Okay...I admit defeat! Help with a 261!

[MadMax5578]

Okay guys. Picked up another 261 Husky yesterday. It's defiantly fixer-upper, and I've been doing as much work as I can before I needed to come here and ask the pro's some questions.

When I got it yesterday, it only turned over once and then wouldn't start at all. So this morning I ran over to the Husky dealer and got a new spark plug (old one was BAD), air filter, gas line/filter, tank vent, and diaphragm kit.

I tore her all down and cleaned her up. Piston look's great. No scoring or visible marks from the muffler side or carb side. So I put in the gas line, filter, and vent. It turned over, but over-reved BIG TIME and then cut out. I lowered the idle screw and messed with the H and L needles, but same thing ever time I turned it over. So then I took the carb apart. The diaphragm's were hard as a rock and it was missing a gasket. So I hit the carb with some cleaner, and then put new gaskets in. Now she WONT start at all!! I'm going to get this damn saw going if it kills me, I just need your guys advice/help! Thanks!

 

[RAMROD48]

Okay guys. Picked up another 261 Husky yesterday. It's defiantly fixer-upper, and I've been doing as much work as I can before I needed to come here and ask the pro's some questions.

When I got it yesterday, it only turned over once and then wouldn't start at all. So this morning I ran over to the Husky dealer and got a new spark plug (old one was BAD), air filter, gas line/filter, tank vent, and diaphragm kit.

I tore her all down and cleaned her up. Piston look's great. No scoring or visible marks from the muffler side or carb side. So I put in the gas line, filter, and vent. It turned over, but over-reved BIG TIME and then cut out. I lowered the idle screw and messed with the H and L needles, but same thing ever time I turned it over. So then I took the carb apart. The diaphragm's were hard as a rock and it was missing a gasket. So I hit the carb with some cleaner, and then put new gaskets in. Now she WONT start at all!! I'm going to get this damn saw going if it kills me, I just need your guys advice/help! Thanks!

O.k. I know this sounds stupid....BUT....did you put gas in it?

 

[lewis16]

O.k. I know this sounds stupid....BUT....did you put gas in it?

As silly as it sounds, these are the small things that you miss when you are frustrated.

Go over all the small things like plug cap, fuel line fitted properly, on/off switch in on position, same with choke positions.

 

[lewis16]

Are you getting a spark?

 

[imanoob]

did you reset the idle screw to where it was?

 

[SawTroll]

Air leak????

 

[stihl_collector]

I'll second that you possibly have an air leak.

 

[Warroad50]

What's the compression looking like. I worked on one this spring that was low on compression between that and the muffler being so choked up it wouldn't idle. Soon as I opened the muffler it would idle still low on power so I put a new ring.
Now it runs real good. Started out my buddy just wanted my to put in a carb kit fuel line.

 

[sefh3]

Here are a few starters. Make sure you have gas in the tank. Pull the plug and check for spark. If you have spark and fuel then put the plug in and give it a few pulls. Pull the plug and see if it's wet. Then screw in both H and L screws all the way in clockwise, then back them off 1 turn each. See what happens. If nothing, see where your compression is at. 130-150 is great.
If you have fuel, compression, and spark it will run.
Did you mess with the metering lever? If it's not right, your flooding the saw. Make sure you put the gasket and diaphram in correctly.

 

[SawTroll]

Just a pointer, the 261 is a seriously detuned version of the legendary 262xp - but it takes just the piston, muffler and clutch from the 262xp to make the 261 into one, if everything else is OK!

 

[PB]

Take off the flywheel cover and check if there is a short in the electrical wires. If there are any cracks put electrical tape over it. I had the same problem with my 630 and it was electrical. Check the simple things first, unplug the stop switch and then try to start it. If it starts you will need to shut it off by the pulling out the choke lever.

 

[MadMax5578]

O.k. I know this sounds stupid....BUT....did you put gas in it?

Haha...yes it has gas in it!

