Do I want Husqvarna 357 XP for a bargain price if I have Rancher 460?

[Dmitry]

I hope my Husqvarna Rancher not gonna know about this conversation. It served me good for a year now (knock on a wood that was cut by it ).
I was reading conversation about how great XP saws are and was wondering how it can be better than my Friend 460. Now, I know a guy who knows a guy that willing to sell XP 357 in decent condition for $250. I don't think he is using it, probably inherited. Should I be interested. I plan to burn 24/7 and process logs when im out of my own wood. Thank you.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

The 357XP is a great saw - light and powerful. I have a few hours in the cut with one and I loved it. It's on my very short list of non-Stihl saws I'd consider owning. A $250 357xp in decent shape would be hard to pass on.

 

[Jon1270]

Yes, you want it. I want it.

 

[Jon1270]

(11 oz. lighter and more than 20% extra horsepower!)

 

[TreePointer]

It was Husqvarna's answer to the Stihl 361 for a good while. The 361 was a better saw in many respects, but the 357XP was no slouch. I'd be happy to own one over any midlevel/farm/rancher saw from either company.

 

[Wildo]

Buy it and love it!

 

[steviep]

Buy it I have a 357 xp great saw.2 things about all xp's is they turn faster also they are rebuildable. Which can mean a lot the professional.

 

[wildlingabovethebridge]

Absolutely. I love my 460 as well, great saw, and a 357 XP is an improvement in every way. More power, less weight, faster chain, more easily maintainable. At that price, in good condition I wouldn't think twice about it.

 

[Clyde S. Dale]

Post some pics once you buy it, which by the way you should.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

Buy it!

You'll be happy.

 

[HSBull]

Pull the damn trigger!

 

[BlackGreyhounds]

Go for it. You have nothing to loose. At that price, if you don't like it, you can sell it for the same or more, no problem.

 

[Dmitry]

OK , Now my wife can say I'm officially insane.
I went to look at 357 that in supposedly good condition. Dude asking 250$.
I got there , the saw seems ok , not the best condition , but still .The guy says it was his late father and it worked great and been taken care of. He sweared it's been starting and running couple weeks ago. it had fuel and oil in it. Guy said that fuel was sitting there for a while , doesn't know exactly how long. I pulled the rope many times , it didn't start. seeing that it's not starting I asked guy if he could give it to me for 150. After 15 min of discussing and thinking he gave it up for $150.
Don't have time to play with it tonight since at work.
Am I insane or it was a good deal ? Tell me ,please .
It has 28" bar in ok condition and not really old chain on it .

 

[Jon1270]

You stole it.

 

[claydogg84]

It appears to be in very good shape. I'd say you got a good deal as long as it's not a compression problem. It's most likely a carb issue though, so I wouldn't worry.

 

[Dmitry]

What might be the sign of compression issue? The one thing I've noticed, that rope pulls much easier than on my 460 rancher. Can it be because it's a different model. It doesn't have pressure release button like on my 460 as well.

Hope it's carburetor, I just cleaned sucker on my 327 brush cutter, so I'm pretty cocky.
P.S.: Deep inside hoping that when I will changed gas and pull rope hundreds time with choke on/off/on/off its gonna start. Cant do it today, since at work

 

[claydogg84]

What might be the sign of compression issue? The one thing I've noticed, that rope pulls much easier than on my 460 rancher. Can it be because it's a different model. It doesn't have pressure release button like on my 460 as well.

Hope it's carburetor, I just cleaned sucker on my 327 brush cutter, so I'm pretty cocky.
P.S.: Deep inside hoping that when I will changed gas and pull rope hundreds time with choke on/off/on/off its gonna start. Cant do it today, since at work

Pull the muffler and inspect the piston/head. If you don't see any scoring or deep vertical lines you should be fine, but wouldn't know for sure without actually testing the compression. It's also possible you just flooded the saw when trying to start it.

 

[Dmitry]

I hope I flooded it.

 

[Dmitry]

What do I do if I flooded it with bad gasoline?
I'm planning to get the new fuel in and pull the rope with choke off until my arm falls out.
Is this OK plan?

 

[claydogg84]

What do I do if I flooded it with bad gasoline?
I'm planning to get the new fuel in and pull the rope with choke off until my arm falls out.
Is this OK plan?

Pull the plug. If it's soaked, spray with brake clean flip saw upside down to drain excess gas. Put the plug back in and have someone hold throttle wide open while pulling it - chain brake off, and be careful.

 

[Mag Craft]

I never go cut wood without at least two saws. So I think you did great.

Dump out all the old fuel and put in some new fuel.
Take the air filter off and squirt a little bit of fuel mix into the carb. Hold the throttle wide open and pull the rope until it starts. This will tell you one that it has spark. Two that the compression is probably ok. Three you have a fuel delivery problem and is probably the carb if it does not stay running or dies at WOT but will idle ok.

 

[Jon1270]

FYI it still has the original plastic intake clamp, which is an Achilles's heel on this series of saws. It has a tendency to fail, causing an air leak that can score the piston. The redesigned metal clamp is inexpensive, but installing it requires pulling the cylinder (and is still kinda challenging even after the cylinder is off).

Even if the saw needs a rebuild, which I think is fairly unlikely, you did fine at that price. You might not be able to justify a repair at a dealer, but you could rebuild it yourself or sell it for more than you paid without any trouble.

 

[Clyde S. Dale]

Looks brand new in the first pic. Keep us posted on what it takes to get it running. I agree with Jon1270, you stole it.

 

[dougand3]

As stated above, I'd pull muffler and inspect piston, ring and intake wall before wearing your arm out. Take a pic of piston / ring and post.

 

[Dmitry]

Latest update : Put the new fuel mix in it, pulled cord couple times with choke on, it started right away. Seems ok, accelerates, starts again easily, idles fine.. keeping my fingers crossed.

Tried to cut wood with it, but chain is dull. Here is another question. I was trying to sharpen it with my regular file 7/32" , but it was way too big, I've unpacked smaller3/16" that I bought by mistake.... And it's too big too. So, what is going on? What the difference between chains that need different size files to sharpen them . Both bars identical with same digits on it. Chains look similar , same configuration, same amount of teeth etc What is the best use for each ?

P.S.: I've misjudged the bar on a new saw ,seeing it in a car trunk. It's 24". So, now i have two 24" bars with different chains on it, just wondering what works better for what?