bodywhomper
ArboristSite Lurker
[sorry for the length]
I wanted and needed a bigger saw. I bought a used ms361 from a tool-oriented pawn shop a few years ago. Currently, I have two concerns, which may or may not be related, the sparks from somewhere around the clutch and high heat in the same around (and shroud).
I knew the saw needed some work when I bought it and have been trying to get it in good shape for the past few months. Currently, I’m getting some sparks somewhere from the clutch area when cutting under load (bucking logs larger diameter than the 24” bar). The sparking is not consistent. Also, in this scenario, the clutch cover, bar, chain, clutch drum, etc. are getting pretty hot. After I had sparks today while bucking the second large round, I finished my cut, shut down the saw, took off the bar, chain, clutch plate, clutch drum to have a look, and everything was pretty hot to the touch; hot to the point where I needed to wear my leather gloves if I wanted to be touching something metal for more than a few seconds. This does not seem right to me. the chain was oiling (it’s minimal, but I’ve heard/read that’s normal for the ms361), there was no noticeable smoke from the saw (or cut), face of the cut didn’t show any signs of super high heat (e.g. charred), the chain is sharp, and the air filter seems clean. I just replaced the clutch (shoes, springs, etc), and am wondering if I should replace the clutch drum (see below). the chain tension seemed good and was freely moving when the chain brake was not engaged. I have not noticed this issue with the heat before with the few other saws that I’ve used (MS241 – new to me and MS270 – old going away).
The recent repairs/replacements done to the clutch-parts of the saw in chronological order:
-Burn up brake, clutch, needle bearings, and plastic because left idling with break on (idle was all jacked already – more below)
-clean-up above stuff charred and melted stuff: dremmeled out the melted plastic around the brake and clutch drum, cleaned/scrubed the brake (disassembled), clutch, and clutch drum with brake cleaner, wire brush, and elbow grease. They were not 100% carbon/glaze-free, but pretty close. I noticed that the worm gear looked a little odd, but put the clutch back together and tried out the saw w/o the clutch cover, to observe an oiling issue I was also experiencing.
-run the saw w/o bar, chain, and clutch cover and observe lots of sparks from behind the clutch drum.
-Remove clutch and see lots of metal shavings (fine particles) in the crankcase behind the clutch, a more jacked looking worm gear, and some areas of the crankcase that got nicked by the worm gear. Took worm gear to the saw shop, got it replaced, and now know what the correct, non-jacked worm gear for this saw looks like. The nicked areas of the crankcase don’t seem to have any hanging spurs….
-put saw back together and use. it seems to saw pretty well (no sparks, didn’t notice heat issue) but the idle/low carb setting are all over the place. Troubleshoot to realize that the clutch is shot; the springs are not supposed be to as loose as they have always been.
-replace clutch, get idle to function right with “L” on carb at the “standard” setting described in the manual. The “h” is also set at the “standard” setting.
I feel so close to have a good functional saw. What’s next? Replace clutch drum? Remove clutch and dremmel areas that have been previously nicked to make them more smooth?
Cheers and thanks!
I wanted and needed a bigger saw. I bought a used ms361 from a tool-oriented pawn shop a few years ago. Currently, I have two concerns, which may or may not be related, the sparks from somewhere around the clutch and high heat in the same around (and shroud).
I knew the saw needed some work when I bought it and have been trying to get it in good shape for the past few months. Currently, I’m getting some sparks somewhere from the clutch area when cutting under load (bucking logs larger diameter than the 24” bar). The sparking is not consistent. Also, in this scenario, the clutch cover, bar, chain, clutch drum, etc. are getting pretty hot. After I had sparks today while bucking the second large round, I finished my cut, shut down the saw, took off the bar, chain, clutch plate, clutch drum to have a look, and everything was pretty hot to the touch; hot to the point where I needed to wear my leather gloves if I wanted to be touching something metal for more than a few seconds. This does not seem right to me. the chain was oiling (it’s minimal, but I’ve heard/read that’s normal for the ms361), there was no noticeable smoke from the saw (or cut), face of the cut didn’t show any signs of super high heat (e.g. charred), the chain is sharp, and the air filter seems clean. I just replaced the clutch (shoes, springs, etc), and am wondering if I should replace the clutch drum (see below). the chain tension seemed good and was freely moving when the chain brake was not engaged. I have not noticed this issue with the heat before with the few other saws that I’ve used (MS241 – new to me and MS270 – old going away).
The recent repairs/replacements done to the clutch-parts of the saw in chronological order:
-Burn up brake, clutch, needle bearings, and plastic because left idling with break on (idle was all jacked already – more below)
-clean-up above stuff charred and melted stuff: dremmeled out the melted plastic around the brake and clutch drum, cleaned/scrubed the brake (disassembled), clutch, and clutch drum with brake cleaner, wire brush, and elbow grease. They were not 100% carbon/glaze-free, but pretty close. I noticed that the worm gear looked a little odd, but put the clutch back together and tried out the saw w/o the clutch cover, to observe an oiling issue I was also experiencing.
-run the saw w/o bar, chain, and clutch cover and observe lots of sparks from behind the clutch drum.
-Remove clutch and see lots of metal shavings (fine particles) in the crankcase behind the clutch, a more jacked looking worm gear, and some areas of the crankcase that got nicked by the worm gear. Took worm gear to the saw shop, got it replaced, and now know what the correct, non-jacked worm gear for this saw looks like. The nicked areas of the crankcase don’t seem to have any hanging spurs….
-put saw back together and use. it seems to saw pretty well (no sparks, didn’t notice heat issue) but the idle/low carb setting are all over the place. Troubleshoot to realize that the clutch is shot; the springs are not supposed be to as loose as they have always been.
-replace clutch, get idle to function right with “L” on carb at the “standard” setting described in the manual. The “h” is also set at the “standard” setting.
I feel so close to have a good functional saw. What’s next? Replace clutch drum? Remove clutch and dremmel areas that have been previously nicked to make them more smooth?
Cheers and thanks!
