Husqvarna 61 Rancher advice?

[Old dude 0116]

Hi guys!

I have an older 61 rancher that seems to be less desirable based on what I read here. Nonetheless, I like the saw and have used it to cut quite a bit of firewood. I run a 20" bar and cut about 4-5 cords of wood per season.

I have been noticing it's performance slowing and it also leaks bar oil real bad, thinking a rebuild is in order. With that said, is there a big bore kit worth buying? Are parts interchangeable from the 61 to the 61 rancher? Case seals and gaskets...

Thanks for any advice!

 

[NSEric]

Those 61's are quite desirable and expensive in my area.
You can rebuild it or make it a 266, 268 or 272 if you want to.
There's differences in the coils and top covers from the older ones to the newer ones, the rancher name means nothing really.
If you go with the big bore kit on an older 2 piece ignition one your stuck with modding the top cover to make it fit, you cant put the taller 272 cover on the old ones.
There's threads on here and youtube videos on how to put a 272 top end on a 61.

 

[arto_wa]

I have 162SE and it's supposedly very similar to 61

I like this old saw since it's pretty smooth compared to my 031AV and not as noisy.
Mine has also recently started to leak bar oil and I just received new oil pump & kit and will remove the old pump soon in order to find out why it's leaking oil?

Have you checked & cleaned the air filter lately?

Regarding your "big bore' question, I will let someone else who may have done it reply but for what it's worth I will not even consider that since mine has pretty good power to handle 20" bar.

 

[Ronie]

If it's an older 2 piece coil saw I would try and find a used 266 cylinder. With the 266 cylinder you can use your top cover. If you want to put a 268 or 272 cylinder on it with the older 2 piece coil case you have to drill and tap new holes on the recoil side for a taller new style top cover. Also you will need to trim the front of the cover because it's longer. If you have a 1 piece coil the 268 or 272 cylinder will fit under the cover. pics of holes new holes and the top cove bolted down to an older 61.

 

[Matt93eg]

The only 61 I have ran is my uncle's I think it's an 88 year model or so. Has the grey top.

It's been a hell of a saw. I used it last week to rescue my Makita after i got pinched.

It would be well worth putting some love into that saw if it needs it IMO.

 

[Old dude 0116]

Those 61's are quite desirable and expensive in my area.
You can rebuild it or make it a 266, 268 or 272 if you want to.
There's differences in the coils and top covers from the older ones to the newer ones, the rancher name means nothing really.
If you go with the big bore kit on an older 2 piece ignition one your stuck with modding the top cover to make it fit, you cant put the taller 272 cover on the old ones.
There's threads on here and youtube videos on how to put a 272 top end on a 61.

So I've done some research and don't know if I'm willing to search out all the parts needed to convert to the 272. Looks like you need the carb and intake, as well as some muffler modifications. I'll keep thinking and posting what I eventually end up doing. The saw is just too good to give up.

 

[Old dude 0116]

I have 162SE and it's supposedly very similar to 61

I like this old saw since it's pretty smooth compared to my 031AV and not as noisy.
Mine has also recently started to leak bar oil and I just received new oil pump & kit and will remove the old pump soon in order to find out why it's leaking oil?

Have you checked & cleaned the air filter lately?

Regarding your "big bore' question, I will let someone else who may have done it reply but for what it's worth I will not even consider that since mine has pretty good power to handle 20" bar.

Yes, air filter is new actually. I just pulled the pump today and found that the oil tube was slightly pinched last time it was installed. Cleaned it all up and snipped a small sliver of rubber from the sealing surface of the tube. Took it out and ran it through some firewood. So far the leak has stopped.

 

[Old dude 0116]

If it's an older 2 piece coil saw I would try and find a used 266 cylinder. With the 266 cylinder you can use your top cover. If you want to put a 268 or 272 cylinder on it with the older 2 piece coil case you have to drill and tap new holes on the recoil side for a taller new style top cover. Also you will need to trim the front of the cover because it's longer. If you have a 1 piece coil the 268 or 272 cylinder will fit under the cover. pics of holes new holes and the top cove bolted down to an older 61.

Does the 266 cylinder use the same 48mm piston? I'll likely get new top end parts all the way around. Are those China jobs on eBay worth anything? I don't want to cheap out but...
Mine has the white top.

 

[Old dude 0116]

The only 61 I have ran is my uncle's I think it's an 88 year model or so. Has the grey top.

It's been a hell of a saw. I used it last week to rescue my Makita after i got pinched.

It would be well worth putting some love into that saw if it needs it IMO.

I agree! It's been great for me as well. See above for photo. Mines the white top one.

 

[Woodslasher]

So I've done some research and don't know if I'm willing to search out all the parts needed to convert to the 272. Looks like you need the carb and intake, as well as some muffler modifications. I'll keep thinking and posting what I eventually end up doing. The saw is just too good to give up.

All you need is the intake block, the intake bolts, and a 272 p/c. I have seen 61/272 muffler variations, but I don't think there are different mufflers for each type of saw.

 

[Ronie]

Does the 266 cylinder use the same 48mm piston? I'll likely get new top end parts all the way around. Are those China jobs on eBay worth anything? I don't want to cheap out but...
Mine has the white top.

The 266 has a 50mm piston.

 

[Sleepy]

If you're going the 272 route you might want to consider adding the heat shield between the muffler and cylinder, part # 503519901.

 

[nwhunter]

Does the 266 cylinder use the same 48mm piston? I'll likely get new top end parts all the way around. Are those China jobs on eBay worth anything? I don't want to cheap out but...
Mine has the white top.

I have put Chinese piston kits in 61 and a 162se, one still has that kit in it, the other one had crap rings so it ended up with caber rings. That's been 3 years now but those saws don't get used much. Since then I put caber rings on any Chinese piston kits I use. The cylinders that come with those kits differ quite a bit from the Husky cylinder. Since then I won't use the Chinese cylinders or rings.
The last two saws I put together got new oem cylinders and pistons(555 and 55oxp) Those might be hard to find for a 61.

 

[arto_wa]

Just a comment about Farmertec MS660 carburetor jet size, since it has been said that the jet should be little larger.

I just measured the carburetor jet size in my second MS660 kit which arrived last week and it looks like they are now shipping them with a larger jet.

The jet measured just slightly over .0023" (or drill bit size 73), but not quite .024" (or drill bit size 72).
This is apparently what it should have been all along, according to some of the guys who have built several kits.


My first kit was completed just before the holidays and it works really well. I ordered this second kit just for the heck of it since it was on sale during the holidays!

By the way, I appreciate all the help (also the tips regarding couple of weak parts) on this forum regarding assembling one of these!