Stihl 026 Oiling Problem

[cujo8]

The last time I used my Stihl 026 saw while cutting up some pine the chain froze up on the bar. I took it apart and cleaned up the saw and cleaned the the bar slot and the end sprocket and I put it all back together and the chain now moved freely. Ever since this I feel the oiling system is not working correctly. Tonight I went through and thoroughly cleaned the entire saw, since I plan to use the saw all day tomorrow cutting firewood. After all the maintenance I went outside and started the saw and I was looking for tell tail sign that the chain was getting oil (Oil coming off the chain/bar onto the ground) and I did not really see any coming off the chain. I really revved it up and I did not see the oil flying off the bar, but I did see oil coming out of the inner chain sprocket near the oiler hole area and was dripping down the base of the bar. BTW the oil looked dark and dirty and I would think it would be coming out light in color like that in side of the oil tank. When I cleaned the saw I paid extra attention to the bar and bar oil hole to make sure it was clean and it looked fine. I even used compressed air to clean the slot and oil hole. Any Ideas? Thanks.

 

[fify59thatsit]

Try taking the bar and chain off, leave the cover off, start the saw rev it up and see how much bar oil comes out the slot ? That may tell you if the oiler is working

 

[Fish]

Rinse out the oil tank with fuel mix, then put some more fuel in, and run the saw with the bar and chain off, the fuel mix may break up any clogs

 

[banjobart]

Use Stihl blue jug winter weight oil when the temps are below freezing, it is thinner and will flow in the cold. I was getting no oil either on my 026 bar until I bought some blue jug oil. Also, turn up the oil all the way if you have a Pro model.

 

[PA Plumber]

I use Stihl orange bottle bar oil year around in the 026.

Even down to single digit Fahrenheit, no oiling problems. Just give the saw time to warm up.

Some good suggestions on trying to de-sludge the oiler.

 

[cujo8]

Thanks for all of your replies, I will try running the saw with out the bar and chain to check for flow. BTW how much flow should I see? I will also check if I can flush out the oil tank as well. Can to oil passage be cleaned with a pipe cleaner or possibly compressed air? Tomorrow I will try some of the winter blend oil to see if it helps. Thanks again for all of your replies.

 

[Lakeside53]

No pipe cleaners...

Take of the bar. Rev up the saw a little and oil should pulse nicely out of the hole above the studs at the top of where the bar mounts. If it does, just clean out your bar hole. If not... could be...

- blocked pickup
- oil hose (external to pump)
- worm drive from clutch drum
- oil pump

 

[cujo8]

No pipe cleaners...

Take of the bar. Rev up the saw a little and oil should pulse nicely out of the hole above the studs at the top of where the bar mounts. If it does, just clean out your bar hole. If not... could be...

- blocked pickup
- oil hose (external to pump)
- worm drive from clutch drum
- oil pump

I don't have a service manual for this saw, so I don't know the locations of the things you listed. I'm assuming the pickup is inside of the oil tank, is there a way to get at it to clean it? Where is the pump and hose located?

 

[Lakeside53]

The pickup is in the oil tank. Best to take off the pump and extract the tank hose. The pump etc is underneath the clutch. Use AS search... and/or request a manual from an AS goodguy...

 

[cujo8]

I just went out to the garage and took off the bar & chain and fired up the saw. I could see the oil coming out but it was coming out very slowly. I then dumped out the oil tank and rinsed the tank out with fuel mix as suggested and then dumped out the fuel. The tank and pickup look very clean, so I don't think anything was plugging up the oil pickup. I then added more fuel mixture and fired u the saw again and I saw the oil come out and then the fuel, but it was not really squirting out like I would expect when the much lower viscosity fuel mixture came out. The bar oil that I poured out was a very think and sticky amber oil, which I'm thinking is a little too thick for winter cutting. The oil is the Stihl orange bottle stuff. My brother has some Stihl winter blend oil, so I will give it try tomorrow and see how it works. BTW my 026 saw does not have the "Oil Adjust" on it, but the bottom does have a hole and markings on it though. My manual says the oil adjust feature is an option, so this means my saw is not the 026 Pro version. Can this oil adjust option be added to my saw and is it worth the effort? I will see if I can find a shop manual for my saw, because I think I'm going to need it. Before this issue I was having problems with the bar oil leaking out of the saw while it was just sitting in the case and I mentioned this to an authorized Stihl dealer counter guy and he said not to worry about it and just keep an eye on the oil level, since it would probably cost a lot to fix this problem. I'm thinking now that this must be related to the problem I'm having now, but the oil is no longer leaking out into the case any more like it was before. Any ideas?

