Stihl MS361 - Rebuilding Top and Bottom end, need advice on parts

[2-StrokeDude]

Depends on the saw for me - the 361 is a real nice lifetime kinda saw, but I won't use it enough to justify any more than the Meteor piston in it and, like you, got it as a bargain fixer upper. I don't pay a lot of attention to my smaller saws because I mainly use saws for milling and those are all my larger ones. I only just now paid serious attention to getting everything fixed up perfect on my 455 Ranchers to sell them because they were consumer saws I didn't use a lot. Made in Italy doesn't necessarily guarantee anything with the Meteors, but they have a long time great reputation among AM parts.

That is my thoughts as well, I probably won't use the saw too much, but I want some good quality parts in there and hopefully the Meteor kit and the crank are good and will hold up. I'm a name brand kinda guy, so If i'm able to fix up a pro Stihl saw for my own personal use I certainly will

 

[firescout]

Did this particular 361 overheat because it was excessively choked up externally with sawdust and debris? Maybe it was also tuned a bit too lean at the same time?

 

[2-StrokeDude]

OK my 2 cents. Most of us do not use aftermarket in a shop due to liability reasons. We don't want to get stuck warrantying anything that the manufacturer will not stand behind.

That being said, does the private homeowner type just throw this saw away? Up to them.

Do not buy the absolute cheapest aftermarket out there. I see you are looking at some of the "better" aftermarket brands. Good move.

Heed the advice given on here. Especially about the pin locks. We want to see it run again. Go for it

That's good advice, yeah I totally understand dealers not using aftermarket parts for liability sake. But I think (and hope with the parts I got) that some good aftermarket stuff should hold up well for me as a part time saw user

 

[lone wolf]

Looks like the kit comes with the normal kind of clips, so I should be good.
View attachment 1131045
These look like the same clips that were in the saw. When I tore it down originally among all of the piston chunks and engine carnage I found, one of the circlips was still intact and they looked like the meteor ones that come in the kit. I'll post some pics of what happened to the engine, you guys won't believe what happened to it, I just cannot believe a piston would just grenade like this on a Pro Stihl saw!

Don't throw your money away on that China crap buy OEM and thank me later.

 

[snobdds]

Buy once, cry once. Plus, it's too expensive to be cheap.


I bought a parts saw 361 for $150.00. It came with a good top and bottom end. It was just missing a coil.

They are out there, just be patient and a good candidate will come up and then you will have a good OEM saw.

 

[2-StrokeDude]

Did this particular 361 overheat because it was excessively choked up externally with sawdust and debris? Maybe it was also tuned a bit too lean at the same time?

I think that is %100 a possibility, and the most likely cause of the engine failure. My boss who gave me the saw claims to have always ran mixed gas in the saw, and he has had a few different saws so he knows that you have to run premix. As far as cleaning the sawdust out of the covers from time to time, he never does that.

I am leaning more towards it overheating because it couldn't get cooled down, on the plastic front shroud piece that overhangs the top of the muffler a little the plastic is burned and melted so I think it got really really hot and something broke internally from the heat, or the piston overheated and cracked, which caused the saw to grenade...

 

[ZeroJunk]

Over a period of time the metering and fuel pump in the carb get stiffer and just don't pump as much fuel. The fuel filter can slowly stop up as well.

IOW they just lean out over time. You have to listen if you know what to listen for or put a tach on them from time to time or they will cook eventually.

 

[SteveSr]

Also, what do you mean by if the circlips have tabs don't use them? Are you talking about these?


What is bad about them, do they just pop out of their grove and wreck everything?

Yes, they are just a spring with a heavy mass (the ear) on one end. When you mount the new non-ear clips they MUST be mounted with the gap facing either up or down.

I have used circlips like these on 2-stroke mopeds and they seem to work fine, never seen the kind with tabs on them. View attachment 1131005

These are the BAD guys for saws.