Stihl MS 261 misbehaving, advice please?

[3dogs]

a lad turned up on monday with a brand new never been run 261 and after 4 hours work the play in the drum bearing was all too noticable

[R0B]

Yep. Its awful service from Stihl. Im hearing nothing but terrible things about the 261. 2 guys at work have had theirs go wrong too, so thats 3 saws that have all gone pop in the space of 1/2weeks of each other. As you say monkeybusiness strongest piece of advice is do not buy these saws & if you have one insist on your cash back as this saw is not fit for purpose!! Ive just ordered a 560xpg as a replacement, really hope it lives up to expectation!!

[Stubby]

I can assure you if you get a 560 you won't be dissapointed . Mine is stonkig . Had it a month or so now . Best 60cc saw I ever had . End of .

[Daniël Bos]

Not an entirely fair comparison though, should have got a 550?

[R0B]

Was thinking about a 550. Altho I want a G version and they wont be about for a while & I was quite keen for them to iron out some potential teething problems before I get my grubby mits on one. Before I bought my 261 I was tossing it up between the 261 & 560xp - wish Id made the decision to go husqy first time around. (Sorry for thread hijack).

[normandylumberjack]

I am in the market for a saw this size and use stihl for the most part as have found them to be very reliable. So when I learned of this issue i contacted stihl via their customer service link on their website, and had a prompt reply;

 

We thank you for your email and your interest in our MS261 chainsaw.

 

We have had an issue with the rim sprocket/needle bearing as fitted to this model. Whilst we are addressing this matter we cannot say, at this moment in time, that a new machine would not be affected.

 

What we can offer is for the machine to be fitted with the spur sprocket which we know to be without problem.

 

Should you wish to follow this route then please advise of your chosen vending approved STIHL dealer before making the purchase. We will then liaise with the dealer to have the modification made to the machine.

It seems that there is a fix, but Im not sure how this will effect the saw? Any thoughts?

[spudulike]

I am in the market for a saw this size and use stihl for the most part as have found them to be very reliable. So when I learned of this issue i contacted stihl via their customer service link on their website, and had a prompt reply;

 

We thank you for your email and your interest in our MS261 chainsaw.

 

We have had an issue with the rim sprocket/needle bearing as fitted to this model. Whilst we are addressing this matter we cannot say, at this moment in time, that a new machine would not be affected.

 

What we can offer is for the machine to be fitted with the spur sprocket which we know to be without problem.

 

Should you wish to follow this route then please advise of your chosen vending approved STIHL dealer before making the purchase. We will then liaise with the dealer to have the modification made to the machine.

It seems that there is a fix, but Im not sure how this will effect the saw? Any thoughts?

 

Personally I prefer rim drives as they wear less and are easier to swap over from 0.325 to 3/8 if required. A rim is also considerably cheaper to replace than a full spur sprocket and should prove to be easier on the chain - I have had a few stretched and notchy chains come off machines with worn spur sprockets but rims seem less damaging in this way!

 

If your heart is set on the saw then it offers a solution though!

[goodoldboy]

no sprocket issues so far but i have noticed that when snedding & resting the saw bar down on the log the reves increase slightly on return to a horizontal position.oh and its running a rim sprocket

[Stubby]

Rim is a better design as it floats so accounts for any missalignment of the chsain . Spur does not . Just get your money back and get Orange and silver .

[R0B]

I had a rim sprocket on mine - still had a problem. They are telling dealers its something to do with ovalised sprocket drums, so they dont sit on the crankshaft quite right and rattle themselves to bits with the added slop. Im not sure how much I believe them.

 

My moneys on a issue in having increased power on the same crankshaft and running gear from the old 260. It just cant handle it. But that is pure speculation!