Stihl 026 fuel problem

I picked up an 026 last week for $10. Did not run when I bought it. Piston and cylinder look fine. It gets spark and fires if I put mix down the cylinder. The fuel line was completely rotted out so I replaced that along with a new fuel filter but I think I may have damaged the new fuel line while trying to fit it into the tank. After trying to start it there looks to be a tiny amount of fuel leaking around the fuel line from where I was poking and prodding around the grommet. Grrrrr.... I am going to try a new fuel line tomorrow hoping that is still my problem. Any advice on getting the fuel line installed without damaging the line? Anything else I should look out for?just starting to get into fixing these older stihls....Thanks guys.

 

After further inspection it looks like there is fuel getting to the carb upon taking the fuel line off the carb end. I’ve started taking apart the carb....there is definitely some crud inside on the side with the big screw. This is a WT 194 carb.

 

Carb diaphragms are probably stiff and need replacement. If they "click" = bad.
Takes K20-WAT kit.

 

The k20 wat kit fits the WT 194 carb?

 

Would it be better to buy an eBay carb over rebuilding the WT 194?

 

Probably. No guarantee a rebuild will work. An AM carb is ~$13. An OEM RB kit probably costs that.

 

The 194 is the preferred carb on these. Installing a carb kit can be a crapshoot as to whether it works or not. Definitive Dave sells a knockoff in his ebay store that works very well.

 

I would assume installing a new carb is just as easy as I think it is? Slide the new unit on, hook up the fuel and impulse line then tune? Ya? No?

 

Which cheap carb off eBay is the best bet? Are they all pretty much the same?

 

Hard to tell. They don't advertise the brand. Dave's are good, but I just looked and he's out of them

 

Yeah, about the easiest repair. Pay attn to throttle rod. Sometimes, it needs to go on before carb goes on bolts. I don't remember re: 026.

 

Yup. It does need to go on before you install carb.

 

I ended up taking the carb apart today and cleaning it out. Got everything put back together and it started after a few pulls. I tuned it and even cut some wood with it. All seemed good til eventually it started to bog and now it starts hard. When I can get it to start it dies as soon as I hit the throttle. Any ideas?

 

Did you replace the fuel line? If you did did you use after market or an OEM line?

 

Yup. Ebay fuel line.

 

the after market fuel line could be your problem, I tried 2 in my 026 about a year ago and both were crap, one was to long so the line kinked and one didn't seal tight against the grommet causing fuel to leak. Finally just got an OEM line and wala!! everything works great.

After 3 time I got pretty good at changing fuel lines!

 

You might be right. The one I put on seems to long above the tank. I may just put a new OEM one when I do the rebuild on the carb. How much is a stihl fuel line?

 

Do you guys think it could be a compression issue? Piston looks fine to me. It ran quite well after I cleaned the carb out...

 

026 piston

 

They lean out a tad after warming up. Try giving it a bit more fuel on the L.