Help with new 361 please!

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scattergun13

scattergun13

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This saw was purchased new in Dec 08 and has only been run about a half dozen times since. It has been stored with sta-bil in the fuel and started frequently during storage. Today I ran some sea-foam in the fuel and cut about 1/2 rick. Later this afternoon I was cleaning the saw to put it up and tried to start it. It wouldn't start at all, didn't even act like it was going to fire off. I pulled about 30 times and tried everything I could think of, please tell me this has nothing to do with the Sea-Foam.

Any ideas what this could be? Any advice is greatly appreciated, it's going back to the tech tomorrow.
Stew...
 
make sure its got fire,check the plug and then put a little gas in the carb. if it fires then your not getting fuel.
 
Its possible the seafoam broke some gunk in the carb lose and now its plugging a passage????? Check for spark and if you got that get a new plug and try starting it tommorrow.
 
Its dead. Haul out the 45acp and put it out of its misery. Its only a stihl, so tait no big loss.

Seriously, you probably just flooded it. Set the stihl stupid simple switch to run (one click down from off) depress the trigger (like you would on a 1911a1 or SW1917) and pull the starter. It will probably take between 18 and 30 pulls to clear the flood and it will be as good as new. Not that it is anything to write home about.
 
CentaurG2 said:
Its dead. Haul out the 45acp and put it out of its misery. Its only a stihl, so tait no big loss.

Seriously, you probably just flooded it. Set the stihl stupid simple switch to run (one click down from off) depress the trigger (like you would on a 1911a1 or SW1917) and pull the starter. It will probably take between 18 and 30 pulls to clear the flood and it will be as good as new. Not that it is anything to write home about.
Click to expand...

All of that was exactly my language. I'll try it all short of driving a 230 grain Speer Gold Dot through it. Thanks everyone else for the tips as well, keep em comin please. I wish I was as well versed with saws as I am with firearms. Centaur obviously knows this about me...:cheers:
 
The MS361 is the easiest flooding saw I have ever encountered.

On mine I set to ON, pull two times, (no decomp. button) then to choke, usually only one or two pulls to hear a faint "pop." The back to on and first pull away she goes. Just a finicky starting procedure. Went through a number of plug drying out sessions to figure it out along with adjusting the L screw just right.

On occasion after setting a couple of days it will start first or second pull with no choke ...weak however, and then just pick right up. Still my favorite saw.

When I ported the muffler it did seem to start better as well.
 
I flooded mine a few times too until I got used to what I needed to do. I will say that they are pretty easy to flood. I still do flood it once in a while.
 
scattergun13 said:
All of that was exactly my language. I'll try it all short of driving a 230 grain Speer Gold Dot through it. Thanks everyone else for the tips as well, keep em comin please. I wish I was as well versed with saws as I am with firearms. Centaur obviously knows this about me...:cheers:
Click to expand...

Oh, you better use an African Grand slam solid if you want to kill that baby!:)
 
Be sure and pull the decomp valve out. I hate that thing and it will flood easy using it. My neighbor brought his over Sunday afternoon and that wasthe first thing I did before pulling the rope.
 
lcso10 said:
Be sure and pull the decomp valve out. I hate that thing and it will flood easy using it. My neighbor brought his over Sunday afternoon and that wasthe first thing I did before pulling the rope.
Click to expand...

I never thought about that, do I just pull it back up and then try the starting procedure? I've never had this problem with this saw before.:cheers:

Come to think of it I started it this morning without using the decomp valve.
 
Yes just pull it back up and do not choke it. I always go to the choke position and then up one notch to remove the choke (or fast idle position). Then pull it til it starts.
 
Anthony_Va. said:
Thats when mine does it also.
Click to expand...
We probably should not even be cutting wood at all when it's this hot and humid. The saws hate it and so do I. Wood cutting with a chain saw (or any saw for that matter) is far more strenuous than most people realize. Your body can dehydrate in just a couple of hours.

Saws also do not enjoy burning a fuel mixture containing saturated air. Water has no heat value. So, a couple of horsepower could be going right out the exhaust pipe.
 
Last edited:
Never pull more tham 3 times on choke, and count even the faintest sign it wants to start as a "pop".

This always worked on my 361, and I have used the decomp on it...

For warm starts, just put it on, and it usually starts in one pull.
 
Never got a chance to try it today but I will first thing tomorrow. Thanks everyone for the advice. I like to argue back and forth with some here on AS but the great advice is what keeps me here. You can't put a price on that.

PS: Sawtroll it was good to here from you sir, I trust you are well?

Stew and Ajo...
 
i cant believe you guys use the decomp,man up butter cup... decomps are nothing but trouble for me. they leak,get bent and wont shut.nothing worse than a screwed up decomp to mess up your logging day.
 

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