Husqvarna 350

[JD-E4321]

New here, can anybody help, got a husky 350 for free… starts and seems to run/rev good, once in wood loses power. Tested compression and it’s 115-120. Replaced intake boot clamp with a metal clamp, cleaned carb, popped the muffler off and spark plug cylinder looks good… anything else to be checking or figure on jug and piston replace?

 

[Wolverine]

New here, can anybody help, got a husky 350 for free… starts and seems to run/rev good, once in wood loses power. Tested compression and it’s 115-120. Replaced intake boot clamp with a metal clamp, cleaned carb, popped the muffler off and spark plug cylinder looks good… anything else to be checking or figure on jug and piston replace?

New fuel line and filter? Air filter? Wher in PA?

 

[JD-E4321]

Thanks for the reply… fuel line and filter are basically new.. not even a spec of dirt on the fuel filter , air filter is almost new looking also very minimal use on it, central in between state college and Harrisburg

 

[Czed]

Thanks for the reply… fuel line and filter are basically new.. not even a spec of dirt on the fuel filter , air filter is almost new looking also very minimal use on it, central in between state college and Harrisburg

When it starts to lose power
Turn it on it's side and open the
Fuel cap a little to see if it revs up
To check the tank vent.

 

[JD-E4321]

Ok I’ll try that to check it this weekend, the guy I got it from said the exact same thing to me as soon as he started to cut with it and it was warm it just loses power… does 115-120 psi compression seem right he for this saw though? Only other homeowner type saw I have is a echo 450P that was also given to me and it runs 150+

 

[JD-E4321]

Also forgot to note I cleaned up all around flywheel and coil, cleaned up all the wire connections and regapped the coil

 

[huskihl]

120 is probably a little bit low. It likely needs a new ring. The cylinder could be expanding a little bit when it gets hot and losing enough compression where it won’t run

 

[Wolverine]

Use caution with this saw. They are know to have the muffler screws come loose, then it leaks into the plastic case underneath and ruins the saw.

 

[JD-E4321]

Thanks for the replies so far, I’m by no means a mechanic but started,as my wife would call it, d*cking around with small engines about 4-5 years ago.. and caught the bug of trying to fix everything… I appreciate any and all help from everyone!

Wolverine, now you say that, shortly after I acquired the saw I took it out for test cuts and about 4 cuts in the muffler fell off completely mid cut… piston and cylinder look good as far as I can tell… could that have ruined something else I should be looking for or does it usually melt the clamshell

 

[Wolverine]

Thanks for the replies so far, I’m by no means a mechanic but started,as my wife would call it, d*cking around with small engines about 4-5 years ago.. and caught the bug of trying to fix everything… I appreciate any and all help from everyone!

Wolverine, now you say that, shortly after I acquired the saw I took it out for test cuts and about 4 cuts in the muffler fell off completely mid cut… piston and cylinder look good as far as I can tell… could that have ruined something else I should be looking for or does it usually melt the clamshell

Most guys put a modified 346 muff bracket on 'em to eliminate that issue. Here you can see it on my Jonsered equivalent of the 350.




Here is some really useful info: https://opeforum.com/threads/husqvarna-350-346-repair-thread.9794/

 

[JD-E4321]

Good looking saw there! I’ll have to try the bracket for that issue.. and how did I not come across that thread before …I appreciate it. I’ve been lurking on here and arborist site and forestry forum and all trying to find more on the 350… I know it’s a question I can really only answer but is the 350 worth fixing up and keeping in my arsenal? I haven’t owned or ran a husky yet.. but more of them are in the near future

 

[Wolverine]

I'm partial to the brand but yes. Best home-owner plastic saw ever made.

 

[Mattyo]

i've seen the original 350s at 115 psi and run, .... with the dished piston. if you just swap the piston out for a 353 piston then it'll have an immediate compression boost. nice cheap power. check out my 350 tips and tricks vid on youtube, tons of 350 stuff on my channel.

 

[cuinrearview]

120psi is pretty normal in my limited experience. Make sure your spark screen in the muffler is clear and see if it still acts he same with no air filter. Then the fuel system. Then a coil. @Duane(Pa) is somewhere in your neighborhood.

