I run a 20 on mine for reach and I’m primarily in soft pine wood. Keep the chain sharp. Things a beast and I love it. Wonderful saw I wish I could do more topping and chunking with it. It’s a light weight screamer. This is the saw you want a wrap on but you lose stumping capability. Yes I stump with it. It’s so light it’d be easy to twist with your forearm. But we’re talking fast raw woods production and there just isn’t any (logging) where I am in coastal NC. I guess if you were clearing lots manually. 3 point dogs and a wrap this thing would be/ already is, the chef’s kiss. 3 point dogs are awesome because they get into nooks and crannies of irregular stumps. But if you’re stumping you don’t need a wrap.
In Australia the saw is supplied with a 16 inch bar and having a fleet of 261’s running 50:1 I have some saws on there eight/ninth bars and still going as good as the day they were purchased
Richard, I never had a mechanical problem due to using Stihl Ultra at 50:1, but it is filthy as hell. I got tired of cleaning up sponge from the muffler side of my saws. Even the insides of the mufflers were filthy and it loved to block up the spark arrestors on my saws that had them, about half of my saws. There is just to much ash components in Stihl Ultra, which is why I switched to JASO FD oil.
Nice work 😁. I love my Amsoil Sabre for lawn equipment never had a problem at 50/1. If you have a dirty engine Echo Red Armor works great also take care 🙂
Its good but at 50:1 or leaner it will kill the bottom end faster than even the cheapest mineral oils ran at 33-25:1, even if the top end is pristine. Rolling bearings like viscosity and lubricant volume. But if you're just a homeowner that doesn't run a saw all day long, you most likely you won't tell a difference if your bottom end bearings get sloppy at under 1000 hours instead of 3000+ since the saw will likely die or get defective from other reasons way before that.
Excellent video!! That auto tune reset sounded crazy. I would be afraid that thing might explode or seize a ring. You must have dumped some oil in the cylinder before you went to reset it. Pretty big puff of smoke. Smoke is a good thing let's you know you have oil in the gas.
There may have been a little residual assembly lube (two stroke oil). I did fire it up after final assembly and run it briefly before the recalibration. I believe the 30 seconds on choke to start the process intentionally loads up the lubrication for the calibration process.
Stihl Ultra Causes “Black Pistonitus” I’m a Fan of Stens Shield Synthetic Blend at 40:1 Mix It’s Equivalent To Echo Red Armor Great Film Strength and Clean Burning No Coking of Rings or Piston 😇😀😊👍🏼
Good work brother, damn you work fast! Would love to have seen you install the bearings and crank. Maybe one day you could do a reassembly video? You mentioned editing and how you don’t know much about it. If you’d like a really user friendly software and help with it, just reach out :) it’s called LumaFusion and so simple.
I truly wanted to prove it takes more time to clean than reassemble. Missed it by just a little bit. I can do a video on how I do bearings and seals. If I had filmed the assembly, it would have been like watching paint dry. Even in time lapse. Thanks cuz!
@@richardflagg3084 Maybe I’m just speaking for myself, but I enjoy seeing other peoples process - I’d happily watch an hour, non sped up video. Grab a cuppa and put my feet up! We can always learn something new. I use Matty-O’s crank tools and the hot cold method for bearings and am always keen to see other processes! Either way, keep up the great content brother!
Nice work on the 261. I have the same one and mine has never taken that long to setup the range. Could be the weather as I’m in hot weather down south. Love how you get it clean. What do you use to get the case so clean? I also like the clean hardware. Now that is a class 1 mechanic. Just to stoke up the ambers on the oil again. I run Motul 800 2T at somewhere in the 45-48:1 range with super results in firewood bucking application. As an engineer that frequently deals with high speed bearings, an oil film is all that is needed. Too much oil will just make it slobber on the way out, and you’ll need to use that cleaning magic of yours to keep the equipment looking like it should. Thanks for the good , “real “ content.
I found echo red armour 50:1 is great for me on my 261 stihl now has things in there oil to help with emissions and things like that and it really messes with the saw
Great content boss. I’d like to see how you split and re assemble the cases one time. everyone does it different and people could probably pick up some easier tips. I normally use hot cold but that sometimes is frustratinghaha.
