29 Years and a big screw up - NEED HELP

[toddnic]

Hello all, I have been running a chainsaw for a long time but yesterday I experienced my first big screw up. My primary go-to saw is a Husqvarna 346xp which has been an incredible saw. I accidentally put gas in the saw without any oil....not paying attention....ARGH The saw ran for about 3 minutes and then just stalled. The piston is not froze up. I took out the fuel and put in a gas/oil mix. I also took out the spark plug, added a little oil to the cylinder, and let the saw cool. After cooling, the saw will start for about one second and then stop. Any ideas on how to fix my problem? If a rebuild is necessary, the type of rebuild kit I should get? I've never rebuilt a saw so any suggestions would be appreciated. THANKS!

 

[blades]

pull the muffler and look in the exhaust port , you should be able to see the condition of the piston - likely scored to sin, which would mean a new jug /piston/rings on a minimum basis

 

[Jon1270]

As Blades suggested, pull off the muffler and have a look. That will most likely confirm the engine damage. At that point you'll know that a rebuild is inevitable, so you can proceed to detach the carburetor and pull the cylinder off of the saw. The piston will surely need to be replaced, but the cylinder might or might not be salvageable.

 

[toddnic]

What rebuild kit do you suggest? I just saw this one on ebay - (broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/BIG-BORE-HUSQVARNA-350-345-340-346XP-353-CYLINDER-PISTON-KIT-45MM-GASKETS-/141151145689?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20dd438ed9)

I don't have a clue what is quality versus what is not.

 

[Jon1270]

I would not suggest any rebuild kit until you do the above steps to get a look at the damage. You'll be better off salvaging the original cylinder if that's possible.

 

[Jon1270]

If you do end up having to buy a full P&C kit, keep in mind that there are two different versions of the 346XP. Does yours have a primer bulb?

 

[toddnic]

If you do end up having to buy a full P&C kit, keep in mind that there are two different versions of the 346XP. Does yours have a primer bulb?

Mine does not have a primer bulb. I've had it for probably 12 - 13 years.

 

[toddnic]

I pulled the muffler. The piston shows significant scoring.

 

[Jon1270]

As expected. Time to pull the cylinder.

 

[toddnic]

As expected. Time to pull the cylinder.

Any reason to rebuild the bottom-end of the saw?

 

[Jon1270]

Bottom end is a lot more work. I'd inspect it while you've got the cylinder off, but wouldn't rebuild it if it's in good condition.

 

[toddnic]

Bottom end is a lot more work. I'd inspect it while you've got the cylinder off, but wouldn't rebuild it if it's in good condition.

Any suggestion on a rebuild kit?

 

[Jon1270]

If you can save the cylinder, I'd get a Meteor piston. Your early-version 346 should have a 42mm bore, so if the cylinder is salvageable, get the 42mm Meteor piston.

If the cylinder is not salvageable, it looks like you'll have to switch to the larger bore of the newer-version 346 unless you want to spend big bucks on OEM parts.

Meteor does not offer a 346 cylinder. They offer a 45mm 353 replacement cylinder that will fit your saw, but it may not perform to your expectations.

I'm not seeing a 346XP cylinder from a brand that I recognize. In fact, most seem to be totally nameless.

A guy on AS liked (broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/346XP-350-353-cylinder-Piston-kit-fits-Husqvarna-44-3-mm-w-GASKETS-DECOMP-/390932165455?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5b055f734f), but others criticized the quality of the piston.

(broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/Husqvarna-Jonsered-after-market-cylinder-kits-350-353-352-346xp-2150-2149-2152-/301049481765?pt=US_Hunting_Clothes&var=&hash=item4617f28a25) looks decent to me.

Wish I could help more. But really, pull the cylinder and see whether its salvageable. Keeping it is by far the best and cheapest option if its possible.

 

[D8Chumley]

Man that sucks, hope the jug is salvageable. I bought a HiWay P&C kit for my MS360 from ebay ( bought it straight gassed and torn apart ) and my buddy put it together for me. IIRC the kit was in the $120ish range with shipping. Ive used it a handful of times and it seems to run fine for what i need

 

[toddnic]

I'm looking at this Hyway kit: http://www.hlsproparts.com/Hyway-Husqvarna-350-351-353-cylinder-kit-p/h30353.htm. It has gotten great ratings with a lot of reviews. Any thoughts?

