Chainsaw Repair

I want to know what is up with the cranks on the 261?
Was at a non stihl dealer and he keeps 261 cranks in stock. Says he is always replacing them.
Is it the big ends or is it chewing up under drum bearing?

Also hearing same on 241.

ive seen a few big end bearing failures on earlier ms261's. I believe stihl knew about it...they had to, I told them about every one I got, and I know I wasn't the only dealer seeing them. I haven't seen anything with the drum bearing eating them up but not saying it doesn't or didn't happen.

problem isnt just with the old 261's....I have a NE261 sitting here that could use a new crank but i am gonna send it back out one more time with just a new drum/bearing to see how long it lasts. I really hate the idea of installing a new crank in a 6 month old saw.

I am sure Stihl knows about the problems....I have bought 8-10 cranks in the last 6 months....there is no way the sales of crankshafts is not catching someones attention.

someone over on OPE had a thread last week about the drum bearing eating 261 cranks and he found a bronze bushing to use instead of the bearing to extend the life of the crank a little more.

went an found the thread. http://opeforum.com/threads/ms261-sprocket-bearing-fix.6393/#post-324365