First Stihl chainsaw, a well used 026.

[Brian S]

Replaced the clutch side, only due to folding the seal lip over when I put the cases back together. The seals and bearings were in really great shape.

 

[Pablo26]

Congrats on the rebuild, sounds like it is running strong. Got mine new in 94 and it's not for sale!

 

[Brian S]

Finished, an 8 day turn around which for me is a record regardless of the project!

I got the plastics cleaned up a bit, but unfortunately the purple power cleaner ate the "STIHL 026" badge off. Total investment was about $140.00 for everything I needed to make this happen. I'm totally happy with the results, I cut some little odd pieces of wood and it seems to have really great power and chain speed. The vibes are OK but my little echo is even better. Starts easily and restarts from warm are explosive. It made 151 psi warm and dry last night which I am also very happy with. Only thing left to do is replace the spark plug with the correct heat range and then tune it properly with a tach, which I will now need to order. CAD is a Beotch.


Whadda think of this?

 

[Lakeside53]

Nice work!

What's next? opcorn:

 

[Brian S]

Nice work!

What's next? opcorn:

Thanks man, and thanks for your sage advice during the rebuild.

After I get this thing in tune I think I'll try it out if I can find some wood to cut here in town. I do think I'm going to clear out at least one of my other saws. I'll probably sell the Poulan 3400 if I can get a fair price for it, I'll probably keep the big Pro-mac as I really like the noise and power it has. I'll also probably keep the little Echo CS-440 even though the 026 is better in almost every way, I really like that Echo and it is so smooth to use and very quiet.

I'm probably done buying and building saws for a while, the 026 was a grail for me, a real pro saw and I wanted to see how they stacked up against the others I have. It is really well built and well engineered and earns the title of a real professional tool. I will keep it and use it for a long time I'm sure.

Next project, maybe a go-kart for my kids.

 

[Brian S]

Lacking any other pressing projects I've continued to putter with the 026. It hasn't seen anything other than some test logs so far but it sure does run good.

Here are some updated pics. The plastics are now like new and I did the clutch cover this evening. I don't think I feel like messing with painting the cases, I'm going to use this one so I think I'll call it done now.

 

[blsnelling]

Looks really nice there. How'd you black the letters? I use a large permanent magic marker

 

[Brian S]

Tiny paintbrush and a semi steady hand.

 

[TetonAsh]

Need 026 Rebuild/Service Manual

Manuals have been received,

Thanks KMB!

Would you mind passing the pdfs along to me? Thanks! Email to: [email protected]

 

[windthrown]

Does the 026 saw really have an adjustible oiler? Or is it a PRO only feature? Or was it on the earlier fully adjustible carb models?

 

[Brian S]

Does the 026 saw really have an adjustible oiler? Or is it a PRO only feature? Or was it on the earlier fully adjustible carb models?

Mine is a fixed output type.

 

[volks-man]

hey brian s.
have you run the 026 and the cs440 back to back yet?
i am curious as to whether or not your results will be similar to mine in my 026 cs440 comparo thread. i got a lot of grief over that one!

nice job on the 026 restore!

 

[Brian S]

I just posted another thread about the 026, I took it out today but I didn't bring the echo. I can tell it is faster though. I still like the Echo too, and it does run smoother than the 026.