# stihl flippy cap....new design ?



## thinktwicez71 (Nov 20, 2012)

one of my flippy caps was leaking on my stihl ms361 , so i went to the local stihl dealership and got 2 new ones . fits nice and tight , and no more leaking at all.

problem is , ive never seen any like this before , and i have searched all night online and i can't even find a picture of these anywhere. so my question is....are these a VERY new design , or did they sell me the wrong friggin ones ? cause i know these didn't come on a ms361 stock.

they have 2 black lines , that when installed , line up. just odd looking , never seen any stihl products with these caps





	

		
			
		

		
	
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## Nixon (Nov 20, 2012)

It's good to see that Stihl has improved on a problem ,and design that didn't exist until they created it . :?


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## Boog (Nov 20, 2012)

I'm not sure about the new ones you have, but I know they were having problems with some flippy caps lately. My two month old 250C-BE started leaking from the oil cap. It never did quite feel "exactly right" when unscrewing it at the end. Needless to say, when I took it back in, my dealer commented that there was a recall on the gas cap, but they had not seen any problems with the oil cap, its slightly smaller. They fiddled with it and tried to say it seemed ok to them, for me to go and try it some more, but I insisted that there was an issue with it. In the end they agreed to give me a new one, had to take one off a new saw as they were out of spares. The new one, without lines like yours, seems to be working fine.

That could be the issue with them, the inner part with the seal is not rotating fully sometimes when closed.  The addition of the black lines shows that the parts are properly rotated and closed.  Just a thought.


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## MasterMech (Nov 21, 2012)

The lines have appeared on many new machines coming out this year.  Just gives a good visual of when the cap is installed properly.  Other than the lines, it's the same design.  Have noticed that the flippy caps have disappeared from the BR series blowers this year as well.

Recall on the flippy's (gas caps) was limited to blowers and trimmers only, no saws were ever on that list to my knowledge. 

Oil caps on the MS250 and smaller have been notoriously unreliable since it is the smallest cap in the line, folks tend to overfill the oil resevoir, and force it shut rather than removing a bit of oil or re-aligning the cap. In general, the flippys have held up well with 90% of failures being operator related.    Like anything else that differs from the norm, some will struggle with it  and blame it on the "newfangled" design.  Some may say there was no problem to solve, but I've never had to use channellocks or a screwdriver/scrench to remove a flippy.


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## HatCityIAFF (Nov 21, 2012)

on the newer 461 and 362 etc i was looking at last week all had the flippy caps with lines on them.  Pain in the rear if you ask me. My 250 oil cap has been broken for the past year, and I have to use a flat head screw driver to turn it, then lock it down.  I was at the dealer last week and I said "I juste hate those stupid flippy cap things." his response? "Buy a husky". so thats what i did. I"m not saying husky is better than stihl, (i think of it as gmc vs. chevy, both the same exact things) but i kinda laugh at the fact that i didn't go with a saw because of the kind of gas cap it has!


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## osagebow (Nov 21, 2012)

Have an older husky and a stihl - don't mind the flippy cap even tho I spilled it once. Might paint the line on there tho. Have to use pliers to open up the husky cap.


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## thinktwicez71 (Nov 21, 2012)

So I called my local Stihl dealer and asked him about them.  He said they are newest ones that just came out.  So they are the correct ones for my saw , just the new model floppy cap


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## jlightning (Nov 21, 2012)

I just purchased a ms460 a month or two ago and it still had the older flippy caps on it.  I had the same caps on my ms 390 also and prefer them to the old style caps on my ms180 that you need a screwdriver to open the caps.  I never had any leaking issues either.


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## schwaggly (Nov 21, 2012)

my newer 250 just started pulling this flippy oil cap crap. Then the engine wouldn't shut off the other day because the wire came loose
on the "master switch" I think they refer to it as. It was an easy fix but it has come loose twice and if I was in a situation where I needed to shut it off quick it may be a safety issue. The saw prior to this was the greatest saw I've ever used super reliable and just ran.


