Stihl MS260

[Nathan Bruce]

Hey all! yesterday I purchased a non-op Stihl MS260 power head only for 65$. I took the saw apart and found out that the carb was replaced with a cheap chinese one and it was installed wrong, I installed it correctly and found it to be hard to tune on the hi side. I ordered a new chinese carb and can't wait to get the saw going. The saw is in pretty good shape and has great compression, the cylinder looks decent. I am probably going to use the saw as my main firewood saw! I bought a new 20" bar for it.

 

[cscltd]

The new aftermarket carb will probably work as good as the old one.
should have bought oem carb
if Trying to save a buck (which we all are) would have bought aftermarket bar to save a buck or two and put towards carb.

 

[singinwoodwackr]

I tried a couple of “those” carbs rebuilding 3 261s…garbage.
found some used oe on eBay for $20 and rebuilt them…perfect.

 

[thompsoncustom]

I've found the Holzfforma/Farmertec AM carbs to work well and stick with them when going aftermarket.

I bought a random AM carb for a ms390 I believe and couldn't get the high side to tune right like you said. Pulled the carb apart and there was no high speed jet just a hole though the carb body. Can't remember what but there was some other pieces missing and less or more holes in there. I'll have to see if I can find a picture I took. Moral of the story is go with a brand that works for most people on here cause there's a lot of different quality in the AM world.

 

[Duane(Pa)]

Remove the muffler cover and enlarge the tiny hole the exhaust is forced to go through. It is probably about the diameter of a pencil. NFG

 

[J_Ashley]

Remove the muffler cover and enlarge the tiny hole the exhaust is forced to go through. It is probably about the diameter of a pencil. NFG

MS260 user here - I'll be doing this soon. (Although, it is pretty quiet all things considered. Maybe it's best to leave it along to appease the neighbors...)

To the OP - Awesome saw, and an absolute steal at $65!

 

[Nathan Bruce]

The new aftermarket carb will probably work as good as the old one.
should have bought oem carb
if Trying to save a buck (which we all are) would have bought aftermarket bar to save a buck or two and put towards carb.

yeah that makes sense about the bar but a family member made a account for me at my local stihl dealer and put enough money to cover the bar in it so I decided to get the bar.

 

[Nathan Bruce]

Remove the muffler cover and enlarge the tiny hole the exhaust is forced to go through. It is probably about the diameter of a pencil. NFG

I most likely will be doing this but I will be leaving the spark arrestor on the saw.

 

[Evan]

Yes with leaking crank seals and cracked impulse new carb will likly work no better than old

 

[Captain Bruce]

I've found the Holzfforma/Farmertec AM carbs to work well and stick with them when going aftermarket.

I bought a random AM carb for a ms390 I believe and couldn't get the high side to tune right like you said. Pulled the carb apart and there was no high speed jet just a hole though the carb body. Can't remember what but there was some other pieces missing and less or more holes in there. I'll have to see if I can find a picture I took. Moral of the story is go with a brand that works for most people on here cause there's a lot of different quality in the AM world.

We have all fell thru the dreaded cheap well of chinesium parts, only to float to the surface.......some don't have passages drilled, most are missing internal gaskets......junk right out of the box. Its the US $ flowing thru the system that keeps them coming to our benches. FREE returns is like lending your neighbor 50 bucks, and waiting for a gift card....

 

[stihltech]

Fire the parts cannon!. OR diagnose the issue and save a few hundred. I throw almost every chinese carb that comes in the shop and fix air leaks. Then the saws run like they should. DO NOT throw the old carb away yet.

 

[Nathan Bruce]

Fire the parts cannon!. OR diagnose the issue and save a few hundred. I throw almost every chinese carb that comes in the shop and fix air leaks. Then the saws run like they should. DO NOT throw the old carb away yet.

That's my issue, the guy before me put a chinese carburetor on it and now I don't have the oem

 

[Evan]

Did you pressure check saw, ive spent alot of time chasing my ass with saws sucking air through crank seales.

Now I find it almost easier just to toss new seals in before even running the damn thing.

For what its worth my 026 was missing the high screw so I tossed a China carb on it. Runs great
My 044/064 has a China carb ive got handfulls of 044/046 carbs. Though that saw chucked a 064 piston squurt.

Then my sons ttr50 has a China carb.

For all the haters theres a few likers.

At the end of the day no carb can fix other issues on the saw outside of its control.

Im pretty sure oem carbs are available for the 260, that saw may be worth spending alittle money on.

Have fun learn lots

 

[thompsoncustom]

my 260 wears a Chinese farmertec ms460 carb and runs and idles great and a nice upgrade over the stock setup.

 

[Nathan Bruce]

is a 460 carb a direct bolt on fit?

 

[ZeroJunk]

I buy a lot of Chinese carbs, depending on what it is going on and the condition of the unit. Lipstick on a pig way of thinking. Probably throw about 20% in the bucket. But, most work OK .

 

[Jza]

I have one of these , love it . Only thing I don't like is the quick tensioner.. looks ugly asf haha

 

[Lawless]

I picked up a super nice one recently. It spent 99% of its life sitting in a garage. Looks and runs excellent.

 

[thompsoncustom]

is a 460 carb a direct bolt on fit?

far from it, only for after your saws been ported and it takes quite a bit of work to fit that big carb in there.

 

[John Lyngdal]

Were are you in Oregon? If you visit the Eugene area we can swap parts off my MS260s and see if we can identify the issue.