 

[landyboy]

Having had a similar problem with my 026, i would say either your worm drive or pump are shot. If its just the worm drive its a simple cheap fix. The pump is dearer, but not a complete disaster if you dont mind getting your hands dirty.
When i looked at my sprocket drum where the slot is for the worm drive it was absent. This was because it was bent and had destroyed the pump and drive.
Having a look is simplicity itself: pop the `e` clip on top of the sprocket;lift off revealing the clutch, run some rope into the spark plug hole to jam it and undo the clutch clockwise(important); under this is the oil pump assembly. At this point it will probably be clear what the problem is;lift out the worm drive and inspect it;Two bolts hold in the pump, this will lift out for inspection.
Hope this helps Cheers,Andy.

 

[cujo8]

Having had a similar problem with my 026, i would say either your worm drive or pump are shot. If its just the worm drive its a simple cheap fix. The pump is dearer, but not a complete disaster if you dont mind getting your hands dirty.
When i looked at my sprocket drum where the slot is for the worm drive it was absent. This was because it was bent and had destroyed the pump and drive.
Having a look is simplicity itself: pop the `e` clip on top of the sprocket;lift off revealing the clutch, run some rope into the spark plug hole to jam it and undo the clutch clockwise(important); under this is the oil pump assembly. At this point it will probably be clear what the problem is;lift out the worm drive and inspect it;Two bolts hold in the pump, this will lift out for inspection.
Hope this helps Cheers,Andy.

Well I don't mind getting my hands dirty, I've rebuilt many automotive engines, automatic and manual transmissions, etc, bu I have never dug this deeply into a chain saw before. Thanks for how to get at the worm drive to inspect it, I will check out some time this week. Once I get the worm drive out will it be obvious to me that there is something wrong with it or not? I've never seen what they look like new or worn.
Someone here on AS is sending me a service manual pdf, so at least I'll know where things are inside the 026. I used the saw today from 11:00AM till 4:30PM cutting up fire wood and I did run into some issues. My brother gave me some lighter Winter grade oil to run in my saw today and I believe it helped, but was not a total cure for my inadequate oiling issues. When I first started the saw I was able to see the oil lightly spraying off the chain when I revved to saw. Later in the day my chain seized up on the bar and it turned out to be a seized end sprocket on the bar. I was able to free it up after a bit and I made sure the oil hole was clear and I put the bar/chain back on the saw and again tried to see if the oil would fly off the spinning chain, but I did not detect any. The chain looked like it was at least a little oily, so I continued cutting. Once while I left my saw idling on the driveway it was doing a slow dance across the driveway and I went over to grab the saw and I noticed it was leaving oil drops every 4 inches along the trail it took during its dance routine. So there is an obvious oil leak in the saw, which I believe is causing the lack of oil to the bar/chain. I'm wondering if the hose from the oil pickup to the pump is leaking. How hard is it too get at and inspect this tubing? When I trouble shooting my saw last night I was able to fish out the oil pickup tube and filter only up to the bottom of the oil fill opening and it look nice and clean after the fuel mix wash process I performed. Since I was not able to get it all the way out of the tank, I am unsure how to replace this tubing if I need to. Any helpful tips? Thanks again.

Jim

 

[banjobart]

My 026 oils like a Mazola factory now I use blue jug winter oil (and turned the oil up all the way). However, I freeze it up frequently. If you cut in near zero weather and get a little snow on the bar then set it down for awhile the chain will freeze solid to the bar. The heat of friction melts the snow and then in minutes it freezes back to ice, locking up ithe saw.

Also, if snow or any other obstruction like the ground interfere with the ejection of chips the nose sprocket and the chain sprocket will clog and lock up the chain. If you are using that old triple humped tie strap chain it does not allow chips to clear, especially if you have to rip a crotch.

In short, many things can lock your saw up. Your saw may be OK.

 

[Wishie22]

The last time I used my Stihl 026 saw while cutting up some pine the chain froze up on the bar. I took it apart and cleaned up the saw and cleaned the the bar slot and the end sprocket and I put it all back together and the chain now moved freely. Ever since this I feel the oiling system is not working correctly. Tonight I went through and thoroughly cleaned the entire saw, since I plan to use the saw all day tomorrow cutting firewood. After all the maintenance I went outside and started the saw and I was looking for tell tail sign that the chain was getting oil (Oil coming off the chain/bar onto the ground) and I did not really see any coming off the chain. I really revved it up and I did not see the oil flying off the bar, but I did see oil coming out of the inner chain sprocket near the oiler hole area and was dripping down the base of the bar. BTW the oil looked dark and dirty and I would think it would be coming out light in color like that in side of the oil tank. When I cleaned the saw I paid extra attention to the bar and bar oil hole to make sure it was clean and it looked fine. I even used compressed air to clean the slot and oil hole. Any Ideas? Thanks.

