362

[shwinecat]

I ran the 362 last Friday back to back with a 361 and a 361 with just the exhaust opened up (according to the owner). I felt the 362 with mild pressure could cut well and the times for the cut was won by the 362. I felt at WOT the 361 had more torque. I could stall the 362 in cutting cookies easier. I cut with all three saws several times back and forth. The three I compared all had 20" bar with RSC Stihl chain.

I think the saws were so close the average person would never know the difference. You guys have to remember you are running saws all the time and multiple saws trying to get as much out of them as possible. The difference could be just how one runs the throtle or how one moves his weight when cutting or just the amount of pressure placed on a saw.

I really think the slight margins you guys speak of are great for determining if you are gaining with exhaust, porting, ignition or chain sharpening. The average buyer who does not suffer from CAD is going to take the saw that runs the best, the longest and with no complications.

I spoke with the Stihl rep and he stated the 362 was given more torque at low RPMS. This would explain the increase in fuel economy and the emmisions reduction.

 

[Andyshine77]

I spoke with the Stihl rep and he stated the 362 was given more torque at low RPMS. This would explain the increase in fuel economy and the emmisions reduction.

That has nothing to do with the fuel savings, the strato charged engines run more efficiently.

The 362's rev just as good as the 361's, my 362 turns well over 14,000. At the gtg it was only turning 13,600 rpm's, I have it set rich for brake in. The weight difference between the 361 and 262 is nonexistent. Comparing the 372 to the 362 doesn't really make much sense to me, the 372 is much much heaver and bulky than the 362.

The 362 is the new kid on the block, so it will take some time before it becomes fully accepted as the replacement for the much loved 361. Let me tell you this, It is a better saw than the 361. Better air filtration, power, AV, fuel economy, and in the real world it doesn't weigh more than the 361.

BTW if you have a good dealer you can pick up a 362 for $610.00

 

[FATGUY]

that has nothing to do with the fuel savings, the strato charged engines run more efficiently.

The 362's rev just as good as the 361's, my 362 turns well over 14,000. At the gtg it was only turning 13,600 rpm's, i have it set rich for brake in. The weight difference between the 361 and 262 is nonexistent. Comparing the 372 to the 362 doesn't really make much sense to me, the 372 is much much heaver and bulky than the 362.

The 362 is the new kid on the block, so it will take some time before it becomes fully accepted as the replacement for the much loved 361. Let me tell you this, it is a better saw than the 361. Better air filtration, power, av, fuel economy, and in the real world it doesn't weigh more than the 361.

Btw if you have a good dealer you can pick up a 362 for $610.00

+1

 

[stihlboy]

I've actually already sent a PM to Andy to see what saw it was that he used for that time. It may have been Niks 361. Check out cut time #18. Perhaps #11 was with a race chain on the 362? I really don't know.

across the street he said it was the 362 in number 11

 

[mountainlake]

Gotta be the best thing since sliced bread. steve

 

[huskystihl]

That has nothing to do with the fuel savings, the strato charged engines run more efficiently.

The 362's rev just as good as the 361's, my, the 372 is much much heaver and bulky than the 362.






Sorry but I took the 362 out in the field for a half day and the 372 is not bulkier. I'm not a look at the specs guy but a how the saw feels guy and they are neck and neck in shoulder weight walkin around.... Which is what counts. The new kid on the block thing is true much like the 441 but for the price it's just like the 357 and 361. They're off base. I'll take a 359 for a few trees less and do the same work with it.

 

[stihlrookie]

Okay so I have been following along for about a year regarding the 361 and actually picked one up last fall for firewood cutting. Really enjoyed using the saw but due to my ocd nature when I return home I take the bar and chain off and completely clean them as well as the clutch area on the saw. Also remove the airfilter and was with warm soapy water and allow to air dry. My issue with the 361 was dust making its way to the carb. A few trips to the dealer did nothing to remedy this. They even gave my saw out to a "pro" wood cutter and let him abuse if for a couple hours and then gave it back to me dirty and dull and said it looked fine to them. I let it go through the winter and summer and had just started to cut firewoood and became aggravated with what I thought was to much dust making its way to the carb. My dealer has a new shop man so I took the saw to him and he took one look under the filter and said that "any dust" was to much in the carb. area. He immediately called the regional tech. rep and within 5 minutes I was given the opportunity to return my 361, which is a year old, and pick up a new 362 for the price difference, about 70 bucks.