I'm in NZ. Also hate Ultra as it's so dirty..I have a 661 and various other good quality saws I use for felling, and processing huge old pine trees into firewood for family etc. Really care for my gear, been using Mobil 1 2T racing at 40:1, but have just bought Sabre to try. Would love to see a test of the cheaper Stihl oil under Ultra please? Love your videos, reckon it won't be long, and you will be THE chainsaw guy on RUclips. Don't change anything you do, really cool to see a pro talking, and honest talk, not shit. Thanks!!
You're too kind. The orange bottle is a mineral oil based 2T oil and doesn't carry a JASO rating that I can find. There are better oils out there, but It's a decent oil at 40:1. That old school oil kept plenty of saws running for a long time.
A Man of his word, I appreciate that. Good stuff here, and you do work fast, as ‘Vintage Engine Repairs’ noted. I understand this saw needed calibration, being an M Tronic model, but I cringed a little listening to her running so long WOT. As you noted, it took it longer than normal. I have yet to own one of these computer controlled saws, so am ignorant about it. Stricter EPA standards may drive the Manufacturers to employing it on all their models. Then we go to batteries, but that’s for another day. 🙄👍✌
It hung in the "under load" range for about 50 seconds which if I had to guess is around 10k RPM. It usually takes 20-30 seconds. Just shows how far out of tune it was fighting the tight bearings. WOT was only like 5 seconds. That 30 second run on choke to start the process loads up the lubrication, in my opinion, for the calibration process. I do cringe when it takes 15-20 seconds or so at WOT to find it's tune.
@@richardflagg3084 it might have taken less time to reset if you had done some light cutting with it first. Clear the oil from assembly and allow friction to reduce. However as you are on the clock what you did is faster.
@@74hoppy I did run it for about 30-40 seconds before the recalibration off camera. No cutting just revving it. I've never had one dwell that long. My only guess is that it was so far out of tune from the stiff bearings.
I runEcho Red Armor at a little better than 50:1. Backup is Husqvarna XP at 50:1 or Echo Power Blend Gold, also at 50:1. All these oils are JASO FD oils. Much better lubrication and cleanliness.
What do you think about opti-2 oil? I used it for many years in my equipment but this was part time small biz mixed at 50:1. Love to hear what you think of it.
I would like to have seen disassembly and reassembly. But I would really liked to have seen the bearings since they were diagnosed as the problem. Were they bad? Also, what did the exhaust/spark arrestor look like?
Both bearings were definitely bad. The cages were intact, but they very tight. The spark arrestor was not clogged and I removed the carbon from the exhaust port.
@@richardflagg3084 Tight cages? Could you elaborate? What causes them to "tighten"? It couldn't be contamination could it? I would be very interested in seeing you findings rather than you blathering on about a product you don't like. Seeing that would be interesting. Listening to you, not so much.
The original video shows me trying to pull the saw over and it was nearly impossible. I also turned the the crankshaft over manually with the topend off, and it was very hard to turn over. Had there been contamination, I believe there would have some visual piston damage as it is a softer material. Bearings have very tight tolerances, and with marginal lubrication at 10,000+ rpm the bearings were damaged. I've shown in several videos, that while upper cylinder lubrication with Ultra seemed fine, the crankcase was devoid of any meaningful lubrication. The crankshaft should roll smoothly, hence the case split and bearing replacement.
@@richardflagg3084 It seems as though, aside from you makine claims and not showing the "damage", I just don't care much for seeing utube videos presented by people who appear to have drinking and blathering on as though they are an authority on a topic. That's all, signing off.
No harm in doing it, but is there a need? If the saw is running decent, I usually don't bother. Sometimes if you've been making small/limbing cuts for a while, it may get a little out of whack. Go make some full length bar cuts with firm steady pressure and let it idle for about 15-20 seconds. The smoother you make the big cuts the faster it will acclimate. Dogging in and out of the wood takes longer to adjust.
@@richardflagg3084 I should have mentioned that I’ve modded it with the WCS foam filter and muffler. It’s a 462 mtronic 3.0. Thanks for the speedy reply!
