Husky 261 Project

[aducomb]

Hey guys, haven't post a thread in quite sometime so here goes. Picked this 261 up off of CL last month and have been slowly working on this project and thread. Just like a lot of projects once I started diving into this unfortunately the more I found that needed to be repaired or replaced. The saw was caked in dust due to the previous owner not preforming basic maintenance: the chain was dull, the bar was BADLY worn, drive links were damaged, trashed drive rim, dirty air filter, crud stuck between the cylinder fins, out of tune, the list goes on.

Here are the before pics.

 

[aducomb]

Under the hood didn't look so great, hell there were a few zip ties in there as well. The inner and outer bar plates were damaged and dented in most likely due to dirt between the plates and the bar and also a busted mount.

 

[aducomb]

Well after a lot of cleaning, time, energy, waiting for parts, more cleaning, waiting for more parts this is how the 261 turned out.

 

[295 tramp]

It cleaned up pretty good.
My 262xp's look identical to that 261.
What size HDA carb does the 261 have?
Is the oil pump adjustable?
There pretty good saws, balances good with an 18" bar

 

[nmurph]

The carbs are the same unless you have the earlier, larger carb (forget the #'s, too lazy to look it up). The 261 has a 2 shoe clutch (not a problem with a 262), the oiler is adjustable, and the muffler is a little different (easily fixed).


OP, you need to drop a Meteor 262 piston in it, delete the base gasket, and mod the muffler.:msp_biggrin:

 

[aducomb]

So now that the saw is back together I took the saw out to see how she runs. It took awhile to turn over since I put in a new fuel filter and line and a new carb kit then tuned to idle right around 2700 and max to 13000 with a tach wearing a 18" 3/8 7 pin with a freshly sharpened chain. I put it into a 16"-18" piece of dead pine and I was extremely disappointed. The chain would easily stall and my 346 beat it and my 372xt smoked it. So I re-tuned and got the same results. Right now the carb is at L-7/8 and H-3/8 of a turn out and I'm right around 7000' in elevation. Does anyone else think the H seems a bit too lean even though its running rich?

Today I got back around to looking into the lack of power coming from my 261. My plan was to turn this into a 262 with a new piston and MM so I decided to pull the jug and this is what i found:

Exhaust

Intake

It seems that the saw ingested some fines on the intake side and has smoothed out the machine marks on that part of the piston.

 

[aducomb]

The carbs are the same unless you have the earlier, larger carb (forget the #'s, too lazy to look it up). The 261 has a 2 shoe clutch (not a problem with a 262), the oiler is adjustable, and the muffler is a little different (easily fixed).


OP, you need to drop a Meteor 262 piston in it, delete the base gasket, and mod the muffler.:msp_biggrin:

Thanks nmurph that is the plan! It has a Walbro HDA 144A carb.

 

[aducomb]

Jugs, everyone likes looking at them.

Crown

The exhaust had about 3mm of carbon built up in it.

An odd brown color next to one of the transfers.

Intake has visible marks and a few you can just barley feel only when using your fingernail and really trying to feel for them.

Exhaust

What do you guys think? I'm still pretty wet behind the ears when dealing with cylinders, any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Adam

 

[nmurph]

You are losing power two ways-

the carbon in the combustion chamber can affect the burning of the charge.
the carbon in the exhaust affects the expulsion of the burnt charge.

and

that piston has seen it better life- the rings are likely well worn and losing compression.

..........................and a 346 is a surprising saw.

 

[aducomb]

Frustrated

All of my new parts finally came in so I was able to complete the build, muffler and a Meteor piston so now its a 262! I went and removed all of the carbon build up in the combustion chamber as well as the exhaust port which took forever. So I assumed that with the 262 conversion complete the saw would have much more power than before..........wrong!

I need some help. The saw starts and idles fine but is still lacking top end rpm's and power. With the H-needle set to 1 turn out it hits 6,500-7,000 rpm and at 1/4 turn out it only hits 12,000 rpm. The chain stalls easily and has no grunt, it seem there is another problem somewhere. What gives, any thoughts?

Thanks,
Adam

 

[nmurph]

Check (probably just replace) the fuel line and filter. Tear the carb apart (screen stopped up?).

 

[boxygen]

So the cylinder of the 261 is the same as a 262 but the piston is different?

 

[nmurph]

Yep, clutch and muffler are also different. The carb is different on early 262's but the same on later models.

 

[ncfarmboy]

Check (probably just replace) the fuel line and filter. Tear the carb apart (screen stopped up?).

See post #6 he did.
I had the lack of rpm's problem on one of mine coil was going bad. Put a new coil on, rpm's went up to where they should be.
Shep

 

[boxygen]

Yep, clutch and muffler are also different. The carb is different on early 262's but the same on later models.

I don't know why but I was thinking they were completely different cylinders, like the open port closed port, XP non XP saws they have had over the years. Guess I was wrong.

 

[aducomb]

Fuel line and filter have been replaced and I already took the carb apart and found the screen gunked up, so I cleaned it all out and threw a new carb kit at it. How would I tell if the coil is going bad without putting a new one in?

 

[almondgt]

The carbs are the same unless you have the earlier, larger carb (forget the #'s, too lazy to look it up). The 261 has a 2 shoe clutch (not a problem with a 262), the oiler is adjustable, and the muffler is a little different (easily fixed).


OP, you need to drop a Meteor 262 piston in it, delete the base gasket, and mod the muffler.:msp_biggrin:

HDA 87 is the larger 262xp carb
I doubt your coil is going if the saw starts and runs.
Best to soak the bare carb overnight in carb cleaner for best rebuild results.
Your carb settings should be roughly L 1 turn out and H 1 turn.
Did you check the fit of the bare piston in the cylinder prior to assembly? There should be no side to side play. If there is play your cylinder may have too much wear to perform properly although your original piston still looks pretty good.

 

[Eddy_t]

You not got a compression tester? Compression is probably low if it dies under load

 

[nmurph]

You not got a compression tester? Compression is probably low if it dies under load

Doubtful with a brand new piston.

OP, you may have buggered needle seats. If you can only get 12K rpm with the H set at .25 out it is getting too much fuel and running rich.

 

[272super]

No way to really check the coil without replacing. As for the rest of the problem,check compression just to be sure there is no issue there. Did you pressure test the crankcase after the rebuild? Air leaks can do alot strange things and you want to eliminate any possible issue there. These saws will sometime leak air where the intake manifold gasket meets the cylinder.

With an air leak, often the H screw will lean out and cause the saw to loose revs by the time it bottoms out. How does the saw run with the H all the way in? If it looses revs you might have an air leak. If the revs don't change with the needle all the way in,maybe there is an issue with a leaking welch plug allowing too much fuel to enter cylinder. You might want to check you needle and inlet lever. Check the lever height-it could be allowing too much fuel into carb.