Talk Me In/Out of the Stihl MS261

[5030]

Stihl dealers are like drug stores here. One on almost every corner. 5-6 off top of my head.

This saw come to me from a stihl dealer that also sold kubota. Yes one down the road from him that sells JD too. 2 on same road.

They couldnt tune the saw right. Needed to remove L side epa stop to get right.
But before I touched the saw I told them take it back and have them install the air filter they left off.
Told them have them check saw to see if hurt intake side of piston after what they did to them.

View attachment 851285

I'd never allow any of my saws to collect that much intake debris, ever. That is frankly, disgusting.

 

[xyz123]

I'd never allow any of my saws to collect that much intake debris, ever. That is frankly, disgusting.

Thats called stihl dealer leaving a air filter off the saw! Thats the bigger issue there.

 

[5030]

Thats called stihl dealer leaving a air filter off the saw! Thats the bigger issue there.

All I can say is WOW, but then again, you will NEVER find any of my saw's intakes looking like that and if I was the customer, I would have taken off the shroud and had a look-see prior to but then that is just me (and probably you) but not the average consumer. Not that I would ever have any 'dealer tech' work on my saws in the first place. besides, if I need any OEM parts for my Echo's, I just have the parts counter supervisor order them and I pick them up, other than spark plugs which as of late seem to be getting counterfeited by the Chinese. I only use yellow boxed NGK's btw.

I will say I've had very good luck with the HF 'Torch' plugs and I presume they are Chinese. The 'Torch' plug I have in my HF pressure washer is the original one and other than gapping it rarely, it's been in the motor since it was new, 10 years ago and I use it a bunch. In fact, it's on it's second pressure pump. Oil gets changed yearly and the AF gets blown out and that is it. Amazing little Predator motor.

 

[JeepHead]

Picked up two more saws today!

 

[JeepHead]

So, has the price gone up, stayed the same or gone down since they have been discontinued?

The same it seems.

 

[xyz123]

All I can say is WOW, but then again, you will NEVER find any of my saw's intakes looking like that and if I was the customer, I would have taken off the shroud and had a look-see prior to but then that is just me (and probably you) but not the average consumer. Not that I would ever have any 'dealer tech' work on my saws in the first place. besides, if I need any OEM parts for my Echo's, I just have the parts counter supervisor order them and I pick them up, other than spark plugs which as of late seem to be getting counterfeited by the Chinese. I only use yellow boxed NGK's btw.

I will say I've had very good luck with the HF 'Torch' plugs and I presume they are Chinese. The 'Torch' plug I have in my HF pressure washer is the original one and other than gapping it rarely, it's been in the motor since it was new, 10 years ago and I use it a bunch. In fact, it's on it's second pressure pump. Oil gets changed yearly and the AF gets blown out and that is it. Amazing little Predator motor.

Torch is China and if your NGK plug dont have Japan on plug. Could very well be China in yellow box too.
They like to hide it by putting only the ones made in China, Malaysia, Taiwan only printed on box.
So if your plug dont have Japan on it prob a China NGK plug too. Yes they come in yellow boxes too.

 

[5030]

NGK just put out a bulletin on how to discern a China plug from a real NGK Japan plug and it's quite enlightening. The go into great detail on how to determine that, from the printing on the insulator to the machined ring above the threaded portion to the wire elctrode and how to tell.

back in the day, a plug was a plug. I guess now you can counterfeit just about anything and I knew Torch was a Chinese brand. HF would never use a domestic plug, not that there are any today anyway. Had a buddy that worked at Champion before they sold out to a Chinese firm.

 

[5030]

Picked up two more saws today!

Picked up one as well, an ancient Dolmar with a cracked case. May give it to a friend who collects old saws (strange hobby) in as much as the case is cracked, no big deal actually. I can TIG weld the case if I can get it clean enough that is. issue with welding any aluminum or magnesium alloy stuff is getting it squeaky clean and especially getting any oily residue out of the pores in the metal. If there is any oil residue left in the metal, it will result in a bad weld.

 

[Hay Dude]

Running the 261C through pine & cherry logs today.
Effortless, one-handed operation. I’m cutting with my left hand, taking photo with right hand. The saw is cutting in the picture as you can see the chips flying out in the air.

 

[WinterDeere]

@Hay Dude, forgive me if you already posted it on the thumb thread, but is the thumb on that loader purchased or home grown? I just bought a new fork and frame for my CUT, and am already turning thoughts toward thumbing it. I move a lot of logs around, and the old chain choker slings on bucket hooks are getting slower and heavier, each year.