I have ran the 362 for approx 3 hours and immediately noticed higher levels of vibration than the 361 I had ran just the day before. Back at home during cleaning I noticed after reassembling the bar and chain that as you pull the chain around by hand it has varying degrees of tightness and looseness. I am not sure what this could be caused by but am concerned that it could be a bent crank on my brand new saw! If anyone has any advice I certainly welcome it. My dealer has looked at it once and ran it for about a minute and said that it was fine. Well it is not fine, with the side cover off you can pull the chain around and actually see a different reveal between the clutch and the saw housing, not to mention watching and feeling the chain go tight and then loose and then tight and then loose as you continue to pull it around. I have not ran saws as much as some of you but to me this does not seem right and now I just wish I had the 361 back with the dust issue at least my hands dont feel numb after using that one.

 

[mtngun]

New technology is interesting, but I prefer to wait a while and let someone else deal with the bugs that are always present in new models.

If I had a 361, I wouldn't trade it for a 362 just yet.

 

[docshank]

Not Your Crankshaft

Okay so I have been following along for about a year regarding the 361 and actually picked one up last fall for firewood cutting. Really enjoyed using the saw but due to my ocd nature when I return home I take the bar and chain off and completely clean them as well as the clutch area on the saw. Also remove the airfilter and was with warm soapy water and allow to air dry. My issue with the 361 was dust making its way to the carb. A few trips to the dealer did nothing to remedy this. They even gave my saw out to a "pro" wood cutter and let him abuse if for a couple hours and then gave it back to me dirty and dull and said it looked fine to them. I let it go through the winter and summer and had just started to cut firewoood and became aggravated with what I thought was to much dust making its way to the carb. My dealer has a new shop man so I took the saw to him and he took one look under the filter and said that "any dust" was to much in the carb. area. He immediately called the regional tech. rep and within 5 minutes I was given the opportunity to return my 361, which is a year old, and pick up a new 362 for the price difference, about 70 bucks.

I have ran the 362 for approx 3 hours and immediately noticed higher levels of vibration than the 361 I had ran just the day before. Back at home during cleaning I noticed after reassembling the bar and chain that as you pull the chain around by hand it has varying degrees of tightness and looseness. I am not sure what this could be caused by but am concerned that it could be a bent crank on my brand new saw! If anyone has any advice I certainly welcome it. My dealer has looked at it once and ran it for about a minute and said that it was fine. Well it is not fine, with the side cover off you can pull the chain around and actually see a different reveal between the clutch and the saw housing, not to mention watching and feeling the chain go tight and then loose and then tight and then loose as you continue to pull it around. I have not ran saws as much as some of you but to me this does not seem right and now I just wish I had the 361 back with the dust issue at least my hands dont feel numb after using that one.

The problem wouldn't be with your crankshaft. When you are rolling your chain around the bar, the only thing that is moving would be your clutch hub and drive sprocket. You should find your problem to be something machined off center or a foreign object stuck in the drive sprocket.

 

[Erick]

Okay so I have been following along for about a year regarding the 361 and actually picked one up last fall for firewood cutting. Really enjoyed using the saw but due to my ocd nature when I return home I take the bar and chain off and completely clean them as well as the clutch area on the saw. Also remove the airfilter and was with warm soapy water and allow to air dry. My issue with the 361 was dust making its way to the carb. A few trips to the dealer did nothing to remedy this. They even gave my saw out to a "pro" wood cutter and let him abuse if for a couple hours and then gave it back to me dirty and dull and said it looked fine to them. I let it go through the winter and summer and had just started to cut firewoood and became aggravated with what I thought was to much dust making its way to the carb. My dealer has a new shop man so I took the saw to him and he took one look under the filter and said that "any dust" was to much in the carb. area. He immediately called the regional tech. rep and within 5 minutes I was given the opportunity to return my 361, which is a year old, and pick up a new 362 for the price difference, about 70 bucks.

