Help choosing a between a 362 CM 400 CM or a 550 or... ?

[sean donato]

The 362 should be tossed since 400 came out. We just talked about this and not close stock.

Takes the 400 to run with the 562 stock for stock. 562 also had the new MKII out since last Tues at dealers. Around 750 depending on dealer.

Now look at these weights PHO dry like they do oem. Also a good case for 462.

View attachment 1133990View attachment 1133991View attachment 1133992

I only got my 400, after the carb wrapped out on old husqy 562xp, no eta for parts and the 400 was the only replacment in the county that I could find. Called just about every stihl and husqy dealer till the farthest away from my place said yep, have a ms 400 and ms 462 on the shelf. Still pissed I had to pay for it over the phone, but it's been a great saw. I would have happily gotten another 562xp if I could have found one, and still reccomend them to guys who are concerned with price. They arnt as fast as the 400, but not really too far off. Closer then the 362.

They were sold out at the store, so I ordered one in. a Stihl 400 is going to be in for me within the week. The guy ordered 2 more for the shelf when he ordered mine. They have sold 4 of them over the last 2 years, and have never had one come back in the shop for repairs. Many thanks for all the input from everyone.

Give it 8-10 tanks to break in. They wake up a good bit after that.

 

[chainbrake]

I’m confident you’ll be happy with the MS400. Let us know how it works out when you get the time.

Will do. I think it will be the last saw I ever buy. I was reading a user satisfaction survey for the saw. 73 votes yielded 70 votes at 5/5. The other 3 votes were 4/5 by people who seemed that they were wanting 70cc power.

 

[ballisticdoughnut]

Will do. I think it will be the last saw I ever buy. I was reading a user satisfaction survey for the saw. 73 votes yielded 70 votes at 5/5. The other 3 votes were 4/5 by people who seemed that they were wanting 70cc power.

It really is a good saw. The 400 and 500i are two of Stihl’s best new saws. We’ve sold many of them at my shop and only a few have been back for basic maintenance stuff. One 500i came back with a scored piston but that was due to operator error.

 

[chainbrake]

I only got my 400, after the carb wrapped out on old husqy 562xp, no eta for parts and the 400 was the only replacment in the county that I could find. Called just about every stihl and husqy dealer till the farthest away from my place said yep, have a ms 400 and ms 462 on the shelf. Still pissed I had to pay for it over the phone, but it's been a great saw. I would have happily gotten another 562xp if I could have found one, and still reccomend them to guys who are concerned with price. They arnt as fast as the 400, but not really too far off. Closer then the 362.

Give it 8-10 tanks to break in. They wake up a good bit after that.

That's a good heads up on waiting for the rings to wear in a bit before i make a judgement.
The first 30 spruce in the stand are all under 20", so I'm not going to be taxing it heavily right away. I'll be starting on the smallest of those trees (that are about 15-16") to give myself some room to drop the others. I'll break it in slow. I'll even use it for limbing on those first 30 trees so that it has some gentler work during the break-in period. I'm getting 2 new bars for it - a 16 and a 20. I even bought a new pair of faller's pants. Thanks for your input. Have a nice Christmas or Hannukah if you celebrate.

 

[sean donato]

That's a good heads up on waiting for the rings to wear in a bit before i make a judgement.
The first 30 spruce in the stand are all under 20", so I'm not going to be taxing it heavily right away. I'll be starting on the smallest of those trees (that are about 15-16") to give myself some room to drop the others. I'll break it in slow. I'll even use it for limbing on those first 30 trees so that it has some gentler work during the break-in period. I'm getting 2 new bars for it - a 16 and a 20. I even bought a new pair of faller's pants. Thanks for your input. Have a nice Christmas or Hannukah if you celebrate.

Oh, no, you misunderstood me. That's just about how many tanks it took to break in. I didn't/don't baby mine. I bought it to finish out a tree row job after the 562xp broke. It got fueled and put to work.

 

[chainbrake]

Oh, no, you misunderstood me. That's just about how many tanks it took to break in. I didn't/don't baby mine. I bought it to finish out a tree row job after the 562xp broke. It got fueled and put to work.