 

[Jon1270]

Hyway makes good quality stuff, but this is designed after a 353, not a 346XP. The thing is, the stroke and shape of the base of the cylinder is the same on several Husky models -- the 350 (nice homeowner saw), the 353 (very similar to 350 but built more like a pro saw) and the 346XP (actual full professional, high-performance saw). If you use this kit your saw will work fine, but you can expect it to perform like a 353, not a 346XP. You might care, or you might not.

 

[D8Chumley]

Yes... Hyway, sorry I misspelled it. Jon1270 gave me some good advice when I was looking for a cyl kit and I appreciated it. He knows what he is talking about

 

[D8Chumley]

THIS is the kit I got, but had to buy a separate gasket kit. I'm pleased with it with the 5-6 hrs I have on the saw since the rebuild

 

[Quincy]

I have a husqvarna brush cutter I scored the piston on it years ago.I turned the piston 180 degrees and so far so good it has been running for years with no sign of diminished power might be worth a shot ,hope this helps.

 

[toddnic]

Hyway makes good quality stuff, but this is designed after a 353, not a 346XP. The thing is, the stroke and shape of the base of the cylinder is the same on several Husky models -- the 350 (nice homeowner saw), the 353 (very similar to 350 but built more like a pro saw) and the 346XP (actual full professional, high-performance saw). If you use this kit your saw will work fine, but you can expect it to perform like a 353, not a 346XP. You might care, or you might not.

Jon1270, how will this affect my saw? I have looked at OEM parts and they are around $250. I don't mind spending that if I have too but if the Hyway part will work without much of a sacrifice in performance, then I would definitely rather go that direction. I've noticed that the piston size will increase from 42mm to 45mm. How will that affect the saw? Less power, more power, less torch, more torch, more fuel consumption, etc. Thanks again for your help and advice!

 

[Jon1270]

Don't take me to be too much of an expert, I've just been messing around with saws for a couple of years. Anyhow, the 353 was rated at 3.3 horsepower with a maximum RPM of 13,000. The 346 was rated at 3.4 horsepower, with a top RPM of 14,700. So, you'll likely see a small drop in horsepower and a more noticeable drop in RPMs. The RPM drop is really only relevant when cutting small diameter branches, e.g. limbing a downed tree; it won't matter when bucking logs into firewood length.

The two kits I linked above are copies of the later version of the 346 top end, and would likely keep the performance closer to what you're used to. (Edit: downside being that it's harder to be confident of the quality).

 

[Jon1270]

FWIW, meteor also makes the (broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/METEOR-BRAND-Chainsaw-piston-kit-fits-HUSQVARNA-346XP-44-3mm-/291065465760?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43c4da8ba0) for the newer 346 top ends, so you could used the cylinder from one of those nameless 346 kits I linked to, and pair it with a known high-quality piston.

But you should still pull the old jug off and have a look at it before you go buying anything.

 

[Jon1270]

Oh, and one other thing. Regardless of which aftermarket stuff you use, you should buy new OEM wrist pin retaining clips. For whatever reason, the aftermarket ones tend to be noticeably lower quality and easier to damage during installation, and if one falls out during operation it's likely to ruin both cylinder and piston.

 

[Clyde S. Dale]

Man that sucks, but it could happen to any one of us at anytime. I almost did it before. I thought I had mixed the oil into the gas can already and caught myself before it was too late. I'm curious to see how the cylinder looks if you wouldn't mind posting so pics. Some emory cloth and WD-40 and you may be able to salvage it if the scoring is not too bad.

 

[toddnic]

Well, I've finally got the process figured out. The cylinder (42mm) had some damage (picture attached) but the small engine shop said to try sanding it with emery cloth. The cylinder now is smooth and I hope I did not remove too much material to mess up the compression. I have ordered a Meteor piston, rings, gasket, and I hope all of the other needed supplies. Now it is time to try and remove the piston pin (hopefully that will come out easier than what I expect), take off the piston, and wait on the new one to come in the mail. Well, what have I learned.....ALWAYS CHECK TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE OIL IN THE GAS!