So the dealer told me if I don't run the saw at 50:1 and use Stihl oil I will void my warranty. If I run the saw at 40:1 how will that affect mtronic? Will it adjust the carb for 40:1?
I have one of these ugly pig saws. Mine came with a 18 in bar. It is a great saw. Back in the day I bought a 026 to work in the woods everyday. It was a poor saw, but when I got my hands on the 261 it was a pleasant surprise. Question,, would you be interested in showing us how to squeeze a little more performance out of it with some trickery.
I was just curious about your thoughts on opening up the intake boot on a 372xp x torq? Some say it makes a difference in power and some say it helps the longevity of the saw by better lubricating the piston. Your thoughts? Also I've bought some Echo Red Armor, Lucas 2 stroke oil, the orange bottle Stihl oil, and some Husqvarna XP oil, plus i already had some of the old black bottle Husqvarna oil that i want to try some of each. If there are any of those that you recommend staying away from then please say so and I'm thinking about ordering some Amsoil and some Schaeffer's pretty soon. Thanks in advance and love the videos sir!
I personally haven't altered the intake boot on the Xtorq. Saber, Red armor, and the XP+ have done well in what little I have tested them. I use Schaeffers 7000 semi synthetic in my own saws and did a spur of the moment teardown on my 046 and it looked better that average. Have a look at the video I made with the Ultra bottles as the thumbnail. I posted it a couple of months ago.
I have seen a lot of Stihl saws turning over 14,500, recently. My ms 261cm turned over 14,500. It scared me T death, so I traded it off. My brand new ms 170 also turned over 14,500 I richened up the H jet 1/4 a turn and it dropped down to 13,000, which is acceptable to me. I do not use the 170that much and will recheck it in the Spring. If I need to richen it up a little more, I will. I like 12,600-12,800 on a warm day- 75 degrees. I could not richen up the 261, so I traded it off. I have not bought another Memtronic saw nor will .
Nice video again Rich. Is the calibration process the same for both V1 and V2? Just curious if the H/L ranges change on your computer software program after the recalibration.
Ultra is in the silver bottle. The Stihl premium is a mineral based oil like the traditional orange bottle. I haven't tested it as it is not sold in my area.
1 hour to build this saw. Incredible!
Mr. Richard, another excellent video. Very respectable times. Critical comment was answered very tastefully with manufacturer's website...
I do what I can. Thank you!
Been using hp ultra 50:1 and 93 octane gas in my stihls for 4 years. No issues. Spark Plug, spark aresster and piston still looks like new.
I run a 20 on mine for reach and I’m primarily in soft pine wood. Keep the chain sharp. Things a beast and I love it. Wonderful saw I wish I could do more topping and chunking with it. It’s a light weight screamer. This is the saw you want a wrap on but you lose stumping capability. Yes I stump with it. It’s so light it’d be easy to twist with your forearm. But we’re talking fast raw woods production and there just isn’t any (logging) where I am in coastal NC. I guess if you were clearing lots manually. 3 point dogs and a wrap this thing would be/ already is, the chef’s kiss.
3 point dogs are awesome because they get into nooks and crannies of irregular stumps. But if you’re stumping you don’t need a wrap.
I am definitely an oil nut!😅 but enjoy everything I've seen so far on your channel! Good to see the real world use, abuse, repairs and results👍🏻
Fun entertaining and creative! I give it 2 thumbs up. Great holiday fun👍🏽 👍🏽😁
In Australia the saw is supplied with a 16 inch bar and having a fleet of 261’s running 50:1 I have some saws on there eight/ninth bars and still going as good as the day they were purchased
Thanks for your time, wish I knew what you know
Awesome work! Would love to see a tear down and review of the orange bottle stihl hp oil at 50:1. Keep up the great content!
Like your shirt, Class of ‘67, ended up being the Class of ‘73 at Georgia State due to the Vietnam War and my time in the Corps.
I have my 1st 661 build under way! I need to pick up a few screws for it but I’m going with the titanikal pop up piston and cylinder for it.
Enjoying the vids, thank ya!