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## amateur cutter (Nov 21, 2012)

All you guys that love your flippy caps, can anyone tell me how to take them off @ 5* above zero with a pair of thick Kevlar saw gloves on to refuel & oil. I love my stihl saws, but I can not for the life of me figure out why some engineer had to over complicate something as simple as a fuel cap. I have no problem using my scrench to loosen a cap with my gloves on, & I figure if I'm cutting wood I need the tool to adjust the chain anyway. A C


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## NextEndeavor (Nov 21, 2012)

My MS211 oil cap failed as well.  Dealer demostrated how overfilling caused it. When you tighten, it presses part of the cap down, into the oil.  You'd think an engineer would know "a liquid will not compress".  The cap has been the only problem with the saw.  Lesson learned, make sure the light is right for viewing oil level when filling, then dump some out if too much.


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## jlightning (Nov 22, 2012)

Here's a funny thought...the ms 180 comes w/ the tool-less chain tension adjustment feature but you need a screwdriver to open the fuel and oil caps!?!  Stihl didn't think that one through.


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## MasterMech (Nov 22, 2012)

jlightning said:


> Here's a funny thought...the ms 180 comes w/ the tool-less chain tension adjustment feature but you need a screwdriver to open the fuel and oil caps!?! Stihl didn't think that one through.


You don't necessarily need a tool unless you had you're pet gorilla put 'em on for you.   But that is akin to 7-eleven putting locks on the doors. (They're open 24/7 even holidays, so why......)


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## jlightning (Nov 22, 2012)

Yea I do give em a He-Man crank w/ the screwdriver!


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## loon (Mar 24, 2013)

Mine froze this winter cause of moisture and just found this other problem today  Wont stay together, so will be super glueing tomorrow and hoping it wont screw up my tank later? 

It was stepped on a couple times before i realized the ball/line came apart...

loon


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## MasterMech (Mar 24, 2013)

loon said:


> Mine froze this winter cause of moisture and just found this other problem today  Wont stay together, so will be super glueing tomorrow and hoping it wont screw up my tank later?
> 
> It was stepped on a couple times before i realized the ball/line came apart...
> 
> loon


 
Gas/Super glue usually don't mix.  I'd get a replacement if the cap is screwed up.  If just the string came out of the cap, IIRC you should be able to just push one end back into the cap and it will snap in place.


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## loon (Mar 24, 2013)

Plastic little knob is worn i guess Mech? No bite at all 

Gonna go to the dealer tomorrow and get a replacement..Will let ya know the cost$  

loon


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## xman23 (Mar 25, 2013)

I got new ones after years of them being hard to get out. They said they swelled from the gas. Don't know if the material was fixed but they work now, and they were cheep.


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## ArsenalDon (Mar 26, 2013)

MasterMech said:


> Gas/Super glue usually don't mix. I'd get a replacement if the cap is screwed up. If just the string came out of the cap, IIRC you should be able to just push one end back into the cap and it will snap in place.


Man I am glad you are around...


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## lukem (Mar 26, 2013)

I just bought one yesterday to replace the gas cap on my 361.  It was $7 and some change after tax.  I replaced the bar oil cap last year. 

I didn't notice the difference until after I got home, but it fit just like the older one.  The painted lines appear to be the only difference because it fit just fine.


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## mywaynow (Mar 26, 2013)

I unloaded an MS211 mostly because of those crappy caps.  Dump bar oil on my boots more than once and I will get rid of the source of that problem.


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## HittinSteel (Mar 26, 2013)

I got rid of a 260 because of them....... well, not really, the 346XP is just a superior saw.


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## mikefrommaine (Mar 26, 2013)

Coming soon to a husky near you


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## mywaynow (Mar 26, 2013)

Lookin like Husky got the idea right at least.  Still a threaded cap, just with the addition of a folding grip.  Those Stihl caps are 1/4 or 1/2 turn speed threads.  Like really quick splitters, they tend not to be the best course of action.


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