Best 70-80cc Saw?

ReggieT said:

HOWS ABOUT THIS---Makita 6401 upgrade to 84cc?

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That's a good option.

Blowingsmokeupyourchimney said:

I swear, I get just as much chips from that 66 mag as I do stump grinding! The 66 mag, is absolutely the best saw.

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I always wondered what the diff was between the 066 and the 066 Magnum. Seems to be the same saw, on paper.

I did have an 056 Magnum II for a short time, and that was a heavy cow of a saw. The 056 is 81cc, but the 056 Mag II is 94cc... bigger than that 066 Mag. It also weighs 18.3 lb. dry without bar, which is why I swapped it for the 064 AV.

Blowingsmokeupyourchimney said:

I swear, I get just as much chips from that 66 mag as I do stump grinding! The 66 mag, is absolutely the best saw.

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I always wondered what the diff was between the 066 and the 066 Magnum. Seems to be the same saw, on paper.

I did have an 056 Magnum II for a short time, and that was a heavy cow of a saw. The 056 is 81cc, but the 056 Mag II is 94cc... bigger than that 066 Mag. It also weighs 18.3 lb. dry without bar, which is why I swapped it for the 064 AV.

Ashful said:

I always wondered what the diff was between the 066 and the 066 Magnum.

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All that's different is a sticker. That said some are said to have better cylinders such as the red lights.

Both great saws. 066 is a beast one of the greatest saws ever made. Had an old beat one but was a work horse. The 660 is pretty good just more emission.

Since you said 70-80, my vote is the Home Depot Makita Dolmar with OEM Mahl 79 cc upgrade. Smooth, strong and fairly light. I love it.
64 cc is ok but why have 64 cc when 79 cc on same chassis works.
Aftermarket 84 kits are variable quality and no more power than OEM 79 cc. But cheaper.

ReggieT said:

Well in the meantime...just picked up this lil fellow from the shop!
No scored nothing, burnt cylinder NOT! (I don't know what type of hallucinogens my previous saw tech was on!)
He swore up & down the saw was toast!
Carb work/fuel line...$60 and "DA DA!"
THE 116SI IS BACK---ONE PULL---ONE START
GLORY
View attachment 172904 View attachment 172905

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Uh... just by chance, does he sell saws?

A used 064 in good shape would be real tough to beat. I like the 372 xp also but its definitely down a few steps from the 064. Since getting my 064 I haven't even picked up my ms 360 pro.

Jazzberry said:

A used 064 in good shape would be real tough to beat. I like the 372 xp also but its definitely down a few steps from the 064. Since getting my 064 I haven't even picked up my ms 360 pro.

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Agreed. I have the 064 AV and 036 Pro. I have to remind myself to put hours on the 036, sometimes. The 064 rips, and isn't all that heavy.

I loved my 064 .. It blocked over a 1000full cord of firewood without a hick-up. For falling work I preferred the 372 (unless we were talking big hardwood trees) It was a lot of saw for its weight .. Now that I burn coal I play around with a l husky 550xp for brush/trail work..

ReggieT said:

Well fellers, my accolades & hoopla were all premature...just filled up the 116si started on one pull...cutting through elm & black locust like butter for about 5-6 minutes...then all of a sudden she cuts off like someone hit a switch!

Cannot get it to restart...and now the pull cord sounds like it's made out chain and pulls out like thread off a spool
No resistance in the cord at all, everything is sounding very metallic...feeling no compression!.
ANY THOUGHTS...that are not ominous?

@ Wits End.com

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Sounds like the starter pawls are not engaging. No big deal.

Having owned several 034/036/MS360 variants, two MS361's, a few 262xp's, two 044's (well, three including the project I just started), an 046, a 460, a 6401 that I upgraded to 79 OEM cc's, and an 064, the 044 hits in my sweet spot. I have one that I built from a mixture of 044 and 440 parts, pretty much stock except that I made a thinner than typical base gasket for it, and it is one of the few saws I own that I don't see myself selling anytime soon.

BTW, I'm pretty sure that saw you were trying to identify is an 038AV Super, not an 039.

Never ran an 064 but from what others are saying sounds like a beast. I love the 066 so I'm sure the 064 is just as awesome. If you can find one in good shape for a good price don't pass it up.

That top edge is odd for sure, but it doesn't look scored.

ReggieT said:

I'm a novice at this...so bear with me.
Those dark rings, what are they and what exactly would scoring look like?

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Those are your piston rings, hardened c'rings of chromoly steel, and they look good. Scoring would be vertical lines in your photo. The horizontal lines are normal machining marks. Run the piston up and down, and look for vertical lines.

Google image search for 'piston scoring.'

From that one photo I can't see any reason for compression to be compromised, so I still think the starter pulls out easily because it's not engaging anything. That doesn't explain why the saw shut off as if you'd hit a switch, but... maybe you accidentally hit a switch? There could also be a short in the spark plug/kill switch wiring.

Jazzberry said:

A used 064 in good shape would be real tough to beat. I like the 372 xp also but its definitely down a few steps from the 064. Since getting my 064 I haven't even picked up my ms 360 pro.

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The 064 should be down a few steps over a husky 372xp. Isn't the 064 a mid 80cc platform ? The 372xp is a 70cc saw.

If you want a Husqvarna product that will equal the 064/066/660 etc then your talking a Husky 390xp or a Jonsered 2188. That's an apples to apples comparison.

woodhog73 said:

The 064 should be down a few steps over a husky 372xp. Isn't the 064 a mid 80cc platform ? The 372xp is a 70cc saw.

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This doesn't make any sense. You're right that the 372 is smaller than an 064, but that's exactly what Jazzberry was saying.

ReggieT said:

I'm a novice at this...so bear with me.
Those dark rings, what are they and what exactly would scoring look like?

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May want to check spark plug. My stihl 441 quit all of a sudden like yours did and it turns out that the spark plug came out.

Jon1270 said:

This doesn't make any sense. You're right that the 372 is smaller than an 064, but that's exactly what Jazzberry was saying.

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Perhaps that's the difficult thing when your just reading words it's easy to misinterpret what someone is saying. Unless I didn't read the messages correctly before that one ( which I'm probably guilty of) I'm sure I took it the wrong way than what Jazzberry was intending. No worries either way.

The point I'm simply making is for anyone in the market looking for a good used saw ( or new one even) is remember they are different sized saws. That's all. Even buying new some dealers will sell you the saw that is best for their bottom line, and not what's best for the end user .

Brings me back to when I first started. A dealer actually recommended a 50 cc farm and ranch saw to cut 36inch and larger diameter hardwoods ! Nothing wrong with a 50cc saw infact I have one. But it's not made to cut 3 foot rounds of hard wood. And not 10 or even 20 plus cords a year of ! Thankfully there's forums like this one for folks to get good advise.