STIHL 026 CHAINSAW, SPLITTING THE BOTTOM END!!

In this video I'll do a detailed teardown of the cylinder and piston on a Stihl 026 chainsaw.
thanks for watching

[@ashleyfleeting2414]

Was anyone else ducking their head when that green hammer was coming back at the camera when Tin man was whacking that case? Haha made me laugh at myself. Thanks for the video my dude.

[@jakegorman7121]

That piston is in a lot better shape than the one in my old 021 and it still runs like a dream even with almost no compression, somehow.

[@andrewgraham2854]

Keep the old Crank Cases, remove the corrosion damage, spray the bare Magnesium with Etch Primer and finish with a White Enamel Paint. I carried out this process on an old Stihl 028AVS (Built in West Germany 1986) on the saw 4 years ago and it is still free from further corrosion.

[@fabzacres-blackcat]

Clearance on a new jug and slug .0016-.002 - usually when the machine marks are totally gone the piston has seen better days! You need a dial bore gage (or at least a telescoping gage) and a micrometer to check clearance accurately though - vernier calipers ain’t gonna cut the mustard here. If more than .003-.004 difference I’d just change the piston as Meteor pistons for that saw are about $30 to your door. If you drop the new piston in the bore vs old (with spark plug hole covered) you will definitely notice a difference between how fast they drop from the exhaust to tdc. Old piston CAN be used in a pinch but if you’re going to split the cases and do bearings and seals then a new piston will allow the engine to make peak power - and that’s what we want right ? 😂

[@leonardryan8723]

Great little break down on stihl. Have a great evening with the family Tinman 😊.

[@thebradleysoncatbirdhill6849]

It doesn't get any more real than this...." Let me see what I have in my parts bin!" As always, great content!!!!!👍🙌

[@danielsmith-ze3wy]

Hope everyone is having a blessed day

[@rustyfrancis5494]

Got a couple 026',024,ms260 .great firewood saws.i rebuilt one of the 026's very pleased with it.

[@welshwizard822]

Piston looks good, yes I would use it again. Probably better than an after market new one. Have fun 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@RyanTitcomb]

Bearings are origional. I just did an old 028 av that used all flathead screws (late 70s early 80s) and it had plastic cage bearings

[@Ecthelion_2nd]

Another good video sir, I hope you and the family are having a good week.

[@joshuahollingsworth3163]

I have an ms260 I bought used. I believe it’s a 2010 model. It’s served me well and I love running it.

[@tomintexas817]

I have 2 new oem adjustables oil pumps I have an early saw has the big round 024 oil pump so if ya need 1 got ya. I also have 2 200t piston and cylinders for ya too 😂

[@forrestebert5276]

The 026 that came with the adjustable oiler is a PRO model that and a compression release is the only difference same motor and HP output.

[@chrisbrusasco6935]

Just picked up a blown 026. Going to try and rebuild it, thank you for this project it’s going to be very helpful. Love the content Tinman🤙🏽

[@christopherandamandasmith6595]

Enjoy watching your videos. When you was splitting the case I was like ahhhh, he didn't drive the dowel pins out of the clutch side half into the ignition side case half!!! But a hammer definitely helped! Yes using heat will usually leave the bearing on the crankshaft instead of in the crankcase. I can see how that case splitter would be helpful. :-)

[@Lukedean-fl1lx]

Hi tinman , that junksaw made me laugh , i bought one a few months ago and the chunk out of piston was so big i could see the top of the rod , also i couldn't get the cylinder off as a chunk had lodged in the intake , eventually i got it off 😂 Cheers Luke

[@BenThewis]

Ive done two 026 bottom ends and both had plastic bearing cages.

[@karm00n29]

Pro

[@EricaMTB]

The piston is great. The second one is a ms260 with the flip cap.

[@andreaspapapetroy]

Good evening from Greece, my brother, I am watching your channel, please put Greek subtitles.

[@alexmills1329]

Pistons aren’t bad to replace if you’re already into the bottom end, I’d replace it anyways and keep the other as a spare in case you want to play with modding it’s a perfect practice piece for opening up a piston a bit.

[@230e4]

I would salvage the 026 cases or find other good ones just to avoid having the damn flippy caps. Maybe build the MS260 as well, these saws are going up in value. I have been wanting to experiment with using aluminum brazing rod to repair cases like that, they would need to be really clean, I don't know if you have a blasting cabinet, that would clean the pits out nicely. I have reused quite a few pistons like that in my work saws over the years with no issues. The 026 is a very common saw in my area as well. The MS261's are becoming very common as well and are great saws, especially ported.

[@robertblacksmith4355]

That's going to be a sweet saw when your finished!

