stihl 026

[fred blogs]

just picked up an 026, its a 99 saw and almost as new except for the pot and piston, i thought there may be trouble ahead when i found 2 stroke oil in the chain oil tank, stripped off the exhaust and the piston and bore are, well as you would expect really from running on neat petrol

i have seen a few non gen cylinder and piston kits on ebay for about 50 quid, are these any good or would genuine stihl bits be better?

would any crap have got into the crankcase? thanks for any advice.

[spudulike]

just picked up an 026, its a 99 saw and almost as new except for the pot and piston, i thought there may be trouble ahead when i found 2 stroke oil in the chain oil tank, stripped off the exhaust and the piston and bore are, well as you would expect really from running on neat petrol

i have seen a few non gen cylinder and piston kits on ebay for about 50 quid, are these any good or would genuine stihl bits be better?

would any crap have got into the crankcase? thanks for any advice.

 

It is unlikely that there will be any "crap" in the crankcase, this can be cleared out by rotating some paper towel in front of the crank lobe - if the piston or rings have parts missing then ensure these are found before reassembling but it is unlikely.

 

Depending on how bad it is you may be able to salvage the cylinder but will need to know what you are doing.

 

The non OEM cylinders will not be as good as the Mahle originals but should be OK as long as you don't expect 20 years out of them. OEM ones will generally not make an economic repair unless on a top end big saw.

 

Ebay is full of saws like this, 9 times out of 10, I can salvage the cylinder but the odd one is a bugger and the plating is damaged and means a new cylinder - usually when a great chunk of piston has been removed rather than a light smear.

 

Had a MS170 just like your 026 - hope you didn't buy it as a runner!

[fred blogs]

not got the cylinder off yet i need a thin shaft torx bit to fit through the holes in the fins, what should i polish the cylinder with if its not too scored? the piston looks intact although pretty badly scored, was fairly cheap will still be reasonable with a bit of expenditure, are the bits that them mister people sell any good? i had a coil for a ms 180 off them last week and thats ok, who would be best for a cylinder kit? thanks for the help.

[spudulike]

I have tried a few parts of Mister Solutions but not tried their cylinders - if you want, give Andy a bell and ask him if he has had any returned - he is a good guy and always gives me a bit of discount if I turn up at his door.

 

The aluminium can be removed using chemicals - I would only recommend light rubbing with fine emery paper to take out the last remenants - 300 grit is about right.

 

I have heard about people using a light hone on cylinders but don't go about it like these cylinders have cast liners, they are aluminium with a few microns of chrome or nikasil plating on them and damage to this, especially above the exhaust port is fatal!