How are you checking for play? there should be no play in either rod bearing, big end little end. you might be feeling a little ring play.
in mid stroke of the piston place a wood dowel on the top of the piston and gently rotate the flywheel back and forth with a little pressure on the end of the dowel. saw is probably not worth replacing too many parts. No noise? run her till she blows...

Thanks Rotocop! I checked the play in the crankcase just below the reed. A direct check with no piston movement vs moving rod to crank. I expected to feel a little side play bit not related to the dia on the connection. As you stated, I w/n spend any money on this saw that has paid well over the years. I would expect a knock /noise or etc if itâÂÂs time to part it out vs blowing it. I have two other S25s to share the parts on but this one has been my favorite. It seems to start and run better than others with no signs on age and less than 2-3 cords on them.

What would you think would be the avg years/cords expected on a small mid priced saw (avg maintained and cost about 250.00 in 1988)? I rebuilt this one once (piston & ring kit) because I d/n see any quality in later saws in this range. loger

You should go out to the knick-knack store, and buy a nice, big, red ribbon, tie it to the handle, and then hang it on a wall, where it can rest, in appreciation of a job well done!
Check it over very carefully, and if you see a long, red, squishy thing hanging out of it -- don't be frightened--thats its tongue! ;0)

It Is Time To Move On To # 2 Saw! Possibly I am not hearing a knock due to muffs. I did get a good clean look today at blow-by coming from between the cylinder and case in less than 2-3 minutes (after checking bolt's torque and from the bar oil tank's vent. I would think that is an indication of high crankcase pressure from worn rings? BUT! "with good compression and power"? loger

Get ahold of an iron apron, and run her until she goes "BANG", then hang it on the wall, with the big red ribbon!