Used Stihl 026 Gifted to Me

Mine looks identical to that one, with the riveted nameplate, looks pretty old.

I ordered an aftermarket carb, various hoses/lines, intake boot, fuel filter. Should have them tomorrow/Wednesday and then will swap parts out and give it a go.

 

I was gifted a 028 so very similar. It also says for years and wouldn't start. The fuel had corroded to the point the fuel filter fell off and the entire thing melted itself closed. I replaced the fuel line, filter. And vent line (which also crumbled when I pulled it out), cleaned the air filters, put a new spark plug, and adjusted the idle screw myself having never worked on a gas saw before.

I also cleaned out the carb which luckily didn't need a rebuild kit and now the saw is a beast. New bar, new RS chain.

As others have said I'd take the saw back and do the work yourself. It was fun and pretty straightforward.

 

A saw that old should have the crank seals replaced. That could be part of your problem now or it will be a problem down the road in the near future once you get the saw going.
It still sounds to me like some kind of air leak.

 

Was tinkering with this today at lunch just to take a look at the carb and condition of the lines myself. I noticed during re-assembly it seems like the thumb actuator for the choke does not engage with the little finger that sticks down from the air filter. Am I missing something during re-assembly that is causing this? I've included a picture with the area in question with a red circle around it. It seems like the thumb lever would not actually engage with and actuate the choke mechanism on the air filter.

In this image I am pressing downward all the way with my thumb, it doesn't seem to want to go any further.

 

I think I figured out that choke/actuator issue at least - when I pulled the carb earlier to inspect and reinstalled it I got the kill-switch wire (not sure of proper terminology here) caught on the back side of the carb and that was keeping the thumb choke mechanism from extending to the point that the little finger actuates the choke in the air filter. Fixed that and got it all put back together, still not running correctly but not running as erratically as yesterday. Just seems to die out once choke is removed, I can keep it going a little by playing with the throttle but it's not usable.

Have a new carb coming tomorrow we'll see what happens when I throw that in there.

 

Dozens of cheerleaders here wishing you the best on getting this thing running in top form. Take plenty of pix while taking it apart and create your own step by step procedure for reassembly just by looking at them.

The first couple times I tore a saw apart I used baggies and a marker to put small groupings of parts in as I was removing them. Labeled the area they belonged to and numbered the bags so I put stuff back on in the order of removing it.

I've learned enough from this site and the great folks here that I'm no longer hesitant to tear a saw completely apart to fix it. My dad used to tell me as a kid, "if it isn't fixed yet, you didn't take it apart far enough."

 

And cell phone pics can help put things back on right if you feel like you may not remember...

 

My 026 replaced the 028. Both are great saws.

 

Me personally, a saw that old would have all the rubber parts the fuel comes in contact with replaced, and obviously a fuel filter.

A 170 isn't even near that saws replacement.

Starting fluid...oh my..go somewhere else or find a new dealer.

 

What he said!!

 

I just took mine apart to see whats wrong with yours. Broke the black plastic on the handle in the process . The throttle wire has to hook into the hole on top of the black plastic trigger. I tried to edit so i could draw on the photo but my PC skills are limited. You also have to squeeze the throttle and palm lever to fully engage the choke.

 

Yep, you will find... beware of chainsaw dealers. It's pathetic. If you find a real chainsaw expert at a dealer, you could have a good friend. But with your knowledge, I'd recommend you just start learning more about saws; there is tons of chainsaw help from online forums via people that know a heckuva lot about chainsaws. (I am not one of them, lol. I need the experts.)

 

Appreciate all the advice. I was beginning to get a bad feeling about this dealer, at least he only charged me for the fuel line/filter and air filter parts, no labor. Said he didn't feel right charging labor considering the saw remained un-fixed. I have a close watch on my front porch today waiting for a package to arrive, I'll keep everyone posted!

 

Hopefully you have better luck that I did a few weeks back...made an amazon order for my wife...a couple weeks later she says that we still don't have everything...I check, sure enough, when I tracked it, the package made it to a terminal about 45 minutes away, then disappeared. Refund.
Then I ordered some auto parts...was to be a 2 day ship, was only a few hours away to begin with...that took 11 days to show up...I was worried it was lost (it was a hard to find used part) because tracking only showed that they shipped it out, that was it for a week...then it finally popped up again a week later, only to be stuck there 2-3 more days...it was on my doorstep before the tracking was ever updated again though...

 

Dang, it's pretty rare we have issues with Amazon, we have Prime and usually packages are delivered in 1-2 days.

 

Amazon is just slammed right now...and I don't know what's up with USPS...they have been dropping the ball like crazy this year...

 

I buy and sell on ebay and have experienced the same.

 

Some of the big shippers use the post office sometimes Ive gotten a Fedex package from the mailman!

 

Well popped my Amazon.com carburetor into the 026 this afternoon and she fired up and ran after some adjustment on the H L screws and the idle speed. Excited to put it to use! Thanks for all the advice and help.

One question - I noticed when opening the box up for this new carb that there were a couple gaskets included that were the shape profile of the carb as if you're looking down into the saw from the backside, they're intended to fit over the studs that mount the carb in place. Is there supposed to be a gasket installed on the back side of the carb to seal between itself and the "entrance" to the intake boot? There was not one there originally as far as I can tell, unless the Stihl dealer technician forgot to re-install it.

 

Some saws use a gasket but I do not believe the 026 does. The rubber boot that sticks through I believe is what seals it.