I'll be treating it somewhat light no matter what while giving it as a full range of throttle keeping the bar on the wood as i go. I have to get those 16" trees out of the way before the big ones have room. Power lines and a road are on one side, and hardwoods that I want to leave standing are on the other. This stand of softwoods has been growing along the powerline and road since the area first got electrified in the 50s. They have matured, and it is time for them to come down before the winds take them.

 

[chipper1]

I put it to everyone here before going to the local dealer, so that when I went to my neighbour and heard what he had to say, I would be more rounded in my thinking/questioning/responses. I'm looking for more of a consensus rather than getting an individual's (though the dealer is definitely an expert) bias. I'm 95% sold on the 400. My local dealer may have had bad luck with a saw he has only sold a few of. That said, everything I read tells me that if people were happy with the 362, they are happier with their 400.
My 034 rancher is getting tired and a little leaky; it runs good for what it has been: a decent firewood saw that's 20-some years into it's second sleeve and rings. It will be a good backup saw that I cand haul around in case the other one runs out of gas or gets pinched due to my trying to overcome the laws of physics - again. Being the same weight and having 1.3 to 1.5 times the power as the 034, I think it will probably serve me well till I die - hopefully not with the saw in my hands and a branch on my head!

I understand that, most the dealers around here aren't that great, you better know what you want before going in.
I've never liked the 362's, the early standard carb units were one of the worst 60cc saws I've ever ran. They have improved them in the newest gen of the mtronic saws though.

They were sold out at the store, so I ordered one in. a Stihl 400 is going to be in for me within the week. The guy ordered 2 more for the shelf when he ordered mine. They have sold 4 of them over the last 2 years, and have never had one come back in the shop for repairs. Many thanks for all the input from everyone.

Congrats.
Look forward to hearing how you like it.

 

[chipper1]

The 362 should be tossed since 400 came out. We just talked about this and not close stock.

Takes the 400 to run with the 562 stock for stock. 562 also had the new MKII out since last Tues at dealers. Around 750 depending on dealer.

Now look at these weights PHO dry like they do oem. Also a good case for 462.

View attachment 1133990View attachment 1133991View attachment 1133992

That's the problem I have with the newer 60s, so close to my 372oe or my 462. I understand they are more money, but for someone who makes even just a bit selling firewood, it just seems to make sense to jump to a 70cc saw. I like a nice 50/70 saw combo, but I have a lot of other saws that I run too, hard not to like saws lol.
Have you ran the new 562mk2 yet, I haven't.

 

[sean donato]

That's the problem I have with the newer 60s, so close to my 372oe or my 462. I understand they are more money, but for someone who makes even just a bit selling firewood, it just seems to make sense to jump to a 70cc saw. I like a nice 50/70 saw combo, but I have a lot of other saws that I run too, hard not to like saws lol.
Have you ran the new 562mk2 yet, I haven't.

I tend to agree, however the gap used to be a lot greater. Even going back to the early 2000's a 60cc saw had noticeably less power then a 70cc saw. These days thats a bit more blurred. I remember thinking the 562xp was a light Saber back in 2012 when I demoed one at the dealer, and compared to my ported 359 (which is still one of my favorite saws.) It's was light-years ahead in power and handling. Even running the ms400 and a 572xp back to back one day bucking logs with my logging buddy it was a close race with 20" Bars on both. The weight savings was noticeable in favor of the 400, and the 572 was indeed faster, just nit enough to make me want one, especially since I have the 390xp to jump up to when I need a bigger saw.

 

[ballisticdoughnut]

We just got the 562 MkII in a few weeks ago, interested in running one myself. Husqvarna reduced the compression slightly with a dished piston so likely won’t perform quite like the MkI. OEM replacement pistons for the 562 are dished as well.

 

[sean donato]

We just got the 562 MkII in a few weeks ago, interested in running one myself. Husqvarna reduced the compression slightly with a dished piston so likely won’t perform quite like the MkI. OEM replacement pistons for the 562 are dished as well.

Wonder why they did that?

 

[ballisticdoughnut]

Wonder why they did that?