106 hours before a full rebuilt? That's completely insane. AMSoil here I come lol 😆 and you got a new sub
Thank you!
Great video! Love my 261!
Richard, I never had a mechanical problem due to using Stihl Ultra at 50:1, but it is filthy as hell. I got tired of cleaning up sponge from the muffler side of my saws. Even the insides of the mufflers were filthy and it loved to block up the spark arrestors on my saws that had them, about half of my saws. There is just to much ash components in Stihl Ultra, which is why I switched to JASO FD oil.
Awesome work. Learned something
Nice work 😁. I love my Amsoil Sabre for lawn equipment never had a problem at 50/1. If you have a dirty engine Echo Red Armor works great also take care 🙂
Its good but at 50:1 or leaner it will kill the bottom end faster than even the cheapest mineral oils ran at 33-25:1, even if the top end is pristine. Rolling bearings like viscosity and lubricant volume. But if you're just a homeowner that doesn't run a saw all day long, you most likely you won't tell a difference if your bottom end bearings get sloppy at under 1000 hours instead of 3000+ since the saw will likely die or get defective from other reasons way before that.
Don't run chain saws 😁
Excellent video!! That auto tune reset sounded crazy. I would be afraid that thing might explode or seize a ring. You must have dumped some oil in the cylinder before you went to reset it. Pretty big puff of smoke. Smoke is a good thing let's you know you have oil in the gas.
There may have been a little residual assembly lube (two stroke oil). I did fire it up after final assembly and run it briefly before the recalibration. I believe the 30 seconds on choke to start the process intentionally loads up the lubrication for the calibration process.
😮
Stihl Ultra Causes “Black Pistonitus” I’m a Fan of Stens Shield Synthetic Blend at 40:1 Mix It’s Equivalent To Echo Red Armor Great Film Strength and Clean Burning No Coking of Rings or Piston 😇😀😊👍🏼
Fantastic vids, feel free to go into as much detail as you like, its appreciated!
Much thanks, Sir
Good work brother, damn you work fast! Would love to have seen you install the bearings and crank. Maybe one day you could do a reassembly video?
You mentioned editing and how you don’t know much about it. If you’d like a really user friendly software and help with it, just reach out :) it’s called LumaFusion and so simple.
I truly wanted to prove it takes more time to clean than reassemble. Missed it by just a little bit. I can do a video on how I do bearings and seals. If I had filmed the assembly, it would have been like watching paint dry. Even in time lapse. Thanks cuz!
@@richardflagg3084 Maybe I’m just speaking for myself, but I enjoy seeing other peoples process - I’d happily watch an hour, non sped up video. Grab a cuppa and put my feet up!
We can always learn something new. I use Matty-O’s crank tools and the hot cold method for bearings and am always keen to see other processes! Either way, keep up the great content brother!
@@richardflagg3084 😂😂
I second LumaFusion. I use it on my iPad. It works great and there are tons of tutorials on RUclips.
First class all the way god bless
Awesome video about chainsaw repair and maintenance.
Nice work on the 261. I have the same one and mine has never taken that long to setup the range. Could be the weather as I’m in hot weather down south.
Love how you get it clean. What do you use to get the case so clean? I also like the clean hardware. Now that is a class 1 mechanic.
Just to stoke up the ambers on the oil again. I run Motul 800 2T at somewhere in the 45-48:1 range with super results in firewood bucking application. As an engineer that frequently deals with high speed bearings, an oil film is all that is needed. Too much oil will just make it slobber on the way out, and you’ll need to use that cleaning magic of yours to keep the equipment looking like it should.
Thanks for the good , “real “ content.
I found echo red armour 50:1 is great for me on my 261 stihl now has things in there oil to help with emissions and things like that and it really messes with the saw
Great content boss. I’d like to see how you split and re assemble the cases one time. everyone does it different and people could probably pick up some easier tips. I normally use hot cold but that sometimes is frustratinghaha.
