I've had my MS362 for a year now and have been happy with it, but after running it stock for a year and having it broken in well and being more familiar with it, I'm ready to do a Muffler Mod and check the squish on it. If I decide to pull the cylinder I will probably do a mild porting on it to improve flow, but I won't mess with the timing other than base gasket treatment to get it optimized. Anyway,,, since I've been happy with this saw and it meets 99% of my needs I wouldn't mind getting a 25" light bar and maybe a 32" light bar (with skip chain) for the occasional big log that I get into. I don't really foresee buying a bigger saw for my needs unless a super deal falls in my lap (ha, like that ever happens for me). BUT, before I go to a 32" bar, I'm wandering if one of the experienced folks here could reccommend mods for the oiler to bump up the oil flow to the bar. This thing is pretty stingy with oil on the 25" bar and I'm thinking it's OK for that, but pushing it at it's limits. I have it turned all the way up and it generally uses half a tank of oil to a full tank of gas. All of my older saws always used a 1 to 1 ratio and they seemed to be oiling well. All of that for this: What's the most cost effective way to bump up the flow? Is there a stock swap oiler from a larger saw that would fit? Optional High output oiler? Internal tweak or grind I can do to up the flow? Advance thanks to the awesome braintrust here.
No idea on the oiler, sorry, but I'll say this, I sent my 362 to huskihl for a port job. I bought it & sold a 361 & that was a mistake imo. Mine wasn't real impressive running 18" full comp let alone a 25" bar. It was used, but had good compression. I hope yours is better than mine. I have high hopes for it once Kevin is done.
I believe you need parts for a 460 oiler, maybe someone else can verify for sure. I have a 361 and I really need to do the same thing, if I went over 25" on the bar.
Well heck, let’s just see if huskihl will come out of the sausage shop to shed some wisdom on oiling....
The oiler can be modified if you have a dremel with some diamond burrs and a cutoff wheel. But short of having it ported, it’s not gonna do well with anything over a 25” bar. Really a 20” is all they want
Are there any before / after pix of what gets modified anywhere? I understand that it isn't optimal for large logs, but the bulk of my cutting is 12" to 18" with rarely anything my 25" bar can't cut from one side. I would like to be able put a 32" on for the rare noodle of a log that is too big for our little sawmill. Would I like a bigger saw, FOR SURE. But do I want / need to spend money on a bigger saw, not if I can help it. If a great deal comes along, maybe... Years ago I heated our house with a Poulan 1800 woodsman saw for several years... I'm used to not racing... I only started spending money on saws after I met you guys... LOL
I hear you! I ran my 361 for years and was totally happy. Now I recently added a 261, ported 462 and the thought of a 661 has started to enter my mind. I’ll probably sell the 361 at some point, the 462 handles all those duties just fine with only a slight weight penalty.
In my case the 361 was the stronger saw. I should have just flipped the 362. The 361 ran 20" full comp 3/8 chain real well & was a nice mid sized saw. The 362 with the same set up seemed under powered. Those 36 series saws are my go too firewood saws & the 362 just didn't have it. I have no idea why. I'm assuming that when Kevin's done it will perform like my 036XS which is an absolutely vicious saw. It pulls 20" full comp chain at a blistering pace with an 8 pin rim & works well for felling smaller trees. 10-20" felling is right in it's wheelhouse. Fast & efficient.
Adam, I think you will like it. Kevin did our XS362, sent me the video with 32" bar...lol... I normally run 25" on it now, we have 2 other saws in the 20" size. It should scream with 8 pin, 20" set up. 25" bar on it now.
That's the ticket!!! Thanks for sharing. I was thinking the skew cut end / ramp was the key, but nice hearing it from the pro. Thanks again, this mod is for sure on my schedule. This is the first saw I ever owned that seemed stingy on oil. I don't see any damage or extra wear on my 25" bar, but I don't see any extra oil slinging off of it either. You da Man. thx again. Next rainy day project along with MM and base gasket / squish check.
The best/easiest oil pump mods are : Buy the bolt/piston from a 461 or 461 R oil pump. Or just buy the whole oil pump from either of those saws. It bolts right in.
I did the oiler mod and muffler mod last evening. It oils like crazy now. 32" bar will be NO problem. After the mod I had to turn it way down to near the low end to get it where I want it with the 25" bar. I haven't run a tank of fuel through it yet, but hoping to try that out this weekend. With it set fully open it would only push 1/2 a tank of oil to the chain for every tank of fuel. I also opened up the muffler output hole to about 80% of the exhaust port. It barely sounds any louder than stock. It may end up getting a louver or two opened up on the front eventually. We'll see how it runs this way. I hadn't planned on selling the 391, but I decided to sell it and fund some new lightweight bars for the MS362C. I picked up a Stihl 25" light bar and a 32" Tsumara light is on the way with a skip tooth chain. The guy that bought the 391 had only ever used wallyworld poulans before. I put it through a 2o" sugar maple log and his eyes about popped out when he saw the chips flying... LOL. He bout ripped his back pocket off his pants getting his wallet out... LOL It was a good running saw.
Cut a bitter hickory out in front of the house today and got the oiler adjusted today where it's using just a tad less than a tank of oil to a tank of fuel. Liking the new light bar. Had a snafu last evening though. When I put the new bar on I grabbed a chain that looked sharp off the rack. I wanted to cut that 32" sugar maple log in two so I could noodle it down to get it on the sawmill... I was up cutting thru that maple when the chain grabbed... HARD. At that point I remembered why that chain was on the rack by itself... too late though.... It was the chain I had filed real aggressive when I was cutting and making swedish candles from a bunch of dead red pine last summer. Crap, that grab trashed the chain adjuster. So off to the Stihlership I go this morning for chain adjuster parts... I hate when I do stupid stuff... Better a chain aduster than snapping a crankshaft... Pine filed chains will get MARKED way better in the future... way too aggressive for the Maple.
I checked the squish and it was at .028 so not enough to take the base gasket out without machine work so that mod is off the table. I did the timing advance on it the other night and have cut some 10" ironwood with it since then and it seems to have made a nice improvement. I'll be able to tell a little better when I get into some larger wood where I can lean on it and dawg in. huskihl had suggested that I do the timing advance at the Backwoods Savage GTG a month ago. I filed the key to advance it about a minute and a half on a clock dial (my poboys' timing wheel, 1 minute equals 6 degrees...). Thx for the tip. It revs nice and no bite on starting. Starts just as good or better than before. Very happy with this saw. It definitely tosses some serious chips and noodles. Stihl light with the 18" bar that it wears about half the time. The 25" light bar handles most everything else but I have a 32" Tsumara light bar for the occasional need. Since it only weighs a little more than the MS 250 it makes it hard to reach for the "little saw" now... Mods so far: opened the stock exit hole on the muffler to about 75% of the muffler input hole. Kept the spark arrestor in place. nice gain with only a mild increase in noise. removed the gaskets on both the spark plug and compression release. small but noticable gain advanced the timing. Nice gain changed to square filed chain. NICE gain oiler mod so I can safely run a 32" bar on occasion. dual dawgs to make felling a little easier.
amateur cutter have you got your 362 back yet with a cool sticker on it? I'm curious to know if it meets your expectations. The more I use my 362 the more I like it. But I've never had a larger or fully ported by a pro saw to compare it with.
Yes, I got it at Dennis gtg. It's a whole different saw. It's an excellent all around saw now. Easily bucks 20" logs & a great felling saw in 20" & under trees. It will run with a fresh rebuilt stock 046.