Here are a few starters. Make sure you have gas in the tank. Pull the plug and check for spark. If you have spark and fuel then put the plug in and give it a few pulls. Pull the plug and see if it's wet. Then screw in both H and L screws all the way in clockwise, then back them off 1 turn each. See what happens. If nothing, see where your compression is at. 130-150 is great.
If you have fuel, compression, and spark it will run.
Did you mess with the metering lever? If it's not right, your flooding the saw. Make sure you put the gasket and diaphram in correctly.

It has spark, and the plug is always wet after I try to start it 4 or 5 times. I've messed with the H&L screws, but I will be sure to try that exact sequence tomorrow. I installed the gaskets and diaphragm's just like the one's in the 261 IPL. How do I check the metering level???

I'll second that you possibly have an air leak.

So maybe I need new seals??

Take off the flywheel cover and check if there is a short in the electrical wires. If there are any cracks put electrical tape over it. I had the same problem with my 630 and it was electrical. Check the simple things first, unplug the stop switch and then try to start it. If it starts you will need to shut it off by the pulling out the choke lever.

All those wire's look pretty good.

 

[Dan_IN_MN]

Okay guys. Picked up another 261 Husky yesterday. It's defiantly fixer-upper, and I've been doing as much work as I can before I needed to come here and ask the pro's some questions.

When I got it yesterday, it only turned over once and then wouldn't start at all. So this morning I ran over to the Husky dealer and got a new spark plug (old one was BAD), air filter, gas line/filter, tank vent, and diaphragm kit.

I tore her all down and cleaned her up. Piston look's great. No scoring or visible marks from the muffler side or carb side. So I put in the gas line, filter, and vent. It turned over, but over-reved BIG TIME and then cut out. I lowered the idle screw and messed with the H and L needles, but same thing ever time I turned it over. So then I took the carb apart. The diaphragm's were hard as a rock and it was missing a gasket. So I hit the carb with some cleaner, and then put new gaskets in. Now she WONT start at all!! I'm going to get this damn saw going if it kills me, I just need your guys advice/help! Thanks!

By saying "only turned over once" are you saying that it popped or fired?

From you saying that the plug is wet each time you take it out. The saw is flooded. Two strokes will not run with a hint of liquid in the crankcase. Vapor is good....liquid is bad= flooded.

For some reason the saw is getting too much fuel.

Have you checked the muffler to see if it's plugged?

 

[MadMax5578]

By saying "only turned over once" are you saying that it popped or fired?

From you saying that the plug is wet each time you take it out. The saw is flooded. Two strokes will not run with a hint of liquid in the crankcase. Vapor is good....liquid is bad= flooded.

For some reason the saw is getting too much fuel.

Have you checked the muffler to see if it's plugged?

Turned over as in fired. The spark arrestor screen was clean when I took it apart and the muffler from what I saw looked good. Maybe I should open it up and take a better look? I've heard from many Husky guys here the stock mufflers on 261's are VERY restricting.....

 

[nmurph]

i wouldn't call a 261 muffler blocked. they are basically a square can with an opening. they can be opened to improve performance, but there is not a huge gain there as there is on many newer models.
i think you need to pull the carb, clean and rebuild it. there are many threads on how to do a rebuild. the rebuild might not be necessary, but it is cheap and simple. when you open the metering side, you will see that there is a stepped area that is a couple of mm below the level of the carb body. the metering arm should be set so that it is flush. if it is too high it will stay open too long and allow too much fuel through.

 

[MadMax5578]

i wouldn't call a 261 muffler blocked. they are basically a square can with an opening. they can be opened to improve performance, but there is not a huge gain there as there is on many newer models.
i think you need to pull the carb, clean and rebuild it. there are many threads on how to do a rebuild. the rebuild might not be necessary, but it is cheap and simple. when you open the metering side, you will see that there is a stepped area that is a couple of mm below the level of the carb body. the metering arm should be set so that it is flush. if it is too high it will stay open too long and allow too much fuel through.

