Decision, decisions... 346XP vs. 5105/5100s

[04ultra]

Ultra, if I'm not mistaken you use a lot of Dollies, 5100s I thought. Whats your take on them vs. the Husky?

I bought 6 for a land clearing job ....1 was not used and was donated for a fund raiser ....1 went to Sawn Andy that was litely used and the others still cut wood weekly ....I like them alot and they have done everything we asked and more .......I only had one with .325 the rest are 3/8 in 18 and 20" ...I like the low end grunt ......
I run them at 14,200 and no problems since 2006..



I own 2-346NE's and 2-2153's ........My take is they are good for limbing as is a 435.....Seem's that grunt is lacking .....These are stock out of the box running at 13,800 ........Not fond of the outboard clutch on them or any saw.....I really hate the chain breaks on them.....Im sick of guys bringing that style saw in with break on and side cover off.......
Seems you have to have a lite touch with them...Seems easy to drag them out of there sweet spot ..


Only ran one Stihl 261 so far and that was only a few cuts in a log on the pile not real world cutting ...


This is my opinion and all saws are just as they came out of the boxes.......Rev limited Hell ya....Cat on one 346NE Hell ya.......That really makes it sad..

 

[04ultra]

026 Stihl's handle awesome with inboard clutch .......Something is flaw'd in that inboard vs outboard LOL...

 

[J.W Younger]

I don't get the part about one liking the 3/8ths and the other .325. I pefer the .325 because I have the option of 2 size rims. The difference between kerf widths is very little and the gear ratio is huge in comparison.

 

[04ultra]

In addition to AS hype.....The 346NE's blow up with poor tuning as with bad gas just like the all others ........



ps .....Just want to thank all the going green people for the junk gas that create small engine trouble nation wide!!!


.

 

[Andyshine77]

In addition to AS hype.....The 346NE's blow up with poor tuning as with bad gas just like the all others ........



ps .....Just want to thank all the going green people for the junk gas that create small engine trouble nation wide!!!


.

You're welcome.

Lets see what issues the early 5100's had.

Bad crank bearings that would spin in the case causing air leaks.

Intake boots that would leak.

Bad intake boot spring clamps.

A rash of bad coils, I had one of them.

Cylinders that were too tight.

Overheating issues, that required a redesign to fix. I had a few of them as well.

Bad tank vent filters, they would fall off the saw allowing dust to enter the fuel tank.

Bad throttle linkage. They would stick partly open not allowing the saw to idle.

Air filter leaking.

Well that's about it.:biggrin:

 

[04ultra]

You're welcome.

Lets see what issues the early 5100's had.

Bad crank bearings that would spin in the case causing air leaks.

Intake boots that would leak.

Bad intake boot spring clamps.

A rash of bad coils, I had one of them.

Cylinders that were too tight.

Overheating issues, that required a redesign to fix. I had a few of them as well.

Bad tank vent filters, they would fall off the saw allowing dust to enter the fuel tank.

Bad throttle linkage. They would stick partly open not allowing the saw to idle.

Air filter leaking.

Well that's about it.:biggrin:

Wow Andy you had all them problems .....Must have bought your saw from that dealer out west that sold 50 that blew up....LOL..

 

[J.W Younger]

You're welcome.

Lets see what issues the early 5100's had.

Bad crank bearings that would spin in the case causing air leaks.

Intake boots that would leak.

Bad intake boot spring clamps.

A rash of bad coils, I had one of them.

Cylinders that were too tight.

Overheating issues, that required a redesign to fix. I had a few of them as well.

Bad tank vent filters, they would fall off the saw allowing dust to enter the fuel tank.

Bad throttle linkage. They would stick partly open not allowing the saw to idle.

Air filter leaking.

Well that's about it.:biggrin:

I got over 2 years on mine, recon its got any of the problems you mentioned? Would'nt want to sell it or keep it if it did being a stand up guy maybe I should just chunk it...

 

[Andyshine77]

Wow Andy you had all them problems .....Must have bought your saw from that dealer out west that sold 50 that blew up....LOL..

