Got burnt buying an 026

[Woodchuckr]

I have been looking for another 026 for a while, found one on kijiji, ad stated “ runs just like it should”. Talked a bit with the fella and got him to ship it to me. Guy leaves the bar and chain on his bench and ships just the head. I check it all out, put some fresh gas in and it fires up. Revs up good but is missing at wot, checked the guys carb setting cause he just did the carb and I try and cut a 14” poplar. Thing is missing and low on power, it’s my bar and chain that I just used so its good. Long storey short, see some dirt chunk in the cylinder stuck to the head, bore is lightly scored but piston is not when looking through the exhaust. I check carb, compression is 150 psi. I try and start it and it revs to full rpm not touching the throttle, starts rattling and I shut it down. It rolls over almost a full turn but the mechanical damage to the piston/head seems to stop it. Only has a couple little marks on the head and piston. Not sure what caused it.
Is an 026 red lever worth fixing if the guy comes to an appropriate price or get a refund if I can and be done? I have no idea parts cost and/or if cheaper aftermarket stuff is acceptable for a rebuild. My 026 has only needed a coil since new 30 something years ago.

 

[Patrick62]

I had a ms440 come apart like that. the FOD was a bearing came out of the crankshaft!!!
Check yours out, a crank should be available for that, the piston and cylinder are savable tho...

Unless that stuff came from somewhere else...

 

[thompsoncustom]

Yup that looks like rod bearing failure. The little rod in the bearing is what caused all your damage. If the plating on the cylinder is still good you could have the cylinder machined to increase compression (Base&Band Cut) and that should clean up the chamber.

 

[Woodchuckr]

I had a ms440 come apart like that. the FOD was a bearing came out of the crankshaft!!!
Check yours out, a crank should be available for that, the piston and cylinder are savable tho...

Unless that stuff came from somewhere else.

Does one have to use an Oem crank, or is there good AM ones out there?

 

[Woodchuckr]

Yup that looks like rod bearing failure. The little rod in the bearing is what caused all your damage. If the plating on the cylinder is still good you could have the cylinder machined to increase compression (Base&Band Cut) and that should clean up the chamber.

That’s the things I’ve been tossing around being in this situation. Might be a good time to get a little porting done too. Who is still doing that kinda work?

 

[SteveSr]

I have been looking for another 026 for a while, found one on kijiji, ad stated “ runs just like it should”. Talked a bit with the fella and got him to ship it to me. Guy leaves the bar and chain on his bench and ships just the head. I check it all out, put some fresh gas in and it fires up. Revs up good but is missing at wot, checked the guys carb setting cause he just did the carb and I try and cut a 14” poplar. Thing is missing and low on power, it’s my bar and chain that I just used so its good. Long storey short, see some dirt chunk in the cylinder stuck to the head, bore is lightly scored but piston is not when looking through the exhaust. I check carb, compression is 150 psi. I try and start it and it revs to full rpm not touching the throttle, starts rattling and I shut it down. It rolls over almost a full turn but the mechanical damage to the piston/head seems to stop it. Only has a couple little marks on the head and piston. Not sure what caused it.
Is an 026 red lever worth fixing if the guy comes to an appropriate price or get a refund if I can and be done? I have no idea parts cost and/or if cheaper aftermarket stuff is acceptable for a rebuild. My 026 has only needed a coil since new 30 something years ago.

Get your money back and move on. With internal engine damage that saw is pretty worthless... Maybe $50 parts saw. Bearing parts are HARD and may have cause other damage in the bottom end that won't be obvious without a complete tear down.

 

[Woodchuckr]

Get your money back and move on. With internal engine damage that saw is pretty worthless... Maybe $50 parts saw. Bearing parts are HARD and may have cause other damage in the bottom end that won't be obvious without a complete tear down.

If I can fix this and have a rebuilt saw that I know is good for $400 ish, I am ok with that.

 

[Patrick62]

To be perfectly honest, I always had a fondness for the 026, or 260.
The somewhat restrictive air filter being the only real complaint (cheesy).
I would split the case, wash out the bearings, new seals, new crank. and run it like I stole it.
a ported 026... that would be fun.

That said, I really like my 261. same weight, a little more balls. much better filter system.

 

[SteveSr]

If I can fix this and have a rebuilt saw that I know is good for $400 ish, I am ok with that.

The red lever is also the old tank assembly and more restrictive air filter. It also doesn't have and can't be modified for a clutch/chain driven oiler. IMHO, the desirable 026s are the "Pro" versions.

 

[Mad Professor]

The red lever is also the old tank assembly and more restrictive air filter. It also doesn't have and can't be modified for a clutch/chain driven oiler. IMHO, the desirable 026s are the "Pro" versions.

You can change the pump and clutch drum on a 026 to put on an adjustable oiler.

OP, looks like a big end rod bearing came loose. Never had on do it on a saw but seen it on motocross cycles.

 

[Woodchuckr]

To be perfectly honest, I always had a fondness for the 026, or 260.
The somewhat restrictive air filter being the only real complaint (cheesy).
I would split the case, wash out the bearings, new seals, new crank. and run it like I stole it.
a ported 026... that would be fun.

That said, I really like my 261. same weight, a little more balls. much better filter system.

I am pretty sure I read here somewhere that a better filter could be fitted on the 026? I think it said you needed the new filter and its cover? Can’t remember where I read that but I think I was looking up hard starting and the choke wear/mis alignment and the better filter upgrade was discussed. Maybe the 261 filter and cover fits?

