Looking for all the ol' MS361 Owners Out There

[HandLogger]

I've owned our MS361 since 2007 and it's proven itself to be pretty good all-rounder (with a 20" bar). Over the winter, the saw had to be dropped when a tree twisted the wrong way and I had to use an escape route. The result was that the saw got "clipped" by the falling tree and the brake handle was destroyed during the fall. The muffler was also damaged, so I had to slowly find the parts to get it back to work. As I mentioned before, the muffler was hit during the fall, so I decided to invest in a modded muffler for the repair work.

This is more of a "before and after" type thread than a "how do I fix it" type thread...because, let me tell you...our MS361 is now the saw that it should've been 16 years ago! I thought that our newish Dolkitas were good, but this muffler mod has made the old MS361 my go-to saw overnight! The results of this mod honestly have me wondering what are decent porting job might also add? Regardless, my MS361 is now the best power-to-weight saw that I've had the great pleasure of operating. Anyway, that's my $0.02 for all of the MS361 owners out there.

 

[BonScott46]

Is the muffler an empty can now or just opened up?

 

[spuldup]

Never has a saw been build that couldn't benefit from an MM.

So what was the other lesson you learned?

 

[bwalker]

The 361 benefits from a MM more than any other saw. With out it they are turds that run very hot.

 

[Zombiechopper]

I'm an OG 361 owner. I ported mine and it ended up really rowdy. I sold it recently, but I ran it with a 12" bar and a 9 pin and it was so much fun. The porting was just widening everying as much as possible but stock timing. The upper transfers were insanely wide and the bottoms were hogged out pretty ridiculous too. It liked the crazy transfers though. Beer can base gasket ended up at .018" Overall very snarky saw when ported.

 

[snobdds]

The 361 is my favorite saw too...and I have a lot of saws. I have enough good part saws to always have a good running 361.

You talked this muffler up but didn't really disclose how its modified. Pictures would help to see what design you find exquisite.

I have a brand new OEM 361 muffler. That thing is so restricted it obvious a muffler mod would help. The only problem with the 361 muffler, is it's entirely sealed up. It would require splitting it open, gutting it, and then rewelding it back together.

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

361 and 290-390 stihls some of the worst choked up saws without a muffler mod.

Ported by right folks the 361 is a beast. Might try getting hold of Kevin. @huskihl

 

[rocketnorton]

got a freebie 361 few mo ago
bad rod bearing, dead coil
it got a farmertec crank n coil
bout 10 tanks thru, all noodling big rounds, sfsg
likin it so far, weight/power
have heard bout china coils bein lil retarded compared to oe
this one seems good, having run a friend's all original for comparo
mighta been mm'd b4 it got here

 

[StihlsawuserMS361]

I too have a 361, purchased in 2006 for home firewood cutting. E free fuel, Stihl Ultra oil. So far, just chain (original 18" bar) and air filter maintenances, except for an oil pump replacement due to my error of taping the hole closed while cleaning and forgetting to remove it upon bar reinstallation. I've read often here on AS that most tend to do MM's. I've looked at the muffler, and like OP's it appears to be sealed. Primarily now, it is used for wood around 6", with my 500I for the bigger wood.
I've tossed around MM for both the 361 and 500 I, but thinking they both work so well, should I?

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

Just opening another outlet on them helps. Even with all the junk inside still. IMO like night and day.

I got a G366 to see if it really was on par with my oem 361 I had. Quick cheap muffler mod on the clone. Yes it ran and cut just like oem one.

 

[James Sawyer]

OEM muffler with WC port added.... I have other saws but this is my favorite go to saw MS361R.

 

[StihlsawuserMS361]

How much do you have to richen the mixture screws after MM? I'm well versed on 2 cycle snowmobile engines as far as performance mods,reading the plugs and jetting etc., but chainsaws I'm a bit shy on for some reason. I don't want to create a molten mess as I would think saws with their higher / quicker reeving engines, things can go south quickly.
Still too, as others on AS here have used WCS bark boxes etc., just bolting on. I wonder how the ECM knows how or when to enrichen the mix? Anybody?

 

[ZeroJunk]

I bought a cooked MS361 a few weeks ago for $100. Slicked the cylinder up and put a Meteor piston in it. Runs fine. Never even thought about opening the muffler up. May do that.