Thanks for the info. Going out to the garage to play with it as we speak!

 

[MadMax5578]

Okay. Just messed around outside. The saw is flooding like manyhobies said, and now I have no spark. New ignition module I'm guessing??

 

[HiOctane]

Okay. Just messed around outside. The saw is flooding like manyhobies said, and now I have no spark. New ignition module I'm guessing??

Disconnect the switch lead to eliminate it.If still no spark,then you need a coil unless the coil is not properly to the flywheel.Check if the spark cable is not cut close to the cyl fins.

 

[Cantdog]

If you have no spark, check the air gap between the flywheel and the coil. This should be 0.012" and make sure the area around the coil is fairly clean and there is no contact through dirt, chips etc. If that doesn't get spark unhook the kill switch, those Husky switches can be a pain. If still no spark, an easy way to check a coil is with an inductive timing light (automotive type). Most will require a 12V power supply so you will have to test next to a vehicle, riding mower or just a battery etc. Hook it up and pull it over a few times. This will tell you if the coil is firing or not but perhaps the end of the plug wire is not making contact under the plug boot. Also you can test along the entire length of the plug wire to the end to see if the wire is not broken somewhere. Just something to try and doesn't cost anything to do. I hate to buy new parts and then find I could have easily/cheaply repaired the original.

As far as flooding is concerned, rebuilding a carb is pretty easy but must be cleaned throughly and done correctly. Do not replace the gaskets one at a time, get a kit and replace everything at once. There are many threads here on "how to" and as it has been suggested already special attention must be paid the the metering lever adjustment. It must be set flush with the deck it is mounted to. The other thing to check is the spring tension. If the spring is weak it will not hold the valve shut and allow in to much fuel. This quite rare but does happen. Make a visual check of the seat and the passage that feeds the fuel. It must be absolutely clean. Make sure you have the diaphragm and gasket in the correct order ie. gasket first, diaphragm last. Clean....Clean.....Clean!!! All passages, nooks and crannies must be completely cleaned. Back the idle screw off until it no longer touches throttle and set the H&L both at one turn out. Start her up and tune from there. Good luck, 261 is a good saw and worth the effort and you can up the power with a few 262XP parts as SawTroll said!

 

[litefoot]

If you have no spark, check the air gap between the flywheel and the coil. This should be 0.012" and make sure the area around the coil is fairly clean and there is no contact through dirt, chips etc. If that doesn't get spark unhook the kill switch, those Husky switches can be a pain. If still no spark, an easy way to check a coil is with an inductive timing light (automotive type). Most will require a 12V power supply so you will have to test next to a vehicle, riding mower or just a battery etc. Hook it up and pull it over a few times. This will tell you if the coil is firing or not but perhaps the end of the plug wire is not making contact under the plug boot. Also you can test along the entire length of the plug wire to the end to see if the wire is not broken somewhere. Just something to try and doesn't cost anything to do. I hate to buy new parts and then find I could have easily/cheaply repaired the original.

As far as flooding is concerned, rebuilding a carb is pretty easy but must be cleaned throughly and done correctly. Do not replace the gaskets one at a time, get a kit and replace everything at once. There are many threads here on "how to" and as it has been suggested already special attention must be paid the the metering lever adjustment. It must be set flush with the deck it is mounted to. The other thing to check is the spring tension. If the spring is weak it will not hold the valve shut and allow in to much fuel. This quite rare but does happen. Make a visual check of the seat and the passage that feeds the fuel. It must be absolutely clean. Make sure you have the diaphragm and gasket in the correct order ie. gasket first, diaphragm last. Clean....Clean.....Clean!!! All passages, nooks and crannies must be completely cleaned. Back the idle screw off until it no longer touches throttle and set the H&L both at one turn out. Start her up and tune from there. Good luck, 261 is a good saw and worth the effort and you can up the power with a few 262XP parts as SawTroll said!

Good post. The gasket / diaphragm order of placement (pump side of the carb) is the most common mistake in a carb rebuild.