pigwot
M's, Juniper's, Lowen’s, and Inge’s Grandpa
Jim,
Why it says it right there on the side of the vehicle, "OFF ROAD"
- it's just doing what it was made for...
How'd it go today?
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Why it says it right there on the side of the vehicle, "OFF ROAD"
- it's just doing what it was made for...
Spring's here, and we haven't even had winter yet. Snowdrops and daffodils are coming up already :^(
Got the azelea, viburnum, and cabbage planted. Gonna wait on the mahogany leaf til I know what I'll do with it. Warm out, and the yard's a swamp. Should probably be looking for skunk cabbage :^S
Brought the 026 home, and my stuff for the poulan so I could take the locust stump down. The PoulanPro did great. Maybe it's timeout straightened it out. Got the stump flush without issue. If I used the Stihl, it would Stihl be there :^P
I'm 90% sure it's hosed. It just dies in the cut. I richened up the high a quarter turn, but it didn't need it. I'm not the best tuner in the world, but it definitely sounded right before I touched it, and it didn't improve. Checked the oiler without the bar, and it oiled. Seemed like it could be heavier, but I've never watched without a bar. Looks like there's supposed to be a cover plate over the oiler, which I don't have, so maybe that's the issue. Dunno. No point in worrying about it unless I get the motor straight. PoulanPro's going back to work. Fingers crossed it behaves itself. Otherwise, an echo 490 is in my future.
Got the azelea, viburnum, and cabbage planted. Gonna wait on the mahogany leaf til I know what I'll do with it. Warm out, and the yard's a swamp. Should probably be looking for skunk cabbage :^S
Brought the 026 home, and my stuff for the poulan so I could take the locust stump down. The PoulanPro did great. Maybe it's timeout straightened it out. Got the stump flush without issue. If I used the Stihl, it would Stihl be there :^P
I'm 90% sure it's hosed. It just dies in the cut. I richened up the high a quarter turn, but it didn't need it. I'm not the best tuner in the world, but it definitely sounded right before I touched it, and it didn't improve. Checked the oiler without the bar, and it oiled. Seemed like it could be heavier, but I've never watched without a bar. Looks like there's supposed to be a cover plate over the oiler, which I don't have, so maybe that's the issue. Dunno. No point in worrying about it unless I get the motor straight. PoulanPro's going back to work. Fingers crossed it behaves itself. Otherwise, an echo 490 is in my future.
pantheraba
More biners!!!
"timeout" for the Poulan...you showed that sucker! 
Been debating on a pickeroon and yet another hatchet. Went to the garage to find the Plumb carpenters hatchet I found on a job to see if it would do. Trying to talk myself out of another purchase... Blade was shorter than I'd like, and more damning, there was a crack near the eye on the blade. I'm now awaiting delivery on a hatchet and pickeroon... While I was out there, I found a small ballpeen hammer that'll be perfect for making chain. Forgot I had it, and it even has my initial welded to it! Found it somewhere. Can't remember...
edit:
Kyle, yea it feels like bad compression. I don't feel it pulling it over, but I'm not sure what else it could be. Carb seems ok.
edit:
Kyle, yea it feels like bad compression. I don't feel it pulling it over, but I'm not sure what else it could be. Carb seems ok.
It runs, but if I dogged it in, I could stop the chain. I didn't notice it til I switched it to 3/8. Just a bit too much drag on it I guess. I don't have a compression tester suitable for a saw, and from what I've read, they're fairly unreliable til you get the appropriate correction. Whatever pressure you read doesn't mean much without context.
Seems the two options are Chinesium(cost is doable), or oem(cost prohibitive). Third option is solid used, but that's not something you can just get. Gotta wait. Chinesium is pretty much out. Aside from questionable quality, screw China. Oem would be ~$150 for a new p&c. That puts me at $350 total for the saw, and I haven't even gotten to crank, bearings, and plastics. Just more crap to break, and then I've paid just about what a 261 costs, but I have an underpowered antique in return. Would a new set of rings handle it? That would be doable if the p&c looks ok after removal...
Seems the two options are Chinesium(cost is doable), or oem(cost prohibitive). Third option is solid used, but that's not something you can just get. Gotta wait. Chinesium is pretty much out. Aside from questionable quality, screw China. Oem would be ~$150 for a new p&c. That puts me at $350 total for the saw, and I haven't even gotten to crank, bearings, and plastics. Just more crap to break, and then I've paid just about what a 261 costs, but I have an underpowered antique in return. Would a new set of rings handle it? That would be doable if the p&c looks ok after removal...
Nutball
TreeHouser
I thought my 026 was a bit low on compression by feel, but it was 180psi according to my gauge. Little torque stock, I haven't tried modifying the muffler, but it is soon to get a full port job, and will likely end up around 220psi the way I'm doing it.
I say buy a decent compression tester, and slowly become a mechanic rather than just swapping parts hoping you guessed right. If you don't have a compression tester, you don't know what the compression is. If it's off slightly it won't matter, and do your other saws to get an idea of how it's reading. I would rather spend 100 bucks on diagnostic tools rather than 350 bucks on parts that aren't needed. If i had to guess i would guess that you need to rebuild your carb 20 plus times for every time you have to get into the actual machined surfaces of an engine, just my experience, and most of those will be seals rather than rings. Out of all the junk I've owned over the years i can count on 1 hand the engines that have gotten replacement rings at any point in their lives.
ruel
TreeHouser
I say get yourself a new Echo. They really are pretty well built saws for the money, especially considering your moderate use.