I have ran the 362 for approx 3 hours and immediately noticed higher levels of vibration than the 361 I had ran just the day before. Back at home during cleaning I noticed after reassembling the bar and chain that as you pull the chain around by hand it has varying degrees of tightness and looseness. I am not sure what this could be caused by but am concerned that it could be a bent crank on my brand new saw! If anyone has any advice I certainly welcome it. My dealer has looked at it once and ran it for about a minute and said that it was fine. Well it is not fine, with the side cover off you can pull the chain around and actually see a different reveal between the clutch and the saw housing, not to mention watching and feeling the chain go tight and then loose and then tight and then loose as you continue to pull it around. I have not ran saws as much as some of you but to me this does not seem right and now I just wish I had the 361 back with the dust issue at least my hands dont feel numb after using that one.

I sent you this as a reply to your PM but thought I'd post it here as well for all to read.

SR, that saw (the 362) is smooth as silk and a little better than the 361 in that regaurd, which is saying something cause the 361 is pretty damn smooth.

Sounds like the bar and chain are mismatched to the sprocket. Did they give you a new bar and chain with the new saw or did they put your old one on?? Look on the rim sprocket you should see the pitch (.325-7, 3/8-7 etc) stamped on it, then look at your chain and tell me what numbers are on it.

Get me that info and we'll go from there.

As far as the 361 filter issue, did you ever try putting a little grease/vasaline around the edge of the filter on the surface that seals it to the saw??? Usually takes care of the extra-fine dust that can slip through the cracks.

I don’t know that I’d spend any more time or money at a dealer who would hand my saw off to some unqualified (mechanically) logger to abuse for a day as a means for checking out/diagnosing your saw.

 

[gink595]

Take a closer look at the times. Saw #5 is the same as saw #10. #10 was not representative of the saw.

I think the 362 was beat by a fancy chain.... he was out chained..LOL

 

[stihlrookie]

The problem wouldn't be with your crankshaft. When you are rolling your chain around the bar, the only thing that is moving would be your clutch hub and drive sprocket. You should find your problem to be something machined off center or a foreign object stuck in the drive sprocket.

doc,
Doesnt the clutch hub and drive sprocket rotate around the crankshaft? If so wouldnt it still be possible for it to be a bent crank as the clutch rotates around it it would "wobble"? The chain can be hand rotated approx 3" and it will go from snug at the bottom of the bar to 1/4" of sag, like I said thats rotating the chain approx 3". This saw is brand new, cut 2 cords larch so nearly new, and has shown this issue since the very first day of cutting. I cut 1/3 cord at a time so its not like I have been out nonstop in the 2 weeks since I have owned it. I have been told repeatedly by dealer to just use it even though I have repeatedly stated my concerns to which he has even agreed with to an extent but passes it off as "all chainsaws vibrate and have certain degrees of variations in clutch assembly".

 

[RVALUE]

Okay so I have been following along for about a year regarding the 361 and actually picked one up last fall for firewood cutting. Really enjoyed using the saw but due to my ocd nature when I return home I take the bar and chain off and completely clean them as well as the clutch area on the saw. Also remove the airfilter and was with warm soapy water and allow to air dry. My issue with the 361 was dust making its way to the carb. A few trips to the dealer did nothing to remedy this. They even gave my saw out to a "pro" wood cutter and let him abuse if for a couple hours and then gave it back to me dirty and dull and said it looked fine to them. I let it go through the winter and summer and had just started to cut firewoood and became aggravated with what I thought was to much dust making its way to the carb. My dealer has a new shop man so I took the saw to him and he took one look under the filter and said that "any dust" was to much in the carb. area. He immediately called the regional tech. rep and within 5 minutes I was given the opportunity to return my 361, which is a year old, and pick up a new 362 for the price difference, about 70 bucks.

