Husqvarna 350 ....rebuild?

[tallpall]

  Hi forum.  New member.
  Wife got me this saw for birthday in 2003.  We had recently moved to a place with acreage and a lot or trees so it was appropriate.  Since I'm retired it was fun to go out and cut down a tree once and awhile.  The saw has been essentially fine (after I learned how to start it).  Not a serious woodcutter like I see most of you are....heck....even with all this wood I still get the bulk of my firewood delivered for winter use here in mid Massachusetts.

  But I burnt it out.  Got cute and tried to cut a 7 foot 14" diameter oak log lengthwise for a project.  Got almost to the end and it quit...for good....smokin.  I will admit, even after knowing the chain was going dull while using my little "chainsaw mill attachment", to pressing down more than usual as I approached the end hoping to finish the log without lifting and adjusting anything (for the flatest finish on the two halves).
    What is the luck you guys have in putting in one of those pot and cylinder kits?  I'm leaning that way instead of giving up on this practically new saw.

Sp

[ladylake]

 Nothing wrong with a new piston and cylinder, aftermarket one are around $100.  Adjust that carb a little richer so you don't burn it up again.   Steve

[jteneyck]

I've rebuilt two saws with toasted pistons, using aftermarket pistons I bought for about $35 each on E-bay, and both have run with no problems over the past 2 - 3 years with a pretty good amount of use.  I did not replace the cylinder on either saw because neither had any score marks and they both were still round (as measured with an ID gage). So take a good look at the cylinder when you get it apart.  If it's in good shape, you don't have to spend much to get your saw back as good as new.  If it has some carbon build up in the crown, you can scrape it out with a piece of plastic or wood.  You also could rehone the cylinder wall so the rings seat better.  I just manually dressed it with some 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper wrapped around my finger for a minute or two to remove a little build-up near the exhaust port.  Not hi-tech, but they run great with lots of power.  Good luck.

[tallpall]

I did tear it down.  The pot wall directly under the exhaust is scored enough to hang a fingernail on.  The piston is so badly scored on the exhaust port side that the ring has melded/welded to the piston.  But the rod bearing seems firm....no slop ...and is otherwise clean as a whistle inside the crankcase.
  Thinking I could do this after reading opinions, went ahead and ordered the kit off of ebay....$95 plus $10 shipping.  might have it by this weekend.
   Thanks for the thoughts!

[tallpall]

just a followup....kit did arrive and I got it installed.  Minor questions arose during this process....such as the intake manifold seemed to be about 1/2 a millimeter smaller on the new cylinder, so the plastic "boot" leading from the carb did not fit snugly.  Solved this by making a 1/2 inch wide paper gasket out of a strip of stiff cover of a brochure and Permatexed it to hold it in place.  Airtight now.
   Also the piston itself was about 1 mm smaller than the original, but the cylinder and gasket seemed to fit perfectly on the crankcase, so pressed ahead.
   Long story short, I'm back in business.  Saw runs fine and I can't tell of any difference in power due to probably slightly smaller displacement. 
  I appreciate the replys, thus encouragement to take this project on.  It's nice to smile when starting up the saw.....

[ladylake]

Make sure to set the carb rich enough.   Steve