Yea, I'm not too much into mechanicals, meaning I don't like to do it. I *can* do it, just don't want to. IOW, I'm not sure $100 in diagnostic gear would be worth it. There isn't a chance in hell I'd put $350 into this saw. Combined with the purchase price, that would be a 261. Doesn't feel like a fuel issue to me. It sounds good unloaded, and cleans up nice in the cut. I could take the carb apart and see if anything looks wrong; crudded up, rotten rubber, or whatever. Rebuild kits are cheap I think. I suppose I could just rebuild the carb...
Anything I do with it has to be cheap, and has to be quality. I'm not gonna piss money away on an antique, and I need to know it's gonna work when I pull it out. I'll put tens of dollars in it, and even gamble with just replacing some cheap stuff, but I'm not into having a project or anything. This saw means nothing to me. I just need something that works.
@ruel , Yea, if I get a new office saw, it'll be an echo. I almost got one anyway, but then decided on the used 026. Should have gone with the echo.
philosophy time...
I don't see much point in repairing pro saws unless you particularly like wrenching on motors. If it gave you pro performance, just throw the thing out, and get something new. If I bought that 026 new, the newest it could be is 20, and it's almost certainly older than that. How could anyone complain about that kind of service? You owe it at that point. It's time to pat it on the head, tell it it was a good boy, and send it off to saw heaven. Anything you do will be throwing money away unless you get the parts free or nearly so.
Anything I do with it has to be cheap, and has to be quality. I'm not gonna piss money away on an antique, and I need to know it's gonna work when I pull it out. I'll put tens of dollars in it, and even gamble with just replacing some cheap stuff, but I'm not into having a project or anything. This saw means nothing to me. I just need something that works.
@ruel , Yea, if I get a new office saw, it'll be an echo. I almost got one anyway, but then decided on the used 026. Should have gone with the echo.
philosophy time...
I don't see much point in repairing pro saws unless you particularly like wrenching on motors. If it gave you pro performance, just throw the thing out, and get something new. If I bought that 026 new, the newest it could be is 20, and it's almost certainly older than that. How could anyone complain about that kind of service? You owe it at that point. It's time to pat it on the head, tell it it was a good boy, and send it off to saw heaven. Anything you do will be throwing money away unless you get the parts free or nearly so.
Jonny
Treehouser
You changed the 026 from .325 to 3/8?
Jonny
Treehouser
Why? Just to keep all saws on the same spool of chain?
.325 is made for 50cc though.
.325 is made for 50cc though.
Yea, all my saws are 3/8 or 3/8lp, and I'd like to keep it that way. I don't necessarily care about optimal performance. It just has to be acceptable. 3/8 is an approved configuration for that saw, but it apparently was too much for it in it's degraded state. The problems didn't showup with the old bar. Probably a combination of smaller teeth, and the fact it was trashed, so it didn't always get a full bite. Sometimes the chain would just spin in the cut without eating. I suspect with a brand new .325 b&c, It would have had the same issue with the bar buried.
The harbor freight one is like 20 bucks, and will work fine. Hell i think they even have leak down and vac testers too, so you can really see what is what with your saws. But i agree, if you are that deep its trash anyways. The carbs on 2 stroke handheld stuff are all reed style, and rely on plastic to stay pliable when exposed to gas and air which doesn't happen. A rebuild kit is only like 10 bucks or so, and doesn't take too long, so i might just do that and fire it up. But in the future having a few different types of testers can really come in handy when you go to buy stuff.
Frankie
I Build and Run Ported Saws !
Yes
Nutball
TreeHouser
Just sell it to fund the Echo. I'm a fan of getting rid of things before they become a problem, and always running new stuff as long as I can afford it, and by then I have made back what the saw cost several times, and it's remaining value will cover 2/3 the price of a new one. I'd check ebay for a 490, sometimes you can find them new shipped for around $280 +-$30
Ideally, the PoulanPro will behave itself, and I'll just use that; maybe do a muffler mod on it. I'm gonna hold on to the 026 for the time being. I liked the saw the little bit I used it. I'll eventually at least take the cylinder off, see if anything looks terrible. If that checks out, I'll do new rings and a carb rebuild. That's ~$20, so not much of a gamble, and it might fix it.
Nutball
TreeHouser
Get a new base gasket and be prepared to scrape off the old one.
biggun
Monkey for Hire
Cold the last few days have been fun.
-17c. But clear.
-17c. But clear.
FireFighterZero
Captain Zero!
What kind of critter's that Jim; prairie dog?
Finished up the maple limb the 026 couldn't finish with the poulan. Saw ran great. Chain was a little chattery, but I had my stump bar on it, and the awful skiptooth chain it came with. Threw chips like a beaver. Maple was hard as hell. I split the rounds with my light splitter, and it was a little hard getting into it on a few pieces. I was a little surprised. One of the pieces had a rope around it, so I had to split it, then get my knife in the crack to cut the rope. The tree had grown around it. I wish the saw ran this well from the start. Would have saved me a lot of aggravation.
Finished up the maple limb the 026 couldn't finish with the poulan. Saw ran great. Chain was a little chattery, but I had my stump bar on it, and the awful skiptooth chain it came with. Threw chips like a beaver. Maple was hard as hell. I split the rounds with my light splitter, and it was a little hard getting into it on a few pieces. I was a little surprised. One of the pieces had a rope around it, so I had to split it, then get my knife in the crack to cut the rope. The tree had grown around it. I wish the saw ran this well from the start. Would have saved me a lot of aggravation.
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