pleasant

Yes, thats correct. You are spending a lot of time and money on a saw, which at the end of it, is still only worth 40 quid (bet youve spend more than that already) everyone here has been very helpful and are knowledgeable, however suggesting ways to fix one of these in the same way as you would suggest fixing issues with a genuine stihl saw are streets apart and the same criteria is not a case of 'one size fits all' admittedly basic checks are the same or similar, but after that who knows given the quality of this stuff...these were made to con people on ebay, boot fairs and pub car parks and would start and run long enough for someone to part with a few hundred quid. like you say, you may get it running, but its still not a 361.....probably less so a ryobi, and you wont have any confidence in it just waiting for the next thing to break or for it to let you down. Even a broken chinese rolex is right twice a day!

The issue here (well, for me at least) is you are tryrng to make a poorly engineered and assembled machine better that when it was designed in china and when it was assembled using crap parts. Lke I said in an earlier post, it has probably never run given the condition of it. Hell, a mcculloch is better engineered and put together than one of these. In essence, trying to improve on a poor quality saw using the same components it came with is not going to happen. You have a 40 quid saw for which you paid 40 quid for and you have your money back. Whatever happens at the end of this you wont have an ms361.....you will have a poor unreliable, dangerous saw worth 40 quid. Just because it has ms361 on it and it looks similar, it does not make it a 361. Sorry, but thats just my opinion. We see this kind of thing all the time with online purchases of generic garden machinery...first thing that fails is the recoil. We cant repair them because we know it will fail soon after and we will be repairing it again and again for nothing. I tells customers we cannot improve on how its been designed....which is cheap.

...the OP is no worse off then 😅

That is a way around the import laws regarding copy/fake saws. Can't import snide saws due to manufacturer IP, but can imports and sell 'parts' but, it just so happens that 'kit' is all the components to make the saw

They are referring to the crank seal behind the flywheel. Timing is fixed by the woodruff key on the end of the crank....or the cast keyway in the alloy flywheel. Either way if the key is in place and undamaged, your timing will be fine. You don"t need a timing light.

Put it back together, take it a boot fair ask £100 quid for it and take 80 quid. Youve doubled your money and got out of it.

Dont need to look at any more pics. That stihl nameplate is enough to tell its a chinese fake you have there

Can I just clarify. The issues I am referring to in my earlier post regarding battery mowers are where a connected battery to the machine has been stored in damp/cold conditions...not from water exposure during use. We all know what happens if you leave leaking old batteries in a torch for example- the terminals are oxidated and corroded. Well, this is what we see on terminals in battery stuff that is shed stored during times of prolonged, damp periods. Winter for example. This 'verdigris' corrosion to the terminals that has built up over winter, insulates the battery from the motor and need removing prior to use. Also extremes of temperature is not good for the life of batteries. Temp ranges are normally listed in the owners manuals, but no one reads those.

On the flip side of the op's question, this week we have had 6 cordless mowers in for non starting that when put away after last cut last year were working fine. Been stored in shed in garden with battery attached and terminals corroded. A good clean and re charge and a bill for 40 quid normall 'educates' customers that they need to bring their batteries in during prolonged cold....or excessively hot periods.....however when customers cant even be bothered to clean undrneath their mowers...remembering to cosset a battery is way down their priority lists

There's a good video set of a hydrostatic transaxle rebuild on you tube that should help you. Just skip to the relevant part you need. Its a four part set. Sorry but i have never sold tractors or ride ons just walk behind mowers. Selling new tractirs and ride ons are a pain in the rrrrssss given the time you spend putting it together, pdi ing it, then delivering it, and then half an hour or more customer hand over...all for a couple of hundred quid GROSS profit...labour, fuel, oil, transportation and labour has to come out of that

Dont bin it yet.....lets see more pics of components like i posted earlier....it would help to confirm either way

Like i say....its surely always had issues so given the poor tolerances of manufacture if it is a copy then he may never get it to start

I am wondering whether this is a chinese 361 clone. There were a load about around 10 years ago until stihl started getting sniffy and took court action. Effectively they were very good fakes of the 361. I noted the cylinder gasket and piston like you. Also no stihl markings on the clutch drum. Interested to see the starter recoil...the inside and the 361 badge. Do the orange engine covers have stihl numbers moulded on the underside i wonder? If it is a fake, them most likely it has never run of if it did ever start then not for long hence the unreasonably clean condition. Its probably been knocking around in someones garage until recently...maybe. I dont know how poster came about it. You dont invest in a pro ms361 then dont use it...unless theres an issue and you would take it back to stihl under warranty if there were...not, not use it and store it

Well done. Show us some pics or a video when its done.

If you are prepared to spend serious money on it such as you suggest, then go to the best there is...not someone who happens to be closest. You are obviously willing to spend more than its worth, so money would appear to be no object, so someone who is an expert in their field will expect to have machines sent to them for porting, re building etc. No, I am not touting for business....I fully admit i am not expert in improving on what comes out the factory. I can repair a machine to factory standards ready to be reused, but specialist stuff is best left to those who specialise in that. I would hope you really love that saw though.it already has a pre existing problem that needs addressing, then you say you want a complete re build....so is that all new parts, re use old parts but replace seals gaskets etc? One persons idea of a rebuild is anothers refresh. I often get people in asking me to 'overhaul' their machines. To my mind that is a restoration back to as new as you can get.....what most people mean when pressed is get it going and let me know if theres anything serious.