I have ran the 362 for approx 3 hours and immediately noticed higher levels of vibration than the 361 I had ran just the day before. Back at home during cleaning I noticed after reassembling the bar and chain that as you pull the chain around by hand it has varying degrees of tightness and looseness. I am not sure what this could be caused by but am concerned that it could be a bent crank on my brand new saw! If anyone has any advice I certainly welcome it. My dealer has looked at it once and ran it for about a minute and said that it was fine. Well it is not fine, with the side cover off you can pull the chain around and actually see a different reveal between the clutch and the saw housing, not to mention watching and feeling the chain go tight and then loose and then tight and then loose as you continue to pull it around. I have not ran saws as much as some of you but to me this does not seem right and now I just wish I had the 361 back with the dust issue at least my hands dont feel numb after using that one.

How would a bent crank show up by hand cranking?

 

[stihlrookie]

How would a bent crank show up by hand cranking?

Like I asked yesterday, doesnt the clutch needle bearing assembly spin on the crank? Then logically if the crank was bent you would see the wobble in the clutch as you rotated by hand. The only way to turn the crank is to pull the starter rope, which I have done as well with no noticeable wobble. I am begining to suspect the sprocket itself, trying to get by the dealer today to see if they will at least humor me and put a different one on and see if that solves it.

 

[blsnelling]

I think the 362 was beat by a fancy chain.... he was out chained..LOL

Hey, you must be feeling better, lol.

doc,
Doesnt the clutch hub and drive sprocket rotate around the crankshaft? If so wouldnt it still be possible for it to be a bent crank as the clutch rotates around it it would "wobble"? The chain can be hand rotated approx 3" and it will go from snug at the bottom of the bar to 1/4" of sag, like I said thats rotating the chain approx 3".

The crankshaft would have nothing to do with that. It's not moving. Sounds like a bent clutch drum or chain/drum mismatch as Erick suggested.

 

[stihlrookie]

I have emailed the stihl tech. service guy with pictures and full description. He is traveling around his territory so it may take a day to get his response, I will let everyone know what he says when I hear back. Also thanks to everyone for your explanations and patience, I am slowly learning the intricacies of these engines! I had a lightbulb moment this morning and pulled the side cover off and checked the sprocket to see if maybe something was down inside one of the holes not allowing the chain to fully seat when rotated but all appears to be free of any debris. I also spent a while last night and rigged up a little device, basically a small piece of stiff wire wrapped around the bar stud bolt and moved to as close to the crank as possible but not touching the crank to check and see if the crank rotated out of round but it appears to me that it is rotating correctly, had the same 1/64" reveal as I slowly pulled the starter rope and rotated the crank. I cant seem to figure out how to get pics posted or I would have a couple up for everyone to see.

 

[stihlrookie]

Sorry to post so quick again but to answer your question Brad all parts are the same pitch, 3/8". The bar, chain and sprocket are all labeled as such. This is very aggravating.

 

[blsnelling]

Sorry to post so quick again but to answer your question Brad all parts are the same pitch, 3/8". The bar, chain and sprocket are all labeled as such. This is very aggravating.

Did you check your clutch from like you did the crank? Perhaps you have a kink in your chain.

 

[stihlrookie]

Brad,
I did check the clutch but it is a little more difficult since it doesnt want to rotate with the starter rope that well and rotating by hand seems to cause it to wobble a bit. Yes I did check the chain and it seems to be fine. Also tried a different chain with same results. Like I said its every 3" as you move the chain its comes tight at first and then in 3" it has the 1/4" of sag in it. I really wish my dealer would be able to "see" this issue. Unfortunately I am begining to feel that since I am not a "pro" logger that I must be a dummy and should just go home and sit by the fire and wait for someone to cut my wood and split it and put it in the fire and light it for me.

 

[parrisw]

HP is what sells, Torque is what wins races.