mkohler
ArboristSite Lurker
The short version is, I'm looking for an opinion on the condition of my Piston/Cylinder. So if you want to scroll past the rest that's fine. Should I install a new piston and jug or go with what I have. Its an occasional use saw for felling saw logs and cutting some firewood. It overheated, smoke coming off the saw, which I still have to diagnose.
The long story:
My house burned down, pretty much to the ground in 2014. The old 044 was right beside the origin of the fire but was somehow still in one piece. It had been burned, partially melted, soaked from the firefighting efforts, frozen, and snowed on. I found it, took it outside, and just for fun gave the cord a pull. The cord pulled but didn’t retract. I figured it lived a good life, maybe I would part it out. I went back to salvaging other things. After a couple of hours I noticed the saw glistening in the sun, starting to drip off the melting ice from within. The pull cord had slowly retracted as the ice melted away. I decided to throw in some fresh fuel and give it a real try. After about ten pulls it gave that promising rumble, like it was trying to start. And start it did. I've run the saw regularly since then with not much more put into it than a bar and chain (I replaced the piston back in 2010 or so). It's not pretty but it's always been powerful and reliable. The saw means quite a bit to me.
I was milling some lumber last weekend and using it to square off log ends. After one cut it overheated, with smoke rolling off it. I set it aside and grabbed the 026 for the rest of the day. I found some time this week to pull the cylinder and get a look at things. The problem is, I don't know how bad, bad is. There's some obvious scoring on both sides. And I've got no problem buying and aftermarket cylinder and piston (10mm pin FYI), but I'd like to at least keep the OEM jug if it's salvageable. So I'm looking for some opinions on that. Should I replace both? Should I just replace the piston?
Then on to the overheating. It's always run well, and was running well when it overheated. Air filter was clean. Spark arrester was clean. Gas was good (used it in both saws). Didn't seem to be leaking at the exhaust. Maybe a carb issue or air leak somewhere? I'm not set up to do compression testing, but I could get the gear if I need to...
The long story:
My house burned down, pretty much to the ground in 2014. The old 044 was right beside the origin of the fire but was somehow still in one piece. It had been burned, partially melted, soaked from the firefighting efforts, frozen, and snowed on. I found it, took it outside, and just for fun gave the cord a pull. The cord pulled but didn’t retract. I figured it lived a good life, maybe I would part it out. I went back to salvaging other things. After a couple of hours I noticed the saw glistening in the sun, starting to drip off the melting ice from within. The pull cord had slowly retracted as the ice melted away. I decided to throw in some fresh fuel and give it a real try. After about ten pulls it gave that promising rumble, like it was trying to start. And start it did. I've run the saw regularly since then with not much more put into it than a bar and chain (I replaced the piston back in 2010 or so). It's not pretty but it's always been powerful and reliable. The saw means quite a bit to me.
I was milling some lumber last weekend and using it to square off log ends. After one cut it overheated, with smoke rolling off it. I set it aside and grabbed the 026 for the rest of the day. I found some time this week to pull the cylinder and get a look at things. The problem is, I don't know how bad, bad is. There's some obvious scoring on both sides. And I've got no problem buying and aftermarket cylinder and piston (10mm pin FYI), but I'd like to at least keep the OEM jug if it's salvageable. So I'm looking for some opinions on that. Should I replace both? Should I just replace the piston?
Then on to the overheating. It's always run well, and was running well when it overheated. Air filter was clean. Spark arrester was clean. Gas was good (used it in both saws). Didn't seem to be leaking at the exhaust. Maybe a carb issue or air leak somewhere? I'm not set up to do compression testing, but I could get the gear if I need to...
