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.