Chainsaw keeps stalling

I know it's not about LRs but I didn't know where to put this Q, mods feel free to move it

I've got a Stihl ms261c chainsaw thats about 6 months old but keeps stalling when hot. It only cuts out on idle and only when the brake is on. It will run fine with the brake off.

It's bloody annoying also because it won't start when hot with brake on so I have to put it on the floor and wedge my foot under the throttle to get it going.

Anyone got any ideas?

Cheers, Harry

You can dismember people just as easily with a decent machete.

Fuel lines getting squeezed by brake ? or brake too tight ?

The carb needs adjusting, it's surely still under warranty.

my guess would be carb needs rebuilding, but it shouldn't need to be after only 6 months
have you had a look at the piston to see if it is scored?.

if you bought it from a dealer id take it back and get it fixed under warranty. unless u did summit silly an didn't put enough 2 stroke oil in your fuel.

i think stihl put one of those hi tec new carbs on the 261 like iv got on my 362 that put a shot of air in between strokes to flush the cylinder. haven't had any problems with mine and its been working hard for 10 months.

Clean da air filter !

oxides said:

You can dismember people just as easily with a decent machete.

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I like the excessive blood spatter :mil10:

Cheers guys, I will have a quick play with it and see if anything fixes it, if not I will take it back to the place this weekend. I didn't want to take it back as it's a 2.5hr round trip but if it's not a quick fix then I will do.

I'm sure it's not a lack of oil in the fuel, after a mate at uni killed my old 028 because he thought it was 4 stroke :doh: i'm very careful about fuel mixture. It's done it since new so clearly somethings wrong.

Thanks all, Harry

Why not ring them and ask if they can think of anything

Dr_evil said:

Why not ring them and ask if they can think of anything

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Dr evil, that is a very good idea...it's been a long day!

I used to have a chainsaw that kept on stalling all the time.
I found the best tool to fix it with was a hammer.. Worked a treat, it don't stall any more..

If cleaning the air filter with a large hammer does not work,tryadjusting the L screw on the carb - just a little either way.

Check basics air plug a d even oil/ petrol mixture

Mine does it it's crap in carb or iffy 2 stroke oil it's been fine since running on Stihl 2 stroke !

scrap it...i will have it off you.

just sounds like it needs regulating a little bit or having the filter cleaned properly sometimes my husky 346 does it, but it does it when im in the bloody forest so pain in the arse

Sounds a little like two stroke disease. Many two stroke engines develop this eventually in my experience but the famous name brands usually last a bit longer. One solution I've found is to dismantle the carburettor and clean everything under surgically sterile conditions. Don't do it in the shed because there's too much dirt in there. The kitchen is better, with a bright light. There will probably be lots of tiny drillings in the body of the carb and miniscule jets, so a magnifying glass is in order too. Once it's done, give it some very fresh petrol (if it's been standing around in a can in the shed for months the more volatile fractions that actually burn may have evaporated) and give it a go. Yes, by all means fiddle with the screws, but the key thing is to ensure that everything's perfectly clean from ther air intake through to the cylinder, from the fuel pickup to the jets. I've managed to keep Flymos and strimmers, as well as an elderly chainsaw alive beyond their natural lifespan by doing this regularly. It's a bit of a chore, but can help. Come to think of it, doing it thoroughly can take longer than a trip back to the shop. . .

Thanks guys, It's always been run on stihl 2 stroke mix and the petrol is no more than 3 weeks old. I blew the filter out with the airline but there was very little crap in it. I thought if the filter was clogged it would idle ok but not run well at full revs?

I checked and gapped the spark plug but that was all clean and correctly gapped. I've taken all the covers and bar off and blew all the ****e out of there and fiddled with the L screw. Also checked and cleaned the small filter in the tank but that was ok.

Tried it on a few small logs yesterday and it seemed ok, I've got a big willow to do this weekend so will see how it runs then, if not then it's back to the dealer

Thanks everyone, Harry