 

[Woodchuckr]

I am pretty sure I read here somewhere that a better filter could be fitted on the 026? I think it said you needed the new filter and its cover? Can’t remember where I read that but I think I was looking up hard starting and the choke wear/mis alignment and the better filter upgrade was discussed. Maybe the 261 filter and cover fits?

I looked up the 261 filter, that won’t work. Looks like it might be the pro filter and cover they were talking about. It is wider and now I remember you had to have the short tank vent or it didn‘t fit. I have the short vent on my original 026, it also has the hole for the adjustable oiler but is not adjustable.

 

[thompsoncustom]

That’s the things I’ve been tossing around being in this situation. Might be a good time to get a little porting done too. Who is still doing that kinda work?

Ya the newer ms260 air filter is what your talking about and yes it required a different air filter cover also. I personally not a fan of the airfilter setup and am running a v stack AM filter setup (Profile Pic) on my 260.

If I didn't port my own stuff one of the best 026/ms260 porters is mofo worksaws he can make them just super strong. He is Sawdoc256 on youtube if you want to see some of his 026/260 in action there's ones pulling bars over 32in buried on there crazy stuff.

 

[SteveSr]

You can change the pump and clutch drum on a 026 to put on an adjustable oiler.

Can this be done on the old style crankcases that don't have the cutout in the bottom for the adjustment screwdriver?

 

[SteveSr]

I am pretty sure I read here somewhere that a better filter could be fitted on the 026? I think it said you needed the new filter and its cover? Can’t remember where I read that but I think I was looking up hard starting and the choke wear/mis alignment and the better filter upgrade was discussed. Maybe the 261 filter and cover fits?

As I mentioned the newer (2-sided and wider) filter requires the newer tank assembly with the low profile tank vent. Replacing all these parts gets spendy in a hurry! This is why I recommended to refund and move on.

 

[SteveSr]

I looked up the 261 filter, that won’t work. Looks like it might be the pro filter and cover they were talking about. It is wider and now I remember you had to have the short tank vent or it didn‘t fit. I have the short vent on my original 026, it also has the hole for the adjustable oiler but is not adjustable.

Your original 026 has the rectangular instead of round AF cover knob. It can be easily retrofitted to the adjustable oiler.

 

[Woodchuckr]

As I mentioned the newer (2-sided and wider) filter requires the newer tank assembly with the low profile tank vent. Replacing all these parts gets spendy in a hurry! This is why I recommended to refund and move on.

My old non pro 026 has been an awesome saw bone stock, she runs a 20” bar perfect for what I do up here crappy filter and all. I clean it often, super easy. Never had any problems with the non adjustable oiler either, thin in winter thick in summer. Got the 026 for mobility and a 120 dolmar when i can stand up straight cutting firewood. I don’t have super hard wood to cut.

 

[Woodchuckr]

Ya the newer ms260 air filter is what your talking about and yes it required a different air filter cover also. I personally not a fan of the airfilter setup and am running a v stack AM filter setup (Profile Pic) on my 260.

If I didn't port my own stuff one of the best 026/ms260 porters is mofo worksaws he can make them just super strong. He is Sawdoc256 on youtube if you want to see some of his 026/260 in action there's ones pulling bars over 32in buried on there crazy stuff.

I may have seen that video, i’ll look again.

What carb did you use to put that filter on the 260 Since the choke is in the air filter?

How has your experience been with AM cranks? There are alot to choose from.

 

[thompsoncustom]

I may have seen that video, i’ll look again.

What carb did you use to put that filter on the 260 Since the choke is in the air filter?

How has your experience been with AM cranks? There are alot to choose from.

After porting the carb/air filter were my bottle neck I have seen a lot of people use the 044 carb but I ended up using a ms460 carb and did some work to the butterfly. Also it's not a drop in thing I had to cut the high/low and idle screws down and bend the brass fuel and impulse lines. But they can still make a ton of power without changing the carb and most people don't.

Never run a aftermarket crank other than what comes stock in the farmertec stuff or did you mean airfilter? Air filters are hit or miss like a lot of aftermarket stuff but even a bad one that's 4 times the size of the stock filter pulls more air. I gained noticable RPM's going to a vstack/AM filter tho someday I may get around to making my own air filter and getting the cover back on.

 

[Woodchuckr]

After porting the carb/air filter were my bottle neck I have seen a lot of people use the 044 carb but I ended up using a ms460 carb and did some work to the butterfly. Also it's not a drop in thing I had to cut the high/low and idle screws down and bend the brass fuel and impulse lines. But they can still make a ton of power without changing the carb and most people don't.

Never run a aftermarket crank other than what comes stock in the farmertec stuff or did you mean airfilter? Air filters are hit or miss like a lot of aftermarket stuff but even a bad one that's 4 times the size of the stock filter pulls more air. I gained noticable RPM's going to a vstack/AM filter tho someday I may get around to making my own air filter and getting the cover back on.

Yeah that air filter is just wrong, choke plate is right in the flow. You could say it directs flow from the top area of the filter but…. Wish i had a 3d printer, could make a nicer filter setup, maybe even cover friendly.

I see two sellers that have aftermarket cranks and state ”meets or exceeds Oem” This seller, Wolf Creek is 100% rating and 20k transactions. Lil red barn stated the same about the 026 crankshaft they sell. It‘s hard buying used Oem crankshafts “From running saw, Oem 026 crank, no refunds, check pictures closely”. Only AM crank that someone with a lot of experience said was good was a Raisman Platt, that I have found so far. Must be someone here that has a good Oem one they will part with.