stihl 461

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ozark52

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I see stihl has the 461 back in the catalog. Do they have that many left over or is it back in production. The guy at the saw shop last week said he would sell me one for $1000 with 20 inch bar. I was checking out a 462 when he offered.
 
I thought I'd heard they were no longer making them in favor of the 462? They are kinda getting to be dinosaurs without AT/M-tronic tech and having the same basic blueprints as a 460. Nice and simple to work on though, except for their tendency to attract and retain lots of oily sawdust in all the nooks and crannies.
 
I was at a saw display today at a John Deere dealer and there was a spanking new 461 on the shelf and I started asking questions. I guess it had only been there a month or less so it was not some long ago leftover, its been at least two years since they switched over to the 462 (btw I blew up two of those and sweared off new saws for a while). Counter guy was not too helpful. They wanted 1200 with a 25 inch bar. Believe me I was temped because I liked the 461 in the woods, good power and I have one that is about 4 years old now and running strong so they hold up in my opinion. I guess its not a fluke maybe they are re-releasing 461 as the 462 must have had some issues, my Stihl dealer would not stand behind those 462 failures because I was commercial and beyond my 3 months. I started buying old 460s where ever I found them.
 
Last I heard was that the 441 was done.
Many guys still like having an adjustable carb so it was gonna be around for awhile
Hmm... That means I am hangjng on to mine, the 441c m-tronic version. It runs really well with the new top end I installed. That was such a gorilla restoration that I breathed a sigh of relief when I finished. The Stihl dealer wanted no part of it. Worst service manual I've seen in years, the Stihl guys who wrote it probably needed psychiatric help when they completed it. Regardless, it performs well with a 25" bar, and that's what I use most of the time with it.
 
I was at a saw display today at a John Deere dealer and there was a spanking new 461 on the shelf and I started asking questions. I guess it had only been there a month or less so it was not some long ago leftover, its been at least two years since they switched over to the 462 (btw I blew up two of those and sweared off new saws for a while). Counter guy was not too helpful. They wanted 1200 with a 25 inch bar. Believe me I was temped because I liked the 461 in the woods, good power and I have one that is about 4 years old now and running strong so they hold up in my opinion. I guess its not a fluke maybe they are re-releasing 461 as the 462 must have had some issues, my Stihl dealer would not stand behind those 462 failures because I was commercial and beyond my 3 months. I started buying old 460s where ever I found them.
Do you know how many hours were on the two 462's that crashed?
 
I had one go at about a year with piston failure second one purchased almost same day as fail and it only lasted about 6 months, same type of failure but this time dealer went over it and said crankcase was cracked. I guess lightening up the saws reduced their ability to withstand professional use. I have plenty of older saws that have put up with years of the exact same usage. No more new saws for me. But I am temped by the 461 as I have one of those and its running fine after about three years of use.
 
I had one go at about a year with piston failure second one purchased almost same day as fail and it only lasted about 6 months, same type of failure but this time dealer went over it and said crankcase was cracked. I guess lightening up the saws reduced their ability to withstand professional use. I have plenty of older saws that have put up with years of the exact same usage. No more new saws for me. But I am temped by the 461 as I have one of those and its running fine after about three years of use.

I'm very far from a professional. How many hours a day and days a week would you say you cut during your season. And how long is that season?
 
Well I bought that spanking new 461, but the dealer was not too interested in talking about its origin or anything else for that matter, take your **** and leave me alone was the vibe. So a couple of tanks through it already and working just fine. My older 461 arctic just threw its piston and will need a new top end but its about 4 years old and have gone through 4 new gas tanks over the years ( tree jamming accidents mostly) so I am not too suprised to see piston failure.
 
Well I bought that spanking new 461, but the dealer was not too interested in talking about its origin or anything else for that matter, take your **** and leave me alone was the vibe. So a couple of tanks through it already and working just fine. My older 461 arctic just threw its piston and will need a new top end but its about 4 years old and have gone through 4 new gas tanks over the years ( tree jamming accidents mostly) so I am not too suprised to see piston failure.

The cost of doing business? If I went thru saws that fast, I'd think about converting to propane and buying firewood.
 

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