I bought mine brand new from a Husky dealer in 99. I really like the saw. It has only been in for repair 2 times sine. Both in summer of 18. My 00 dealer(who I really liked) had to go out of business through no fault of his own. The two times I took it to be repaired, it ran for about 45 min each time until it would not start again. Because of the frustration level, and the fact my work with it was basically dead until at least the following Monday, I pulled the muffler of to look. Piston is horribly scarred. I pulled the plug. Cylinder is scarred likewise. First shop did lots of repair I did not ask for, and did not replace the collapsed fuel line to carb I asked them to. $160 later and run time mentioned, it went south, so to a real Husky SVC center I go. Repaired what I asked and ran, BUT, 45 min into working, went south again. P&C scarred. I use 40-1 mix in premix can. What do you think I should do with this 18 plus year old saw? It has had a very good service life and those have been the only probs, up until now. Good thing I also have my 372xp for ,BACKUP.
Welcome to the forum Tacomatodd. Sorry to hear that. Sounds to me like the problem was never really addressed. These saws are fairly easy to work on if your so inclined. I have done a lot of them. You have a good metal cased saw there to start with, so that's a plus. The most likely problem with that saw would be the plastic intake clamp between the carb. and cylinder. Very commons issues with them working loose and sucking air causing a lean condition. To fix this saw you would need at least a new piston and possibly a cylinder if it won't clean-up. A OEM metal intake clamp kit, and I would also pressure/vac test it as well. Sounds like a lot, I know, but theres a lot of support here, and on other sites that are willing to help you do this. Lots & lots of good videos just on this style of saw. These are good candidate saws for rebuilding if you choose to. Or you can take your loses and just buy a new saw. If you do decide to, you can bump up the power on these very easy with a 346xp kit of good quality. Were all here to help if that's your choice. :)
Thank you for the timely response! I will certainly look into the situation more. The bar is wore to the indicator marks, (a friend of mine in the tree SVC bus looked and saw this) the spur drive also has some pretty good gouging. But I will definitely looked at the intake boot and will try to do the vac/pres test. I am not happy with what my personal feel of the compression (or lack there of) is. It seems at least a new p&c are in order. If I get all parts and dedicate the time to repair, I just wonder if my wife is willing to stay married to me!!!
Saw that old you might want to look to the case seals, fuel line and carburetor kit to go along with the top end and new intake rubber parts with steel clamp. Including that little line for the pulse & OEM intake boot isn't out of line on a saw such as that. As was mentioned the old plastic clamps relaxed and let the seal between the boot and the cylinder draw air. 351 is essentially the same as a 353 which has the same cases as a 346. So you have a lot of options for a rebuild. OEM top ends from a GOOD dealer aren't going to break the bank either. If you are going to put the effort in to get it fixed, seal it up top to bottom with new rubber or often times you replace the failed part, the symptom; but not the "air leak" cause. See it all the time.
Will you guys tell me more about the 346xp p&c replacement/mod since that is most likely the direction I will take, along with the necessary other parts. I can do this now in my life. Long story. If anyone wants to know, then I am happy to tell them. My life is an open book, unfortunately it's a comic book!
Tacomatodd
Welcome
Let me start by saying I did maintenance work at a factory and have farmed for 40 years. I do all my own repairs on everything. I have repaired a fair amount of chain saws in the last 40 years. Sounds like to me to you are getting ready to throw good money after bad money. If you had to take it in before to try to get it repaired are you ready to repair it your self now? If I were you I would move it on and get yourself a new saw that will run another 18 years.
Hedgerow has a good point here. But I question anything new nowdays lasting 18 yrs. or even less. But to help answer your question, the 346xp was the top of the line "pro" model of Huskys 50cc class of saws. Without getting into a lot of details and info, I will keep this simple. The early 346 was only 42mm but held its own in the 50cc class as far as power. A few years later, Husky increased it to 44.3mm with other improvements as well. Your saw, the 351, most likely had the lower powered non "xp" 44mm version for the EPA saws. The biggest difference between your cylinder and the 346's, was the porting. The XP cylinders made much more power and higher rpms. The thing is, they all will fit your saw. Most people go to more power when they rebuild them. And if you decide to, only re-place with a good OEM top end. With a saw that old, it would be good insurance to replace the crank seals and maybe bearings as well, as weimedog, pointed out. And this requires you to split the cases.