I use a bobby pin to clear the bar track and oil opening on the bar (gets all the wood chips & crud loosened up, use it before apply air if at home) easy field tool for the pocket as well.

Be careful shooting air blasts back into the oiler, especially if you have some foreign particles jammed inside.

Mine oiler slowed down and I though I cleared it, then it started leaking while sleeping at night. Ended up with a whole in the oil pump not exactly positive how, but replacing the whole new pump and tube just to cover all basics.

Hope your is an easy fix.

 

[cujo8]

My 026 oils like a Mazola factory now I use blue jug winter oil (and turned the oil up all the way). However, I freeze it up frequently. If you cut in near zero weather and get a little snow on the bar then set it down for awhile the chain will freeze solid to the bar. The heat of friction melts the snow and then in minutes it freezes back to ice, locking up ithe saw.

Also, if snow or any other obstruction like the ground interfere with the ejection of chips the nose sprocket and the chain sprocket will clog and lock up the chain. If you are using that old triple humped tie strap chain it does not allow chips to clear, especially if you have to rip a crotch.

In short, many things can lock your saw up. Your saw may be OK.

There was no snow on the logs yesterday and the temperature was around 35F and what I found binding the bar sprocket was wood pulp. I was the the bar cleaning tool that came with the saw to clean the groove and dig at the tip to free it up. I'm using a 18" Stihl bar and the recommended "green" color coded Stihl chain. My saw came with the 18" bar when I bought it 15 years ago, but it does not have the "Oil Quantity" screw on it. From what I read in the manual is that you can adjust the Oil Quantity screw to get proper oiling and this especially important if you decide to run a longer bar/chain. I believe when I bought my saw the dealer asked me if I wanted a 16" or 18" bar/chain and I went with the 18", but with the non-adjustable oiling on my saw I'm wondering if I should have chosen the 16" bar. Granted I've been using my saw for 15 years with an 18" bar and I've also run a 20" bar setup on occasion with success. I'd like to add the oil quantity adjustment screw to my saw if possible. I'll be taking the saw apart this week to see whats going on in there with the oiling/leak. I'll keep you all posted with my findings.

 

[cujo8]

Well I found an adjustable oil pump conversion kit for my Stihl 026 for just $69 delivered and I should have it soon. The kit includes a new oil delivery hose in addition to the adjustable pump and the other parts needed for the conversion, so I'm hoping my inadequate oiling issues will be fixed. I'm also hoping that this will also cure the oil leaking issue I've been having. I was thinking I should replace the oil pickup and hose at the same time just to be on the safe side, since this saw is 15 years old and has never been replaced. Anyone know the p/n for the oil pickup hose for a Stihl 026? Thanks.

 

[Lakeside53]

1121 640 9100 - a pita if you haven't done them before. Heat the nipple and preform the hose with gentle heat before you try to install.

 

[cujo8]

1121 640 9100 - a pita if you haven't done them before. Heat the nipple and preform the hose with gentle heat before you try to install.

Thanks for the p/n. In your opinion do these pickup hoses need to be replaced every so often? I was thinking it was a good idea to replace it while I have the saw apart to replace the oil pump.
When I flushed out the oil tank; the tank, hose, and pickup filter looked perfectly clean, but it's hard to tell while looking into the oil fill hole if the hose may have a crack in it or not. Like I said earlier the saw is ~ 15 years old and the only parts I've replaced so far are spark-plugs and chains. I don't need to heat the hose to remove do I? Thanks again for your help.

Jim

 

[Lakeside53]

Oh.. I gave you the part number for the output hose...

The pickup hose is 1122 547 9400 and used in many Stihl saws. Replacement is rare...


No heat... that's for the output hose.

 

[cujo8]

Oh.. I gave you the part number for the output hose...

The pickup hose is 1122 547 9100 and used in many Stihl saws. Replacement is rare...


No heat... that's for the output hose.

I'm a little confused about this part number, since someone just sent me an illustrated parts list for a Stihl 026 and it lists the p/n as 1122-647-9400 for the pickup hose that connects to the pickup body filter in the oil tank. Any ideas about this? Thanks.

Jim