before she gets home with the baby.

I am trying to be understanding with the dealer, and maybe I am expecting too much from them. I had just thought that since I bought the saw 4-5 days before bringing it back they would have looked at it ahead of the other repairs that they had in the shop. I gave it to them on Thursday the 15th at noon. I would have anticipated they look at it that day, and order the parts on Friday as to have them in during the week. I would have expected them to have the saw fixed by this past weekend, being that is when most guys cut their wood. At least that is how I would fix a mistake if a customer had an issue with one of my fly orders or something. I want to keep their business and know that unhappy customers don't come back. These "issues" get moved ahead of the other orders. I am not sure on how long STIHL takes to get parts to their dealers, but I hope that they get the saw done at least by Thursday, a whole 2 weeks after turning it over to them. I am thinking, I should have just asked for a new saw or something like that.

Would you guys have waited this long, I could have probably ordered a new carb from ebay, last Monday, and had it on the saw already, but didn't want to void any warranty or anything like that. Would I be in the wrong to email the salesman and tell him that if it is not done by Wednesday I want a new saw.

Warranty work usually does take priority over other items. Is your dealer just a saw shop? Sometimes dealers that have Stihl in addition to much larger equipment don't pay much attention to getting a little job like your saw through the shop.

Stihl used to have a 1 week (14 day? Husqvarna had a similar agreement and I can't remember which was which, ) satisfaction guarantee. If for ANY reason you wanted to trade up/down, or were unsatisfied, you were entitled to a new piece of equipment. I'd push that avenue if you can't get your saw back quickly.

FWIW: I can walk into my dealer (All the parts guys yell "Hi Norm!" ) fill out an order card, hang it on their "to be ordered" clipboard and be pretty sure the piece will be in within 24 hours. It has never taken more than 3 days (Stihl parts get shipped from regional distributors) unless on the VERY rare occasion something gets back-ordered from Germany in which case I had my parts in about 3 weeks.

There is a "minimum order" but they can order 1-2 parts at a time as well, they just get hit with a surcharge for freight. The parts manager will throw a few loops of chain or a couple bars... etc. on a small order to get me a part that I really need quickly but they usually are ordering Stihl daily anyways.

Go make some noise.

 

[DanCorcoran]

The tool above is a bracket bout at Lowes with 2 bolts threaded into drilled holes, that are drilled on a measured distance???

Yep, I just happened to have the bracket and figured it would work well as a wrench. It does...

 

[TreePointer]

Another option for a homemade clutch removal tool is to take a grinder to a junk socket. See picture in link:

(broken link removed to http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw-stickies/143945-161.htm#post4430271)