Stihl 026 hard to pull

[yomax4]

Impulse line could also be eaten.

 

[newbury]

<snip> How long before gas goes too stale for use in these saws?
<snip>

If it's ethanol free and you add Stabil, or mix w/ oil that has a stabilizer it MIGHT be good for 6 months at cold temps. But after 3 months it's better to put it in your gas vehicle that uses the most fuel.

 

[Gary Fowler]

My Stihl is hard to pull also, I think that is a Stihl trademark with high compression, but it starts with only a couple of pulls (choke pull, move to run, pull and it usually fires up) Don't flood it though or you will be pulling several times to clear the carb.
Definitely get fresh gas, 3 months is about the best of useful life for a chainsaw. I know the weedeaters will run on older gas, but for some reason chainsaws like it fresh.

 

[timsch75]

Thanks everyone for the help and education. Why I've used old gas in the saw can only be attributed to ignorance. I'm more-or-less just a homeowner-tinkerer, so all of my equipment only gets used periodically at best. Even my line trimmer only gets used every few months. The chainsaw may see use only once or twice a year. I typically mix a gallon of gas with oil and use it until it is gone. I now know I should mix much less.

I've never had a gas powered CS, so this is new to me.

It did start when I bought it, although the seller did say that it was hard to start and that he'd had it serviced at a dealer recently. He said that it was his dad's who had aged beyond being able to use it anymore. I paid $200. It seemed like a decent price based on what I saw the same saw selling for on craigslist, and people seemed to love them.

I pulled the muffler off and saw only the portion of the piston visible through the small port. What I saw of the piston and the ring looked good as new. Reflecting on it now, I guess that I should have rotated the engine to try to get the piston down to provide access to the cylinder wall.

I'll fish out the filter. Is that cleanable, or is replacement required?

I'll check out the pickup line. I assume that it is the line coming from the filter.

Regarding the impulse line, would a pressure-down test show whether this has gone bad? I have a user & a service manual, with a pressure-down test described in one of them.

Spark arrestor screen is clear

 

[MMagis]

Fresh gas is a good idea, but it’s not causing the problems you’re having. I have an MS 250, and it’s become a PITA to start. So much compression that I’ve lost count of how many strings I’ve broke in the last year. I still haven’t figured out the problem yet, but you’re not alone.

 

[timsch75]

Fresh gas is a good idea, but it’s not causing the problems you’re having. I have an MS 250, and it’s become a PITA to start. So much compression that I’ve lost count of how many strings I’ve broke in the last year. I still haven’t figured out the problem yet, but you’re not alone.

Fortunately I've not broken a string yet. I can get it to crank, but I wear down after 8-10 pulls, and my elbow lets me know it won't put up with that too many times. I'd imagine it's been somewhat abused regarding fuel, so hopefully the fuel related suggestions will take care of it.

I keep seeing posts with people who replaced impulse line, diaphragm, etc, and wind up with a CS that starts on 2-3 pulls.

 

[Deere Dude]

I have a twenty year old 026 that I couldn't start this spring. I took it to the dealer to have him check it out and also the clutch. I stopped in a week or two later to ask if he had it done and he said, "It runs good and the clutch is fine." That will be $25. I didn't have the guts to ask what was wrong because I think all he did was put new gas in and cranked it up. I have to get rid of my valuable old gas.

 

[crazyal]

The problem with dealers is they have to charge too much an hour to justify doing in depth work on a saw that's worth a few hundred. If a carb is gummed up they could spend 2 hours swapping it out plus the cost of the carb. If the dealer decides to clean the carb and replace the gaskets it'd probably cost even more. If you don't mind working on it yourself you should be able to replace the carb with a new one off of ebay for less than $20. Just make sure to replace the impulse line (the hose that operates the fuel pump in the carb and the fuel filter/ pick up hose. Chances are it'll run great once you tune it afterwards.

 

[timsch75]

I finally got back to this chainsaw. I got some ethanol free gasoline and mixed it with the Stihl oil. Still no start, so fuel doesn't appear to be the main problem.

I checked out the impulse line and it looked practically new. I didn't find any holes/cracks Same with the fuel line and filter in the tank. Does the impulse line have a tail on it that connects to the fuel filter in the tank? I was able to get the impulse line out of its seat, but could not pull it all of the way off. I also could not pull the filter out of the tank - the line was too short. I'm not sure how I would get the filter back on the line if I pulled it off.

Still no start, no sputter, no nothing.

 

[Clay45]

It sounds like the high compression and your elbow are just not letting you snap the engine fast enough. If you ever do get it started just keep her running until she's warmed up and run an entire fresh tank of gas thru until she runs out of fuel. This way the warm engine also helps to dry out any remaining fuel in the carb.

Store it this way each and every time. When you get ready to use her use fresh fuel/oil mix and chain oil in reservoir. Also helps to use high octane enthanol free 91 or higher.