Stihl air filters - why maxflow is far superior

[TheDarkLordChinChin]

I recently bought a second hand ms461.







It runs and cuts fine but I had heard about the older style air filters being no addition so I stripped the entire intake system down to have a look.
This is what I found.







A large amount of dust and dirt had made its way through the air filter and into the carb. The saw was still running perfectly but it was only a matter of time before damage was done.
I took an hd1 air filter off a 660 I don't use, hopefully it will see me through until the maxflow filter I ordered arrives from the US.

I also took the carb screw limiters out. The screws themselves do not have springs on them like ordinary ones would, do I need to worry about over tightening them?

 

[hacskaroly]

The screws themselves do not have springs on them like ordinary ones would, do I need to worry about over tightening them?

I don't think you will have an issue unless you gorilla fist them in, just use your thumb and index finger to move the screwdriver and stop when it seats, you should be ok.

 

[brushwacker]

I had never heard of tightening adjuster screws on chainsaw carbs. Seat them , then back out until optimum performance under load is achieved high screw and fast idle with smooth acceleration on the lo screw.

 

[Wonkydonkey]

That air filter in your pic, is .. from what I understand is a winter air filter. ?
They work great but let the fines in. Well mine did.

I had one on my 660 when I brought it 2nd hand, although it ran great i didn’t leave it on there long, because of the fines

In this pic from LS engineers it shows a foam insert, mine wasn’t there. And I did know what I do now, that’s why it’s still in a box

 

[Wonkydonkey]

As for your carb limiter caps. Some where on here there is the info on what to do. Kraft knife the stop bit ( look it up, probably a mastermind thread ) and just use them as they are. Ie caps that have no limits.
My 660 has been fine & the 461 with just the caps put back without the limiter bump that I cut off

 

[Wonkydonkey]

There’s this thread..

Red limiter cap removal for walbro HD

Stihl versions of the Walbro HD red limiter caps have to be turned to the correct position so the little tabs on the side line up with the notches in the metal. I use a dental pick modified into a little hook to wriggle themout. After some careful wriggling and pulling they'll lift right...

opeforum.com

But ..this ms461 thread sort of says and shows what to do. But fukphotobuckit has decided to make it harder to see

Mastermind Meets The MS461

This is a thread I did a couple of years ago for the T-Bone raffle. I'll be adding to this thread over the course of the day as I take it apart and modify it.

opeforum.com

But I’m sure there’s other iclearer info as to what to do.
Hopefully your carb is still ok ?

Btw. I followed the 461 thread and changed the coil & enlarged the main jet smoothed the case to cylinder transfer bit as well as bgd. And the saw pulls a 36” bar

 

[Catbuster]

That air filter’s not meant to be cutting in the dry.

While I agree MaxFlow is a better filter on most of the old Stihls, if you put an HD2 cartridge on your 461 you won’t have those issues.

 

[Sloughfoot]

The springs on the adjuster screws may keep them from moving on their own. "All the way tight" may be tighter without them as well.

 

[av8or3]

Winter air filter. It even lets snow in…
As said a regular HD air filter will fix that.

 

[Hoser]

All my 461’s I run HD’s tap em out at break and lunch, blow them out when I get home and carry on.
I just assumed maxflows were for guys sick of tapping them out?
If you just pull the limiter caps and don’t put them back in do the adjustment screws walk?

 

[Loony661]

All my 461’s I run HD’s tap em out at break and lunch, blow them out when I get home and carry on.
I just assumed maxflows were for guys sick of tapping them out?
If you just pull the limiter caps and don’t put them back in do the adjustment screws walk?

I’ve cut for over 3 weeks straight on a MaxFlow’d MS460 and it still wasn’t letting fines inside. MaxFlow is a great filter setup. In a production setting, you shouldn’t have to tap out your air filter that often IMO. That was Stihl’s Achilles heal…

 

[Hoser]

Does the bulkier set up poke you in the guts when you’re filing up a chain?

 

[Catbuster]

I’ve cut for over 3 weeks straight on a MaxFlow’d MS460 and it still wasn’t letting fines inside. MaxFlow is a great filter setup. In a production setting, you shouldn’t have to tap out your air filter that often IMO. That was Stihl’s Achilles heal…

I used to run a MaxFlow on an 046 I ran on fire rolls. We’d work 14-16 days straight as a saw module, so actually cutting 8 hours a day with another 4-8 doing briefings, maintenance, riding, hiking or being helicoptered in. After 12-16 hours of movement where you couldn’t turn your brain off, even if it was hurry up and wait, with a line pack and faller’s gear, I (and everyone else) was beat. Filing your saw, deburring bar rails, cleaning the grooves and oiler holes and occasionally cleaning the side cover was all we did on a roll.

My MaxFlow only got cleaned between rolls and I never had an issue sucking fines. Ever. With an over two week maintenance interval. Cutting some of the driest, nastiest, dustiest stuff you could find. They’re that good.

Does the bulkier set up poke you in the guts when you’re filing up a chain?

Not in my experience, but I file off the side of the saw and use a stump vice when I’m in the woods. It’s really not that tall on an 1128 Stihl, especially compared to a Husqvarna high top cover.

 

[Hoser]

The high top of my 390 jamming me in the ribs is exactly why I asked that.
Thank you for the input gentleman.
I know what to buy 1-6 of when I’m sick of tapping filters.

 

[huskihl]

I would cut the limiter tabs off the caps and reinsert them lined up with the screwheads. If not, when you’re fiddling around trying to get a screwdriver in there it’s easy to miss the head and bend the jet

 

[Loony661]

Does the bulkier set up poke you in the guts when you’re filing up a chain?

I don’t hug my saws when filing so I can’t answer that. I file from the side, as I get much better results doing so, and faster.

 

[2000ssm6]

Every 044/046, 440/460 and 461 I’ve had get a max flow before being used. They last so much longer than the oem filters and keep fines out.

The only con I can think of is they turn a sexy saw into a butter face.