Jonsered Chainsaws

Hello everyone,

I would appreciate some opinions.

I "may" have destroyed my 15-year old Husky 351 today. The muffler bolts came loose while in use and the exhaust melted the housing something awful - a quick google search showed that I am not the only one to experience this. I can only blame a cold for not smelling the burning plastic. Waiting on the repair estimate but am cognizant of throwing too much money into a 15-year old chainsaw.

I stopped by a local dealer who is closing out on Jonesred equipment. As I understand it, Jonesred no longer makes chainsaws? I also was under the impression that their saws are basically red Huskys so parts availability should not be an issue.

I was interested in the CS 2152/18" (Husky 545 MSRP $500) and a CS 2260/20" (Husky 362XP MSRP $750). He quoted me cash prices of $423 for the 2152 and $672 for the 2260...10-15% lower than Husky. They would come with the standard 2-year warranty which can be doubled by purchasing 3 cans of pre-mixed gas per chainsaw. The local dealer would service the units.

He also quoted me $1,071 cash for both as I may need to replace the Husky 351 (with the 2152) and would also like a bigger saw (the 2260) for some of the bigger jobs that I sometimes face.

It makes me a little nervous that Jonesred is not making these units any more but the prices (albeit cash) are much better than the comparable Husky MSRPs. Around here, Husky MSRP = Husky sales price. Seeing the same thing on the internet.

I am guessing that these units have been sitting on his shelf for over a year? Thinking that he should throw in the premix fuel (and therefore the 4-yr warranty) for free.

I would greatly anybody's thoughts on this.

John (aka Snakebit12)

dougand3 said:

Maybe you have a Husky 350? The engine sits in a plastic chassis that the loose muffler can melt. Most probably, repair shop cost will exceed saw worth.

Click to expand...

Pretty sure it's a 351 but you described exactly what happened. I unfortunately am expecting the verdict that you suggested.

The 351 was pronounced DOA at the shop as expected.

The Jonsered deal collapsed when I asked for serial numbers...the 2152 and 2260 were manufactured in 2012 and 2013, respectively. A 15% discount is way too small for chainsaws that will go from "new" to "6 years old" the second I pull the starter cord.

My local Husky dealer is having a 10% off sale in April...I'll bide my time until then.

"Any reason you don't want to fix your saw yourself? Parts would be cheep,not a lot of mechanical knowledge required to change the tank."

Having little to lose at this point, I am watching a tear-down/re-assembly video as I type.

As it turns out, dougand3 was right...it is a 350, not a 351. I am at a loss to explain why I keep confusing the two numbers (senility?).

The one piece housing runs around $60. The threads in the cylinder for both muffler bolts have been stripped...new bolts simply slide in (and out). A mechanic offered to re-tap the holes for $50 but cautioned that it could weaken the cylinder wall. From watching the video on teardown/rebuild, while this may be something I can do, it is not something I want to do. I figured I'd be in $150 or so for the repair when all said and done to repair a 14 year-old saw.

The shop offered me a new 450 (effectively the same chainsaw as the 350) for $300...I took it. It cut like a champ today after I brought it home. I'll keep the old powerhead for parts.

Thank you to all who responded.