in the market for....

[ford62783]

i looked at 4 stihl dealers from saratoga ny to warrensburg ny and 2 husky dealers al the stihls where around the 940 to 980 range and the husky was from 729 to 850 for the 576 and 699 to 899 for the 372

[quietrangr]

The 460 oiler is a direct swap and will allow you to turn the oil flow up further if you like. Stihls have always been stingy on oil, but then they also sell overpriced bars and chains to make up for it. 

Seems like my 361 gets enough oil when turned all the way up for an 18 inch bar. I pay $58 for an 18 inch es bar, and $270 for a hundred foot roll of chain. Not much different from Oregon. I know the single chain price at the Stihl dealer is way high, though.

[Cut4fun]

I pay $34 for Oregon power match or Windsor speed tips 18" and $209 for my Oregon rolls.

[quietrangr]

I pay $34 for Oregon power match or Windsor speed tips 18" and $209 for my Oregon rolls.

Gonna get in trouble here, but I think Stihl bars are better. Oh, oh. But at $34 for Oregon bars, depending on the shipping price, that might be a better deal. Where do you get them for that price? I've seen that $209 price in Madsen's catalogs for square ground chain, which I can't use on hardwood. They quoted me $249 for Oregon LGX. After shipping, not much difference.

[Cut4fun]

I get my bars at the local Dolmar dealer for that price.  Sometimes even cheaper. Got a 20" large husky mount replaceable tip for $30 once last year.

The chain I order is the CL from Madsen's for my uses, it also can be round ground like LG. $209 + $15 ship.

I have plenty of ES bars too, some still new waiting. I just refuse to pay dealer prices for those. So I didnt included them in this thread for my 084's and 066.

[windthrown]

The 460 oiler is a direct swap and will allow you to turn the oil flow up further if you like. Stihls have always been stingy on oil, but then they also sell overpriced bars and chains to make up for it. 

Come on now, tell us what you REALLY think about Stihl...

The 460 plain model oil pump is not much better than the 361. You need/want the 460 R model oil pump. You do not need to replace the entire oil pump on the 361 either. For half the price, you can get the 460 R model control bolt and piston and put them into the 361 oil pump (the oil pump body on the stock 361 is exactly the same as the 460, and the 441 for that matter). Be careful about this 361 upgrade though; if you set the oil pump on high, you can drain the oil tank before the gas tank is empty.

The 460 R model Stihl PN are:

1128 647 0602 oil pump piston
1128 647 4803 oil pump control bolt
or:
1128 640 3250 entire oil pump assembly

If you buy R (or Aussy) model Stihls, they gush oil like the middle east. Mine have and do (044, 066, 460, etc). Most Stihl saws with adjustible oilers will oil a bar fine, if you crank them up. If you leave them set at the factory E setting, well good luck with that. I have three 361s, and they oil a 25 inch bar just fine. Same with all of my fleet of 026s. Plain non-PRO 260 models oil a 20 inch bar just fine. The 290/310/390 oil a 25 inch bar just fine. Now, those little 1123 saws (the 210-250) have these tiny oilers in them that are pretty poor.

I use GB and Stihl bars mostly, and I think they are better than Oregon. Same with chains: I run all Stihl and Carlton/Windsor. Mostly semi-chisel, as full chisel dulls way too fast cutting through the crud that I do. Just my experience, but I have had problems with Oregon nose sprockets and their laminated bars delaminating on me. Never had that problem on a Stihl or GB bar, laminated or solid.

Of course, I run long bars here on all my saws. PNW long bar disease

[ihookem]

I was in the market. I could get a Husky 372 for 799+ tax  A Dolmar 7300 for 695 + tax.  An ms 441 for 750 + tax. I went with the Stihl. All were priced with 24" bars and chains are 15 dollars each. I have to see it to believe it though. I can swap bars with my 034, otherwise It would have been a total toss up. My ussual dealer wanted 859 plus tax for the 441 so I'm a little mad at him. I don't need a 441 but  for 788 out the door I better do it cause our dollar is not going to be worth much in a few years. You might see 441's going for 1,000 dollars in a few years. It will be a huge step up for big logs from my 034. Love the 034 though.

[ihookem]

I got my 441 today with 25" bar for 787 with tax. It is way better than my 034 for ripping big logs. I was surprised at how smooth it was, no shaking or vibrating and it screams without flooring it. Just one question,  how do you guys break the engine in? I didn't  floor it for more than a second or two a few times. and ran it light. Any suggestions?

[Rocky_J]

The best advice I ever got for 'breaking in' new motors was to forget about it. The only thing you want to avoid is running it wide open unloaded for an extended time (over revving) or running under extreme load for an extended time (over heating). But then you don't want to do either of those things with any saw even after it's broken in.

Just run it like a normal saw. Don't baby it or over think it. It will get stronger after several tanks of fuel. If you try to run it at half power then you will end up with a saw that only runs at half power. So use it to its full capacity but don't abuse it.

[Ianab]

Yup, take it out and cut some wood 

Run it full throttle when the bar is in wood and generally use it like normal.

Modern engines need very little 'running in' and what you do should be under normal operating conditions. Get the carb adjusted after about 10 tanks of gas as it will be "run in" by then.

Ian