I’ll have to look at the service bulletin but if I recall correctly it was to reduce heat.

 

[ballisticdoughnut]

Husqvarna says the change was made to improve product “robustness”. I suspect it was done to reduce heat to improve hot start condition and/or help prevent heat related piston scoring.

 

[bwalker]

I only got my 400, after the carb wrapped out on old husqy 562xp, no eta for parts and the 400 was the only replacment in the county that I could find. Called just about every stihl and husqy dealer till the farthest away from my place said yep, have a ms 400 and ms 462 on the shelf. Still pissed I had to pay for it over the phone, but it's been a great saw. I would have happily gotten another 562xp if I could have found one, and still reccomend them to guys who are concerned with price. They arnt as fast as the 400, but not really too far off. Closer then the 362.

Give it 8-10 tanks to break in. They wake up a good bit after that.

The 562xp was an excellent saw for me and ran the heck out of mine with zero issues.
However, it seems they were not the most reliable saw. Maybe the Mark 2 will be better in that regard.
The 400 I have now is superb IMO. The only decent 60cc class saw Stihl has ever made IMO.

 

[lone wolf]

The 362 should be tossed since 400 came out. We just talked about this and not close stock.

Takes the 400 to run with the 562 stock for stock. 562 also had the new MKII out since last Tues at dealers. Around 750 depending on dealer.

Now look at these weights PHO dry like they do oem. Also a good case for 462.

View attachment 1133990View attachment 1133991View attachment 1133992

I know where an almost like new MS 462 is for 900.00 if anyone needs one.

 

[bwalker]

That's a good heads up on waiting for the rings to wear in a bit before i make a judgement.
The first 30 spruce in the stand are all under 20", so I'm not going to be taxing it heavily right away. I'll be starting on the smallest of those trees (that are about 15-16") to give myself some room to drop the others. I'll break it in slow. I'll even use it for limbing on those first 30 trees so that it has some gentler work during the break-in period. I'm getting 2 new bars for it - a 16 and a 20. I even bought a new pair of faller's pants. Thanks for your input. Have a nice Christmas or Hannukah if you celebrate.

Breaking in a saw or any two stroke slow is counter productive.
As soon as the motor is up to operating temp I try to load mine extra heavy right off the bat to seat the rings.

 

[bwalker]

Wonder why they did that?

I assume to make the motor run cooler in order to elevate the hot starting and reliability issues.
If it were me, I would swap the dished piston put for the flat top right away.

 

[sean donato]

Husqvarna says the change was made to improve product “robustness”. I suspect it was done to reduce heat to improve hot start condition and/or help prevent heat related piston scoring.
View attachment 1134129

The 562xp was an excellent saw for me and ran the heck out of mine with zero issues.
However, it seems they were not the most reliable saw. Maybe the Mark 2 will be better in that regard.
The 400 I have now is superb IMO. The only decent 60cc class saw Stihl has ever made IMO.

I assume to make the motor run cooler in order to elevate the hot starting and reliability issues.
If it were me, I would swap the dished piston put for the flat top right away.

One response to all 3 quotes, @ballisticdoughnut thanks for checking. I would have thought a simple modification to the flywheel for more cooling air would have been better, possibly doing minor adjustmet with the timing as well. Can't see how lowering the compression isn't going to hurt torque a bit.
To both, I never had the hot start issues, carb issues or really any other issues with it. Really I reccomended it to anyone, it was a fantastic saw. Then husqy screwed the pooch with parts so new saw time.
I think If I still had one, I'd stock up on some flat top pistons to have around, just in case.

 

[holeycow]

CAD - Chainsaw Addiction Disease

Huh. Used to be "chainsaw aquisition disorder"

Anyway...

Congrats on the soon to be 400!

I do think you still need a tiny saw to go along with that...as has already been stated.

68 and counting..

 

[holeycow]

Breaking in a saw or any two stroke slow is counter productive.
As soon as the motor is up to operating temp I try to load mine extra heavy right off the bat to seat the rings.

Yup. Repeated short, hard wide-open work with just a wee bit of cooling time between. Then some decently long bucks and then good to go, pretty much.

The machine will tell you, if you "listen"