stihl 361 dead

[Al_Smith]

--and I might further point out that if you let a saw sit for months at a time full of fuel you will screw up the carb innards in time .Then if you are like me you will get very good at rebuilding carbs .

Forgetfull minds cause tired fingers . :D

[baronthered]

I hope you get your saw fixed. I've got three right now but would be miserable without my primary saw. Speaking of doing odd things I usually after running hard for awhile and before I set it down for fuel and maint. run my saws at something not quite an idle but not wide open to help cool them a little. I don't know if it helps but I have always been told never to shut down anything without a little cool down. That prolly comes from alot of heavy equipment running in the family (oil and turbos  ). what do you guys think? wasting time or good practice?

[chucker]

 :D  i was always told if it aint broke, dont fix it.. also if it works dont change it ????

[GASoline71]

I hope you get your saw fixed. I've got three right now but would be miserable without my primary saw. Speaking of doing odd things I usually after running hard for awhile and before I set it down for fuel and maint. run my saws at something not quite an idle but not wide open to help cool them a little. I don't know if it helps but I have always been told never to shut down anything without a little cool down. That prolly comes from alot of heavy equipment running in the family (oil and turbos  ). what do you guys think? wasting time or good practice?

Well a saw doesn't have an automatic transmission, or a turbo to cool down... so you are wasting your time.  Plus 2 strokes don't like to be held at half throttle.  You load up the cylinder with unburnt fuel over a brief period of time.  All on, or all off...  Just shut 'er down. you ain't gonna hurt it.

Gary

[Al_Smith]

Early on I had one I had to cool down,still have it .PM 610 Mac that I used to run until it died from fuel starvation because at the time I didn't know any better .

The electronic coil would  go goofy on me and not spark for love nor money until it did cool . There you sit in the woods twiddling your thumbs waiting a half an hour like a bump on a log .

It took me a while to get a little smarter about things .If I let it idle about 10-15 seconds before I shut it down it did just fine .

[Stihler075]

When all else fails,contact the customer service folks at stihlusa.com.They've kept my 31 year old 075AV going strong.Welcome to the forum! These are some great people on here 8)!

[blizer]

Thanks for all the replies.
Good news, the dealer talked to Stihl and they provided free parts,
I just paid labor $120. I'm pleased with my dealer, Winchester Equipment
for going the extra mile.

Again thanks for all the good replies.
I've stopped running to empty on all my equipment.

[sawmilllawyer]

Good for you Blizer, seems like a good resolution to the problem. Some eh, your back up and running that used saw, want to sell it cheap? I mean after all it is used, isn't it?    :D :D

[John Woodworth]

I,ve run my saw's and everything I own thats 2 cycle out of gas for 30 plus years now and have never lost a motor, but one thing I do is I use a heavy 40:1 mix which also allows you to juice up the carb settings. I firmly believe in this mixture and my older saws prove the point, the oldest 075 purchased in1983, 056Mag in 1985, 034/044 in 1990 have never been apart.

[chucker]

 ;D  true said!! oil is cheap compared to a shop hour ... even if your shop hour is at home most that will usually go wrong is the plug will foul out . run all my 2 cycles at 24:1 or 1 quart to 6 gallons of #87 oct. early 80,s had pro huskies and ran their oil at their ratio and it showed how they wanted you to buy a new saw with in a year !!! with the 24:1 and new jonsereds there still going long and hard!!! lesson learned

[Rocky_J]

If a little is good then more is better! Heck, why stop at 24-1? 16-1 or even 1-1 should offer the most protection yet! Why even use gas? Just run straight oil!  8)

[Cut4fun]

6 gallons of #87 oct. early 80,s had pro huskies and 

My Dolmar dealer has a sign hung up in his shop. Please run 89 octane min now days in the saws. He is a Ole timer with many many years at this same location.

I had to ask the question why? He stated the 87 today is not the 87 of 20-25 years ago and he is seeing alot of burned up saws between the ethanol amounts in 87 and the heat generated with 87 octane. That was good enough answer for me. I had ran only 87 till that day with no problems, but switching to 93 only cost 20 cents a gallon. 
Plus I know how much my truck appreciates it when I run 93 in it compared to 87, heck the truck feels like it has alot less pulling power on 87 and 87 sets off the knock sensor to retard the timing.

[chipsfly09]

I've never worried too much when the saw starts running out of fuel-- Will usually stop at first sign-- glad to take a little rest myself--but I have tried to finish cuts---
Didn't even consider or know it could be a potential problem--explaination makes sense

I won't do that any more!! Maybe this is more of an issue with the newer, higher revving saws-- of which I have a couple.  I'll be sure and offer this advice to others.  Could this be a reason for me to switch to synthetic oil? more residual protection?  I have not switched yet but as has been stated any oil is relatively cheap compared to saw prices and/or time consuming repairs.

Thanks forum

[isawlogs]

  I have used a 40/1 mix in my saws too for a long time , and also have not had an engin failure  due to lack of lube . I think the 40/1 mix is a very good comprimise the the 50/1 that is proned by manifacturers out there that and using the highest octane gas available that has no ethanol in it is the way to go ... Some may or may not agry , but that is ok with me , I aint going to try and lean out my saws to get to know how to rebuild them ....  ;)