MS261 H Screw Limiter Removal *NEW*

[LowVolt]

A few months ago I got a brand new MS261. Been reading on AS that they are set to lean so I tached it and yup, 14400 and no 4-stroking. So I did some searching and found a few threads like this http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/173328.htm to help me out. But after I got the limiter out it seems that it was a little different than the pictures I had seen on AS so I thought I would snap a few to help others out.

First you need to remove the carb. After you have the carb out you need to get out that alloy limiter cap. The drywall screw works. Just turn the alloy cap clockwise as far as you can go and then screw in the drywall screw lightly. It does not need to go in a lot, maybe 1/4 of a turn. The key to pulling the cap off is to line up this black dot on the carb...

with this notch on the alloy cap...

I would then put the head of the drywall screw in a vise then grab the carb firmly by the main carb body and pull straight out making sure that black stud on the carb and the notch on the alloy cap are lined up. Give it a good pull and it will come out.

This is where it was slightly different on my model than the other in the previous write ups. When you pull the alloy cap out you can see that that black metal dot on the carb is actually a nub that extends inside the cap area. Check it out.....

Ok so the alloy cap hits that and that is what acts as the limiter. So what part of the alloy cap does this metal cap hit? Well I did not take a picture before I removed some of the material on the alloy cap but here is what it looks like after I ground it away. I used a dremel tool with a fiber reinforced wheel to remove the material....

Now there is this nice uniform gap all the way around the alloy limiter cap, eliminating any H-screw limitations.....

I just thought I should post since in my searching I did not see exactly what I was seeing. I guess this is just because this is a newer 261. Sorry if this has been covered before and I just did not find it.

 

[blsnelling]

Looks just like the 201. I drill out the metal plug and don't even have to remove the needle or mod anything else. Usually my drill grabs the last little bit of the plug and it pulls right out.

 

[pyankura]

I knew I wasn't a bone head.....well, I did miss the barb in there! Is this an earlier design?

 

[LowVolt]

I knew I wasn't a bone head.....well, I did miss the barb in there! Is this an earlier design?

This is the current design I believe, the saw is two months old.

 

[pyankura]

Thanks a lot! I will Dremel the area you did to reinstall the cap to keep the crap out of there.

 

[Mastermind]

I've built a dozen or more of those saws.......I just stick an allen wrench it and turn it. The splines just strip....click...click....click.

 

[pyankura]

If I do this I will destroy something!:msp_scared:

 

[Mastermind]

If I do this I will destroy something!:msp_scared:

Probably.

 

[Duane(Pa)]

I've built a dozen or more of those saws.......I just stick an allen wrench it and turn it. The splines just strip....click...click....click.

I did this too (allen wrench) I was shocked at how far I had to back it out to even start four stroking.

 

[z71mike]

Great write up, Volt. Thanks for sharing.

 

[LowVolt]

I've built a dozen or more of those saws.......I just stick an allen wrench it and turn it. The splines just strip....click...click....click.

Yeah I read that on the other thread. I am just weird about stuff like that. I did not like the idea of anything stripping out.

Great write up, Volt. Thanks for sharing.

No problem. This might be one of the few time I have given advice that is correct. I am still learning.

 

[OntheLevel]

Nice thread.. I just got my first tach yesterday...:msp_biggrin:


Put it on my MS261. 14369 rpm's :msp_scared:!

Oops. Well better late than never I guess.

At least I know now. Man I've been doggin it for months and didn't even know.

I should shoot for about 13800 right?
Adam

 

[o8f150]

now that is some new limiters,, never seen those type before

 

[deye223]

Nice thread.. I just got my first tach yesterday...:msp_biggrin:


Put it on my MS261. 14369 rpm's :msp_scared:!

Oops. Well better late than never I guess.

At least I know now. Man I've been doggin it for months and didn't even know.

I should shoot for about 13800 right?
Adam

yeah they pull good there

 

[OntheLevel]

Wow. Sucks what the darn EPA is doing to our saws! &^*^


that 50:1 is stupid too.

I'm about 38:1- 40:1 now.

 

[SCHallenger]

MS261 H needle limiters

I knew I wasn't a bone head.....well, I did miss the barb in there! Is this an earlier design?

No, you sure aren't a bonehead. Now I understand your confusion when you had read earlier threads, one by Brad Snelling, one by MCW, & some others, all of which described the "internal rib on the alloy sleeve" which contacted an external rib on the "alloy jacket" & some plastic tabs at the base of the needle (I described this in detail in a reply to your thread). Stihl has pulled a switcheroo & has changed the way in which it has limited the H needle. I was scratching my head too when you indicated that there was no "internal rib". Interestingly, I also have an MS201, & the round metal "pin" in the alloy sleeve is exactly the same design as Low Volt has described on his MS261. I don't know when they changed the design, but I suppose they were reading about many of us removing the adjustment limitation & decided to throw us a curveball. Many thanks to Low Volt for a very helpful & detailed post. Why Stihl keeps on sending this saw out with a setting which is too lean & which cannot be changed without modification is puzzling. There surely must be some scored P&Cs & some totally fried saws as a result of the factory settings. That is lousy PR. Makes no sense to me!!

 

[SCHallenger]

MS261 H needle limiters

FWIW my MS261 is a demon at 13,500RPM.

 

[RAMROD48]

No, you sure aren't a bonehead. Now I understand your confusion when you had read earlier threads, one by Brad Snelling, one by MCW, & some others, all of which described the "internal rib on the alloy sleeve" which contacted an external rib on the "alloy jacket" & some plastic tabs at the base of the needle (I described this in detail in a reply to your thread). Stihl has pulled a switcheroo & has changed the way in which it has limited the H needle. I was scratching my head too when you indicated that there was no "internal rib". Interestingly, I also have an MS201, & the round metal "pin" in the alloy sleeve is exactly the same design as Low Volt has described on his MS261. I don't know when they changed the design, but I suppose they were reading about many of us removing the adjustment limitation & decided to throw us a curveball. Many thanks to Low Volt for a very helpful & detailed post. Why Stihl keeps on sending this saw out with a setting which is too lean & which cannot be changed without modification is puzzling. There surely must be some scored P&Cs & some totally fried saws as a result of the factory settings. That is lousy PR. Makes no sense to me!!

EPA

To this day I have recieved 1 total ms261 back for lean burn down....but that saw was admitidly run with straight gas by the guys brother in law....

 

[LowVolt]

FWIW my MS261 is a demon at 13,500RPM.

Had a party to go to earlier so I could not fire up the saw after mod. I will see how she runs tomorrow. Sucks cause I cant put it in wood to tune. I guess for now I will shoot for 13,500 - 13,800.

Damn burbs. Low access to wood for test cuts. :mad2:

 

[LowVolt]

EPA

To this day I have recieved 1 total ms261 back for lean burn down....but that saw was admitidly run with straight gas by the guys brother in law....

Good point. We all know they are set a little high, but is it enough to fry a saw in a small amount of time? A year, or two, or three, or four? Hell I am the last person to ask that question. I thought that I asked or heard a tech at a dealer say that the max RPM could be plus 1000 and it would be ok. Again I overheard this, not my words.