 

[AKJonsereds]

May seem silly, but double check the tune. Last three saws I got good deals on suffered from too lean or too rich and that was all.

Half a turn on a screw can be a lot….

 

[Benwa]

Ok I’ll try that to check it this weekend, the guy I got it from said the exact same thing to me as soon as he started to cut with it and it was warm it just loses power… does 115-120 psi compression seem right he for this saw though? Only other homeowner type saw I have is a echo 450P that was also given to me and it runs 150+

As far a compression goes, it depends on what version you have. The ones with dished pistons, are kind of an anomaly. I've have multiple in good condition with the dished piston, that pulled 105-110psi and were still great strong runners.

 

[JD-E4321]

Thank you guys again for all the replies it’s been very helpful! Bench time has been limited lately. have a lil 7 month old boy and works been 12-14 hours/day the past few weeks..

Did get some time to mess with it and from what I’ve found it may have been a carb issue… I tore it apart again just to make sure everything was clean and working properly. Put that metal clamp on the intake and got the muffler back on and screen is clean as a whistle..
I didn’t check the chain the guy had put on it, just gave it a quick glance.. figured it was enough to get some test cuts.. and as soon as I touched it to an old locust, it kicked, then grabbed and wanted to stall….
Rakers were filed down extremely to low… made 2 cuts in an old pine and same thing… so I swapped the chain and it seems to be cutting very good..
. bucked up that locust and made 20-30 test cuts on that pine to run some good fuel through it.. compression was still about 115 before I started, so I tested it hot and it said it was 100…

From what you guys have said I don’t know any other saw that only blows 100-115 and cuts that good.

Would the 353 piston swap make a world of difference on this saw or is it better to keep it stock?

 

[Wolverine]

Thank you guys again for all the replies it’s been very helpful! Bench time has been limited lately. have a lil 7 month old boy and works been 12-14 hours/day the past few weeks..

Did get some time to mess with it and from what I’ve found it may have been a carb issue… I tore it apart again just to make sure everything was clean and working properly. Put that metal clamp on the intake and got the muffler back on and screen is clean as a whistle..
I didn’t check the chain the guy had put on it, just gave it a quick glance.. figured it was enough to get some test cuts.. and as soon as I touched it to an old locust, it kicked, then grabbed and wanted to stall….
Rakers were filed down extremely to low… made 2 cuts in an old pine and same thing… so I swapped the chain and it seems to be cutting very good..
. bucked up that locust and made 20-30 test cuts on that pine to run some good fuel through it.. compression was still about 115 before I started, so I tested it hot and it said it was 100…

From what you guys have said I don’t know any other saw that only blows 100-115 and cuts that good.

Would the 353 piston swap make a world of difference on this saw or is it better to keep it stock?

Yes it would, maybe not a world.. Should bump it up a notch. Do a muff mod too. Maybe a couple gills?

 

[sawgeek]

The 350 with the bearing cap has by them a good source for leaks. The cap sits with screws located at the bottom of the case under the tank handle.
On earlier 350 it sits with course threaded screws that likes to back out over use, this in addition with that the cap has a bad habit of getting a bit warped towards the case and lets go of the case between the corners.
I just did work on my 350 from 2004, took emorycloth on a flatplate and worked it back in shape again and put finer thread helicoils instead of the courser thread i dont like.
Mine has the flat top piston and 44mm fingerport cylinder, it ran for the most part great and had good compression i got suspicious when it came out of tune
from time to time and loss of power.
The bearing cap was the culprit.
After this and base gasket delete and muffler mod it runs really strong with good power.

Many despice of the plstic case saws, my opinion is that they are higly underappreciated for the great saw that it really is, those who own and runs one know what i mean.

 

[Benwa]

Many despice of the plstic case saws, my opinion is that they are higly underappreciated for the great saw that it really is, those who own and runs one know what i mean.

I concur. Aside from the "abuse" it can take (read: getting tossed around in the brush, crunched, smacked, etc.) I think they're as good as any other. One just has to be conscientious, not hard to do haha. The last one I built is one of my favorite runners. They're usually fairly cheap to procure also. I just used it last weekend. Bucked a 24" dia. X 40ft fir stem with the 350. (Other saws were helping) It runs a 20" 3/8 bar. Never skipped a beat.