That said, I strongly suggest you watch "weimedogs" videos before you commit to this. It may be something you might not want to tackle. For some it is, and for some it isn't. You decide. ;)
What 50cc class pro model saw (new) do you folks suggest? I do NOT need, or care about a top handle in tree saw. It needs to be a Husqvarna because there are no Stihl dealers that I have found, and I am extremely Leary of purchasing on-line. I may look up part numbers, but I prefer to talk to a real life and breathing human being!
Unfortunately it takes a good bit of work to vacuum and pressure test a saw to be sure base and crankcase gaskets as well as crank seals and intake boot arent leaking. Without doing that work its pretty easy to smoke several jugs in a row.
This is one of those situations where if you want it done right you may have to do it yourself. If you dont have the time or ability its on to the next saw like everyone else in our throwaway society.
I have only lost money on things i bought working for fair market value in that condition, then had them fail. I have never lost money on broken junk that i have brought back to sevice because its value never drops below what i paid. But thats a junk mans lifestyle and isnt for most people. If i had money to lose id not be a junk man.
I agree with hedgerow.
Get a brand new saw with brand new bar, new chain, new sprocket, new intake boot, and new whatever else might be about to fail on your old clunker.
Run that new saw without the worries or frustration of the "old pro".
Then decide if you want to keep the old iron around for an expensive backup, or nostalgia. Or move it down the line to a collector.
All the greats retire eventually.
Quote from: TACOMATODD on December 31, 2018, 11:16:47 AM
What 50cc class pro model saw (new) do you folks suggest? I do NOT need, or care about a top handle in tree saw. It needs to be a Husqvarna because there are no Stihl dealers that I have found, and I am extremely Leary of purchasing on-line. I may look up part numbers, but I prefer to talk to a real life and breathing human being!
Well if it's got to be a Husky, and it's got to be a pro saw, and it's got to be 50cc, then there's really only one choice.
But I'd be danged if I'd saddle myself to a dealer that provided unsatisfactory service just because he was the only game in town.
Most any of the newer mag case saws will do the trick. And shouldn't need any service that anybody who can open an air filter box, push a file, turn a scrench, and pop a c-clip couldn't do.
And most all parts for new saws can be be at your doorstep in a day if absolutely needed.
Agree - I know that I'd never return to the same dealer who (I assume) charged for both previous repairs, only to have the same or similar problems reoccur..
Hell even if he provided a substantial discount on the 2nd rodeo, it wouldn't work - because it obviously sounds like there is a lack of knowledge or experience at hand..
I can fully appreciate not wanting to buy from a 'faceless' dealer or someone you don't know much about, but it would certainly at least to me to be preferable to going back only to look in his eyes and be reminded of the money, time, poor service (twice), and a saw he has now cost me!
But that's just me - other results may vary..
Quote from: mike_belben on December 31, 2018, 11:32:36 AM
Unfortunately it takes a good bit of work to vacuum and pressure test a saw to be sure base and crankcase gaskets as well as crank seals and intake boot arent leaking. Without doing that work its pretty easy to smoke several jugs in a row.
This is one of those situations where if you want it done right you may have to do it yourself. If you dont have the time or ability its on to the next saw like everyone else in our throwaway society.
I have only lost money on things i bought working for fair market value in that condition, then had them fail. I have never lost money on broken junk that i have brought back to sevice because its value never drops below what i paid. But thats a junk mans lifestyle and isnt for most people. If i had money to lose id not be a junk man.
Agree totally
A 142e never performed well from new but still managed to start/run and cut' just not idle and start when hot
After 9 years I finally bit the bullet and stripped it down after numerous shop's could not fix
Well all it was 'was two loose screws that hold the cylinder head to the base allowing air to leak in past the crank seals
It was hard to believe the piston and ring were fine after cutting loads of iron bark for firewood
There are sooo many instructional video's on you tube to help
That saw is going great today
Good luck
OK guys, I believe I see where, unfortunately, I have made a communication error. The 2 different repairs were made by 2 different shops. First was some jackleg independent "shop", second was by a real Husky dealer. My biggest issues are with first shop who did not do what I thought was requested in writing for him to do. Husky dealer did every thing I requested, and then, kept in touch with me to tell prices and what needed to be done for " complete" repair. I have pondered, I think was my fault on dealer trip, not his. I still like the saw. Hopefully, this clears any confusion.
If your satisfied with the Husky dealer, than I would buy from them. An "honest dealer" is hard to find. Not saying you should be brand loyal. Its just more important to have good dealer support, and one you can trust, if you decide to buy a new saw. To bad you didn't live closer, or I could build you a good 50cc saw on a 350 or 346 platform. ;)