 

[James Sawyer]

How much do you have to richen the mixture screws after MM? I'm well versed on 2 cycle snowmobile engines as far as performance mods,reading the plugs and jetting etc., but chainsaws I'm a bit shy on for some reason. I don't want to create a molten mess as I would think saws with their higher / quicker reeving engines, things can go south quickly.
Still too, as others on AS here have used WCS bark boxes etc., just bolting on. I wonder how the ECM knows how or when to enrichen the mix? Anybody?

I didn't gut the baffle and I run screens, I just make sure they are cleaned. I didn't have to do anything on the low end or idle, it seems to run richer. Its a little short on the top end. I just got the saw back together and started it last weekend, let it warm up good but I want to throw a tach on it to see how much it did change. It definitely needs some carb adjustment. Left the fresh fuel in it so hoping have some time to work on it. I would thought it would have been lean as you did, the throttle response could be better as well. I have some tree I need cut but going have wait until this fall. I was dumping the fuel and running my other saw out of fuel for storage. I thought I'd see how this one ran so I didn't really have time to tune it just wanted see how it ran and sounded. Guy really needs to set/check the low jet then adjust the high-end jet to really know its tune. I don't tune a lot so I use a tach on high end just to be safe.

 

[rags44mag]

Just something to think about... for you guys that don't really want to do a muffler mod on the factory muffler, you can always do what I did. I purchased a aftermarket 361 muffler from Farmertec, they have the internal baffle just like the original. So for around $10.00 I could justify butchering it to do a modded muffler.
I just stuck the muffler in the vice and heated the rolled seam with a torch, when the seam is almost red hot it un-crimps rather easily. it also can be heated again when crimping the seam, makes things much easier.
I gutted the inside and added a second port as well as opening up the original. That saw runs better than it ever did & it was spectacular before.
Definitely one of my favorite saws and prize possessions.


P.S. Just thought I would mention that I received what was supposed to be one of the first MS361's in the USA.
I purchased the saw when they were first advertised in the Stihl books. I had the saw paid for almost 2 months before the 1st container with them was unloaded from Germany. If what I was told by Stihl was correct, my dealers order was supposed to be the first to be shipped out from the warehouse.

Kind of funny, after running the saw for a week, I decided to purchase some extra chains for it. I stopped in a different Stihl dealer that was about 30 miles away from the one I purchased the saw from to purchase the chains.
That poor fella...lol, just about called me a bold face liar when I told him the saw I needed the chains for. He kept insisting that I MUST have a MS360 because he had 2 MS361's on order as well and had not received them yet.
I almost felt sorry for him when I walked out the door & returned with the saw in my hand, he just about couldn't bring himself to believe that I actually had a MS361 in my hands....lol, poor feller.

 

[StihlsawuserMS361]

Thanks for the idea. Never thought of buying an AM muffler, then doing the work on that instead of an OEM. (My OEM muffler, @ idle, sounds like a two-stroke dirt bike with an expansion chamber). Did you use an oxy/acetylene or standard propane heat to open it up.

Cool story about your saw. I bought mine in October of 2006 from a great dealer who sadly got flooded out in 2011. I walked in, wanting to upgrade from my Poulan 3400. Not knowing much about saws, I was leaning towards a Farm Boss only because I heard that name through advertisements. Dealer suggested the 361. Prior to actually buying, I wrote Stihl and inquired about the differences between 361 / Farm Boss. They responded, steered me towards the 361 as well.

 

[rags44mag]

I just used a propane torch which takes a little longer than oxy-acetylene but it works just fine. With the cost of the oxygen and acetylene I figured I didn't need to be in that big of a hurry....lol.

 

[a. palmer jr.]

I saw a 361C in a flea market Saturday for $250. A bit high for me so I passed. I didn't even know they made the MS361 in a C model, which is another turn off for me..

 

[RedneckChainsawRepair]

Found a pic of my old oem one. Took it on trade from a guy in NS back then.
Notice the stihl ES bars they used up there.

Also my woods ported 357xp.

 

[purdyite]

My wife surprised me with a 361 some few years ago for birthday/father's day/anniversary. Definitely my best saw, now that you talk about using AM muffler for a mod, that gives me ideas, although I love it as it is now. Was using it last June for debris removal after tornadoes, working with a volunteer group from Colorado. One young guy started calling it "Ole Rooster" with the 25" bar, so that's its name now!