I'm in NZ. Also hate Ultra as it's so dirty..I have a 661 and various other good quality saws I use for felling, and processing huge old pine trees into firewood for family etc. Really care for my gear, been using Mobil 1 2T racing at 40:1, but have just bought Sabre to try. Would love to see a test of the cheaper Stihl oil under Ultra please? Love your videos, reckon it won't be long, and you will be THE chainsaw guy on RUclips. Don't change anything you do, really cool to see a pro talking, and honest talk, not shit. Thanks!!
You're too kind. The orange bottle is a mineral oil based 2T oil and doesn't carry a JASO rating that I can find. There are better oils out there, but It's a decent oil at 40:1. That old school oil kept plenty of saws running for a long time.
A Man of his word, I appreciate that. Good stuff here, and you do work fast, as ‘Vintage Engine Repairs’ noted. I understand this saw needed calibration, being an M Tronic model, but I cringed a little listening to her running so long WOT. As you noted, it took it longer than normal. I have yet to own one of these computer controlled saws, so am ignorant about it. Stricter EPA standards may drive the Manufacturers to employing it on all their models. Then we go to batteries, but that’s for another day. 🙄👍✌
It hung in the "under load" range for about 50 seconds which if I had to guess is around 10k RPM. It usually takes 20-30 seconds. Just shows how far out of tune it was fighting the tight bearings. WOT was only like 5 seconds. That 30 second run on choke to start the process loads up the lubrication, in my opinion, for the calibration process. I do cringe when it takes 15-20 seconds or so at WOT to find it's tune.
@@richardflagg3084 it might have taken less time to reset if you had done some light cutting with it first. Clear the oil from assembly and allow friction to reduce. However as you are on the clock what you did is faster.
@@74hoppy I did run it for about 30-40 seconds before the recalibration off camera. No cutting just revving it. I've never had one dwell that long. My only guess is that it was so far out of tune from the stiff bearings.
Show us how you put it together. It sounds good . Great saw Dont get me wrong.
Hey Richard any videos in the future of amsoil sabre at 40:1 ? I've heard good things about that oil
I made a video about a month ago Ultra disappoints Saber exceeds, have a look at that. The 395xp was run at 40:1 since new. It looks pretty dang good.
@@richardflagg3084 thanks I will have a look !
What did you use to get everything so clean??
I have switched from stihl oil to bell ray hr1
I runEcho Red Armor at a little better than 50:1. Backup is Husqvarna XP at 50:1 or Echo Power Blend Gold, also at 50:1. All these oils are JASO FD oils. Much better lubrication and cleanliness.
What do you think about opti-2 oil? I used it for many years in my equipment but this was part time small biz mixed at 50:1. Love to hear what you think of it.
I enjoy your videos
Would love to actually see you put the bottom end together Richard! 😂
I can do that. Gimme a few and the next time I split a case, I'll throw it out there.
In NZ the ultra is Jaso fd rated I wonder if it's the same stuff as US
I would like to have seen disassembly and reassembly. But I would really liked to have seen the bearings since they were diagnosed as the problem. Were they bad? Also, what did the exhaust/spark arrestor look like?
Both bearings were definitely bad. The cages were intact, but they very tight. The spark arrestor was not clogged and I removed the carbon from the exhaust port.
@@richardflagg3084 Tight cages? Could you elaborate? What causes them to "tighten"?
It couldn't be contamination could it? I would be very interested in seeing you findings rather than you blathering on about a product you don't like. Seeing that would be interesting. Listening to you, not so much.
The original video shows me trying to pull the saw over and it was nearly impossible. I also turned the the crankshaft over manually with the topend off, and it was very hard to turn over. Had there been contamination, I believe there would have some visual piston damage as it is a softer material. Bearings have very tight tolerances, and with marginal lubrication at 10,000+ rpm the bearings were damaged. I've shown in several videos, that while upper cylinder lubrication with Ultra seemed fine, the crankcase was devoid of any meaningful lubrication. The crankshaft should roll smoothly, hence the case split and bearing replacement.
@@GoBob17 Original video is "Stihl Ultra. Why not to use it, especially at 50:1 PSA". That's the teardown and inspection of this saw.
@@richardflagg3084 It seems as though, aside from you makine claims and not showing the "damage", I just don't care much for seeing utube videos presented by people who appear to have drinking and blathering on as though they are an authority on a topic. That's all, signing off.
