Laurence Leveen
New OPE Member
I have a used Craftsman 358351702 chainsaw. I opened up the clutch assembly and can see what looks like dark discoloration on the drum and clutch, plus some melted plastic on the chassis ("~12-1 o'clock" as viewed from the saw's right side) and on the chainsaw brake.
I removed the excess melted plastic with a blade. The brake drags on the drum, however; it does not retract concentrically/evenly all the way around the drum.
When the brake is off, it "sits" on small plastic "seats" molded into the chassis. These were deformed by melting -- see where the tool is pointing -- and my shaving didn't help, I fear.
I can make the band take proper, concentric shape by pushing on on it gently where the tool is pointing and the drum will rotate freely, but it seems that the loss of brake seat material is a real problem here. There are not seats all-the-way-around the band to allow me to shave them all down equally. Before I try grinding of chassis material around the band, I thought I'd ask for advice here. Think "building up" the seats is an option? Could I bond in a seat where the tool is pointing -- that sweet spot for making the brake concentric? I honestly do not think the brake band is bent/deformed. I don't know exactly how the plastic got melted. I have not operated the saw, though it was used recently, and I noticed the chain movement under idle when it was started up. I could not vouch for it being started up properly (brake position, etc.) -- I simply do not recall how it was done.
Also, I'd like to solve the underlying problem for the chain moving while the motor idles. I tried some minor adjustment of the idle screw (not the L and H carb screws), but did not get a solid result before opening things up and revealing the clutch-area issues.
Is the clutch destroyed, or could that just be burned oil coating it and the drum? It appears to be fully retracted at rest, and as I mentioned above, the drum can rotate freely if the brake band is held in a concentric position. The drum's teeth looked OK. Very minor wear, that I imagine is from normal use/contact with the chain. If the discoloration is due to the clutch slipping, could that heat have changed the springs' temper such that the clutch shoes move out at lower-than-normal RPM?
Other constructive thoughts and advice are appreciated. Thanks.
I removed the excess melted plastic with a blade. The brake drags on the drum, however; it does not retract concentrically/evenly all the way around the drum.
When the brake is off, it "sits" on small plastic "seats" molded into the chassis. These were deformed by melting -- see where the tool is pointing -- and my shaving didn't help, I fear.
I can make the band take proper, concentric shape by pushing on on it gently where the tool is pointing and the drum will rotate freely, but it seems that the loss of brake seat material is a real problem here. There are not seats all-the-way-around the band to allow me to shave them all down equally. Before I try grinding of chassis material around the band, I thought I'd ask for advice here. Think "building up" the seats is an option? Could I bond in a seat where the tool is pointing -- that sweet spot for making the brake concentric? I honestly do not think the brake band is bent/deformed. I don't know exactly how the plastic got melted. I have not operated the saw, though it was used recently, and I noticed the chain movement under idle when it was started up. I could not vouch for it being started up properly (brake position, etc.) -- I simply do not recall how it was done.
Also, I'd like to solve the underlying problem for the chain moving while the motor idles. I tried some minor adjustment of the idle screw (not the L and H carb screws), but did not get a solid result before opening things up and revealing the clutch-area issues.
Is the clutch destroyed, or could that just be burned oil coating it and the drum? It appears to be fully retracted at rest, and as I mentioned above, the drum can rotate freely if the brake band is held in a concentric position. The drum's teeth looked OK. Very minor wear, that I imagine is from normal use/contact with the chain. If the discoloration is due to the clutch slipping, could that heat have changed the springs' temper such that the clutch shoes move out at lower-than-normal RPM?
Other constructive thoughts and advice are appreciated. Thanks.