346NE vs 254XP vs 55CP...Sibling Rivalry. Results are in!!!!

[XP_Slinger]

I shouldn’t have limited him to three or each lol....I can personally recommend 346/371/390, all rattlered of course.

A little rattler venom never hurt anyone

 

[ranchdadmike]

A little rattler venom never hurt anyone

No sir...my 254 is in his shop awaiting it’s turn

 

[GCJenks204]

I remember that saw, Steve did a hell of a job on it.

That’s the one that inspired me to try a Husky again...

 

[XP_Slinger]

No sir...my 254 is in his shop awaiting it’s turn

Jealous...no other words

 

[Stump Shot]

I had one and then donated it to the 1212 raffle. If it wasn't for @Stump Shot and his connections on parts I would of been DOA. if you guys are looking for one make sure it's a runner.

And Steve and I have never heard back from that multi tweeted canuck @DSS on how it ran
.

While it was a bit of a problem child for a while, once all the teething issues were over, was well worth the effort. Going to be hard to find perfect saws of this vintage, so some patience is required building/fixing one up. Just no way around that.

I know how that saw ran, it had some stones to it.

 

[XP_Slinger]

While it was a bit of a problem child for a while, once all the teething issues were over, was well worth the effort. Going to be hard to find perfect saws of this vintage, so some patience is required building/fixing one up. Just no way around that.

I know how that saw ran, it had some stones to it.

That’s some wisdom being dropped right there...patience is key with almost any 2-series now days. Glad you chimed in Steve.

 

[dustinwilt68]

It pays to have some parts stashed away for sure!

 

[GCJenks204]

It pays to have some parts stashed away for sure!

I wish I had parts stashed away. What I have is a list of stuff that I need to get off my ass and find so Steve can finish that build.

 

[XP_Slinger]

I wish I had parts stashed away. What I have is a list of stuff that I need to get off my ass and find so Steve can finish that build.

I wish I had a stash too Gary. You’re not alone my friend. I’ve been lucky in my friendships thus far. @dustinwilt68 helped me out a lot with my 288.

 

[dustinwilt68]

Gary send me a list of what you need.

 

[chipper1]

Meh I can out run a Volvo on my 10 speed.

Sure it had ten speeds lol.
There's the little bike and the sled video as well as the subie too.

 

[jockeydeuce]

I finally landed a 346 to build. Looking forward to testing one after reading all the hype for a few years. They seem to be rather rare in my area.
In the meantime, my ported 254 is absolutely my go to saw.

 

[Derf]

Couple questions for the 254 crew:
1) is the "air injection" on the later 254xp as good as the 3-series? Do you think it's a big improvement over non-air injection filtering on the early 254SE and pre-air-injection 254xp?

2) can you change the oil pump on an early 254 from being driven by the crank to the later style that is driven by the clutch? What would be involved in such a change over?

 

[jockeydeuce]

Couple questions for the 254 crew:
1) is the "air injection" on the later 254xp as good as the 3-series? Do you think it's a big improvement over non-air injection filtering on the early 254SE and pre-air-injection 254xp?

2) can you change the oil pump on an early 254 from being driven by the crank to the later style that is driven by the clutch? What would be involved in such a change over?

I can't answer your oil pump question, but having an early 254, I have to say anything would have to help the early ones. Mine gets a plugged air filter awfully fast..About the only thing I can knock about the 254.

 

[dustinwilt68]

Yes the oil pump can be changed to the later style, same as a 262, you need a later worm gear, washer and clutch drum to make it happen

 

[Stump Shot]

Couple questions for the 254 crew:
1) is the "air injection" on the later 254xp as good as the 3-series? Do you think it's a big improvement over non-air injection filtering on the early 254SE and pre-air-injection 254xp?

2) can you change the oil pump on an early 254 from being driven by the crank to the later style that is driven by the clutch? What would be involved in such a change over?

Yes and yes, not easy to convert to air injection, I've done one and that will be the last.
Is easy to convert the oil pump drive. You need the worm gear of course and a different drum to drive it. Think there was a washer in there maybe too, can't remember off the top of my head. If you look at the newer IPL and follow it out, it shows exactly what is needed.

 

[PA Dan]

Finally got to run my 346 today. Wasn't until after dark so the video isn't the greatest but gave me my fix until I get some daylight to run it in. That might not be until next year!

 

[Derf]

Yes the oil pump can be changed to the later style, same as a 262, you need a later worm gear, washer and clutch drum to make it happen

Thanks.

So here is an early IPL from 1988.
I see there is a worm gear that press fits onto the crank PTO (red), and a washer (yellow) that I don't understand the purpose of.

Here is an IPL from a late 1996 model, it shows the worm gear on the crank is swapped to attach to the clutch drum (I think) (yellow). I believe this part is plastic.

What I don't understand is
1) what is this new washer you speak of?
2) the clutch drum doesn't have a part number, I just see one for the whole assembly.

 

[Derf]

Yes and yes, not easy to convert to air injection, I've done one and that will be the last.
Is easy to convert the oil pump drive. You need the worm gear of course and a different drum to drive it. Think there was a washer in there maybe too, can't remember off the top of my head. If you look at the newer IPL and follow it out, it shows exactly what is needed.

Does converting to air injection necessitate splitting the case, removing the crank, and changing the case half to one with bosses to mount the air-injection deflector?

Did you notice any improvement from the non air injection style case?

 

[dustinwilt68]

The drum has 4 extra little ears that drive the plastic worm gear, the metal washer just keeps the worm gear off of the seal. Same as the later 257/261/262.