[@jonathanhall136]

Hey buddy, you could build two 026 with different port jobs ha ha, hope you're all well. 😁

[@olefugle]

Ms 260 has the new tank cap. 026 has the old style caps. A 026 put together on a Ms260 case will be a frankensaw.

[@martinmckinney3822]

The pro models come with an adjustable oiler and slightly larger bore.

[@jeremykirk1334]

I love my 261

[@Mastr-Tech]

I would sand the piston a little and it would work good as new.

[@KT-et5vn]

Depends what a new oem piston is worth for that saw. I have a 261 that needs a new top end and stihl dealer wants $270 just for the piston. Cant justify that kind of money for a new one so will probably get a meteor. Will have to try clean the cylinder up because nobody makes an aftermarket cylinder for the new 261 yet.

[@abelpot8511]

You can tell it is a MS260 case by the flip-up style oil cap

[@MegaDirtyberty]

That piston is fine to run, maybe replace the rings with Caber rings. The piston in the 026 will likely be 44mm, the piston in the 260 will likely be 44.7mm. Unsure exactly when the 026 went to flippy caps but I think it was the very last of the 026, just before Stihl went to the ms260. The bearings are oem, they used plastic cages, I try replacing them with metal cage bearings when I can. The clutch side bearing is proprietary, meaning you can only get them from Stihl or aftermarket. The plastic oil pump is a mystery, I have never seen one on any 026/260 saws I have built.

[@stevetheriault4164]

RULE NUMBER 1 DONT PANIC 😆😆😆👍👍👍

[@michaelschaf]

Easier way to split them cases with that case splitter. Is to leave one case screw in, closet to intake side, slowly work screw and case splitter together. Won't have case stud issue. Yes they ran plastic insert bearings in them yeats.

[@fast4405]

You should compare a stihl 026 to a jonsered 49sp.

[@Christian-ne8po]

New piston

[@kurtsteele5587]

How's the Tinman and family.

[@billhacks]

I would reuse the piston if I was on a tight budget and it is all I had and really wanted the saw to run. If I had the budget, it would get swapped.

[@gunterbecker8528]

Tinman, how good is the magnesium piston in the stihl 400,is it durable, will it flake or chip n could the particles end up in the crankcase??? Please reply, I thank you in advance Gunter

[@tinmanssaws]

No idea I've never owned a 400

[@tdawg8605]

Just thinking out loud, you should clean up those cases and paint them with JB weld (some good stuff) sand/grind it down and powder coat it. If you can, see how it turns out. Could be interesting for a video.🤷‍♂️ TC Mahalo Tinman 🤙🤙🤙

[@tdawg8605]

Great video, always enjoy your content. Liken the clip puller, might have to rig one up for myself. Absolutely, I would reuse that piston, OEM it will last another 100 years verse the stuff on the market today. That case looks pretty ruff but it could just be the camera view. I agree with cleaning it up and maybe do a powder coating video...lol. TC Mahalo Tinman 🤙🤙🤙

[@brucenicov1224]

Definitely replace the piston. It’s cheap insurance. Port the snot outta that cylinder, giv’r a quick hone and reassemble it with a muffler mod and let’r rip bud.

[@aaronpowell4885]

I'd absolutely reuse that piston if a good quality, new piston wasn't available or in budget. Having said that, I'd probably replace it!

[@Fogyt121]

I'd use the piston.

[@darrenpickens7147]

I know the 028's had plastic ball bearing retainers.

[@MikeFerguson-yq2jh]

I would clean everything and then decide what I would reuse

[@boblapalme77]

I have seen nylon cages in some of the OEM

[@mucccvhorob4596]

I wud use that piston from wat i can see

[@cynthiahoekstra7212]

Looks like the machine marks are still visible down to the skirt.

[@boblapalme77]

Tinman, have you given any thoughts to building a pipe with an anti reversion baffle?

[@tinmanssaws]

No I havent

[@michaelschaf]

026 is a 44mm piston, ms260 is a 44.7mm piston

[@jasonthomas8770]

Pistons are cheap, I’d replace it.

[@Dunlap-uj5zl]

👍

[@chriswilliamson796]

Was the oil pump difference in the pro vs. The regular 026?

[@tinmanssaws]

I think that is one 8f the differences between the 2 saws

[@kristinejackson8268]

How about doing some xl 12 ?

[@martyrutter3630]

Nice you don’t make everything look easy,real life repair with all the obstacles left in. Time to go fishing 😂

[@crperformancetucker5065]

Nope, I wouldn't use the piston again. Doing all that work. On a two-stroke piston helps seal the ports off. So worn, piston on a two-stroke is like worn valves on a 4 stroke.

[@crperformancetucker5065]

And yes they had plastic bearing races also the 036 was that way. I actually broke a set of 026 cases from the dowl being so stuck.