The saws I had didn't have the crank issues, that info was given to me by a dealer that was trying to help me trouble shoot a really messed up 5100, they're a site sponsor I won't name.

Everything else I actually had happen. The early 5100's should never left the factory, they fixed all the issues except the overheating with the later 5100's The 5105 is better overall saws than the 5100 IMHO, slower maybe, but much more reliable.

 

[04ultra]

The saws I had didn't have the crank issues, that info was given to me by a dealer that was trying to help me trouble shoot a really messed up 5100, they're a site sponsor I won't name.

Everything else I actually had happen. The early 5100's should never left the factory, they fixed all the issues except the overheating with the later 5100's The 5105 is better overall saws than the 5100 IMHO, slower maybe, but much more reliable.

Maybe 50cc saws hate you .....

 

[mingo]

There was!!

Hey we agree on something!

 

[J.W Younger]

Last year, in July I had 3 medium sized white Oaks down and limbed from 08 or it may have been 07 when I dropped em can't remember now. They ranged from about 16-24" at the stump and were 12-16' long stems. I had several smaller red Oaks and some Hickory limbed in the same area. With all the talk of issues and my 5100 2 weeks from out of warranty I decided it was time to find the issues if they existed. Bar buried bucking and back to back re-fueling didnt blow it up or uncover any issues on the one I have which is the only thing I have to go on. Maybe its just luck of the draw...

 

[bigredd]

We ran just about every 50cc saw today at the TN gtg,,, I think most everybody will agree that the 346 was king!

I have to agree. Surprisingly the stock (muffler modded) 346xp owned by Wiggs was just as strong as the ported ones. He was using 3/8 pitch chain.

 

[Andyshine77]

I have to agree. Surprisingly the stock (muffler modded) 346xp owned by Wiggs was just as strong as the ported ones. He was using 3/8 pitch chain.

My stock 346 has beaten ported ones as well.

 

[tallguys]

Maybe its just luck of the draw...

I figure its got to be something like that or as others allude to maybe its just the earliest ones. Out of curiosity what does your serial # begin with, the first 4-digits? I'd like to be on the safe side if I should happen upon a good 5100s deal.

 

[tallguys]

This is my opinion and all saws are just as they came out of the boxes...

Thanks for your opinion, especially since they are based on "stock" and unmodified saws, which is how mine would be. I'm really interested in how these saws last and perform the way they leave the dealer, without the benefit of extra $$ tuning.

 

[w8ye]

Last year, in July I had 3 medium sized white Oaks down and limbed from 08 or it may have been 07 when I dropped em can't remember now. They ranged from about 16-24" at the stump and were 12-16' long stems. I had several smaller red Oaks and some Hickory limbed in the same area. With all the talk of issues and my 5100 2 weeks from out of warranty I decided it was time to find the issues if they existed. Bar buried bucking and back to back re-fueling didnt blow it up or uncover any issues on the one I have which is the only thing I have to go on. Maybe its just luck of the draw...

I think that if we use common sense with the mixture settings on this saw, we will have good long term service results?

 

[blsnelling]

I have to agree. Surprisingly the stock (muffler modded) 346xp owned by Wiggs was just as strong as the ported ones. He was using 3/8 pitch chain.

Redd, I guess you missed the rematch. My 346 had not been tuned. It was WAY too rich. After I tuned mine, there was like a 30% difference. And that was with mine having a significant gearing penalty. I believe cowroy has it on video.

 

[bigredd]

Redd, I guess you missed the rematch. My 346 had not been tuned. It was WAY too rich. After I tuned mine, there was like a 30% difference. And that was with mine having a significant gearing penalty. I believe cowroy has it on video.

That makes sense. Those ported 346xp's are a different animal than a totally stock one.

 

[tallguys]

So a ported and/or MM'd 346xp is a beast, but what about just the stock one as it comes out of the box? How does that compare?

 

[sunfish]

So a ported and/or MM'd 346xp is a beast, but what about just the stock one as it comes out of the box? How does that compare?

I have a stock one and ported one. They are both lil beasts and real close to each other.

The ported one is a bit faster though, but it's also faster than a bunch of larger saws.