What do you use to clean the case halves etc?
Is it safe to do a reset on a brand new saw with just a few tanks run?
No harm in doing it, but is there a need? If the saw is running decent, I usually don't bother. Sometimes if you've been making small/limbing cuts for a while, it may get a little out of whack. Go make some full length bar cuts with firm steady pressure and let it idle for about 15-20 seconds. The smoother you make the big cuts the faster it will acclimate. Dogging in and out of the wood takes longer to adjust.
@@richardflagg3084 I should have mentioned that I’ve modded it with the WCS foam filter and muffler. It’s a 462 mtronic 3.0. Thanks for the speedy reply!
So the dealer told me if I don't run the saw at 50:1 and use Stihl oil I will void my warranty. If I run the saw at 40:1 how will that affect mtronic? Will it adjust the carb for 40:1?
MTronic will run 40:1 just fine. It's constantly making adjustments to keep itself in tune.
@@richardflagg3084 thanks so much. Do you think the mtronic system is reliable?
How do you like using the MDG2 and the computer program.
I have one of these ugly pig saws. Mine came with a 18 in bar. It is a great saw. Back in the day I bought a 026 to work in the woods everyday. It was a poor saw, but when I got my hands on the 261 it was a pleasant surprise. Question,, would you be interested in showing us how to squeeze a little more performance out of it with some trickery.
I just wonder is it d oil or how lean the carb is set
I was just curious about your thoughts on opening up the intake boot on a 372xp x torq? Some say it makes a difference in power and some say it helps the longevity of the saw by better lubricating the piston. Your thoughts? Also I've bought some Echo Red Armor, Lucas 2 stroke oil, the orange bottle Stihl oil, and some Husqvarna XP oil, plus i already had some of the old black bottle Husqvarna oil that i want to try some of each. If there are any of those that you recommend staying away from then please say so and I'm thinking about ordering some Amsoil and some Schaeffer's pretty soon. Thanks in advance and love the videos sir!
I personally haven't altered the intake boot on the Xtorq. Saber, Red armor, and the XP+ have done well in what little I have tested them. I use Schaeffers 7000 semi synthetic in my own saws and did a spur of the moment teardown on my 046 and it looked better that average. Have a look at the video I made with the Ultra bottles as the thumbnail. I posted it a couple of months ago.
Love it
I have seen a lot of Stihl saws turning over 14,500, recently. My ms 261cm turned over 14,500. It scared me T death, so I traded it off. My brand new ms 170 also turned over 14,500 I richened up the H jet 1/4 a turn and it dropped down to 13,000, which is acceptable to me. I do not use the 170that much and will recheck it in the Spring. If I need to richen it up a little more, I will. I like 12,600-12,800 on a warm day- 75 degrees. I could not richen up the 261, so I traded it off. I have not bought another Memtronic saw nor will .
Nice video again Rich. Is the calibration process the same for both V1 and V2? Just curious if the H/L ranges change on your computer software program after the recalibration.
I still haven't tore into my 261 yet! 😀
Slacker!
Hello mate I really like your stihl skills man you know your shit 😉 can I ask you a question please 😀 what do you think of the 076 cheers
I will stick to Motul 800 off road 40:1
I run this, seems to do a good job.
@@waynedouthat5254 good to hear
My Stihl 170 came with a 6 pack of Stihl Premium oil, is this the same as Ultra?
Ultra is in the silver bottle. The Stihl premium is a mineral based oil like the traditional orange bottle. I haven't tested it as it is not sold in my area.
I enjoy it.But it needs software update on it!
What oril do you recommend running???
One that is JASO rated "FD"
Do you work on other saws besides Stihl.
I don't discriminate. I'll work on anything except disposable equipment if you catch my drift.
👍🏻👍🏻
Motul 710 /1:45 /👍
Ah, there is NOTHING at all wrong with your “wine” after your work is done. 😊
That's very funny that you say that cause......the Earth is very flat.
40:1 amsoil it is
Hey bud. Chtrees is my mail at the G or Y.