I wouldn't clean a carb in petrol. Use a proprietory cleaner specifically made for the purpose. Did you take the carb off and just put it in the cleaner 'as is' or did you strip it down to component form so it was just the alloy block plus separate parts in the cleaner? Generally (depending on the ultrasonic cleaner, the temperature and the cleaning liquid) I usually 'cook' mine for 30-40 minutes.

Esso super, although marked as e5 actually doesnt contain any ethanol at all so that probably helped. So if you want ethanol free fuel without going down the more expensive aspen route there is an option. Here you go; read esso synergy supreme. Synergy Fuels | Esso WWW.ESSO.CO.UK Esso branded service stations have a variety of Synergy fuel blends (grades) to help you get to where you're going...

Flat out at the moment, earning lots to cover for the July and August period when people go away for half term and the grass stops growing, so it's generally quiet and we can then allocate staff holidays during that time. If I could work 24 hours a day 7 days a week I could it's that busy with weekend warriors, dragging their mowers out with stale fuel in them ringing me up on Thursday morning before Easter weekend and want it serviced and repaired for the Saturday morning!!! When I point out we have a two nearing three week workload in at the moment...oh and it's Bank holiday Friday and Monday, I'm often met with ok, but I need it for Saturday I'm having a party. 'Are you off over Easter sir?' 'Yes' 'Well, so are my staff' Same people that want to end Sunday shops and supermarkets opening to give 'hard working staff a break' yet are the same people who drive out on a Sunday to a pub for lunch, wander around a garden centre or go to the beach for an ice cream, fish and chips and go to the amusements, then stop for a costa coffee on way home whilst topping up the fuel tank in a petrol station......all premises of course staffed by people working on a Sunday. Idiots

The stihl ms211 is the bigger brother of the ms181. Same chassis, just a bit more output, which means it will occasionally cope with a 16" bar if you need it. Standard is 14" . Parts are pretty much available on the moon, and stihl tend to continue spare parts once a model is discontinued for many more years than most due to their global reach. The 026 for example is still made for certain countries in south america due to less restrictive emissions, so parts are still readily available even though in the uk the model was discountnued around 2000. I sell loads of 181 and 211's to gardeners and man in a van types which the saws are not really designed for that type of regular usage (they are home owner saws) yet they dont break them despite getting little or no maintenance. Echo are good reliable well built saws, but we have always had issues with parts availability and dealers are generally few and far between. As for husky, I can't really comment as its been over 20 years since I was a main dealer for them...I was selling 136, 140 and 340's back in the day. However you do find pro users are either stihl or husky generally, and they don't normally recommend the 'opposition' they are very dyed in the wool when it comes to either of those brands tbh 😁

Neither- they are all old now. It was an observation rather than an appraisal. Although, what I will say, it is the super version which means a larger cc engine so more powerful than standard model

Thats an early one...pre 1990 as it has the metal name tags

The GX engine range you will only find on the 'top price mowers' because the GX is a pro user engine, so only fitted to pro spec machines. The GCV range engines are domestic product, now made in China to Hondas spec. Yes, a good engine (now superceeded by the GCVX range) that runs on less oil that a briggs engine with a neoprene timing belt running in the sump lubed by the sump oil.so oil level is critical. Yes, oil change after first 5 hours...using 10/40 10/30 15/30 or 15/40....any of those grades are fine in the uk with our temp range. Dont use briggs sae30 single grade oil though...must be a multi grade. Unlike a briggs engine, oil level is checked by dipping the dipstick, not screwing it back in to check. So unscrew it, wipe clean then dip it back it but dont screw it in. If you do you will get a false reading. Only big issue with these engines is the carbs...both earlier manual choke and later auto choke. They hate anything but fresh fuel....preferably aspen 4 or pump e5. They are notorious for needing carbs for machines that have had fuel left in them.....pilot jets gum up really easy and are a pig to get right ....and the carbs are a pain to remove and replace unlike a briggs. Run your engines dry of fuel when storing longer than a month and if you can, get a 10mm spanner and loosen the float bowl screw to drain it down. You will be doing yourself a favour if you do.

Yup.....he resigns a few weeks ago after being responsible for the finances since 1999, and she resigns as party leader a couple of weeks ago...and now this happens. Coincidence or pre_planned? You work it out.

You haven't got a banana conrod throwing it off have you?

Agree....and the market for used stuff when battery is the norm, will be virtually zero. Who wants to risk buying used when the batteries cost 75% of the saw- especially if you rely on it to earn money. I am seeing it already- I don't even take battery stuff in on p/x as there's no market.....to risky. At least with a petrol saw you can run it up, and listen and see potential issues. Not with a battery.....like a light bulb. One day it will work, and later the same day it may not. No preventative maintenance with a battery. Just be a load of three or four year old ex pro stuff thats been written down and no market for it, so more landfill.