New guy 181 help

[Hoser]

Hello all, longtime lurker first time poster, so little backstory I’ve been cutting firewood about 13 years and slowly became more and more addicted to chainsaws. After fixing up 14 or so 10 series macs I decided to set my sights a little bigger and buy a 181 Husqvarna basically sight unseen.
It looked good but it has a lot of issues in the rear handle, cracked gas tank, won’t reach full throttle and a couple other cosmetic cracks in the handle. So my question is would I be able to put a 288 rear handle/ tank assembly on this saw and save a lot of hassle and messing around? Any and all advice is appreciated thank you

 

[cus_deluxe]

your 181 has a different trigger/throttle setup than a 281/288 tank. i think you can swap the parts out but never done it.are you certain its not reaching full throttle? 181 carbs will have a flood governor and it could just be flooding. post some pics

 

[Hoser]

your 181 has a different trigger/throttle setup than a 281/288 tank. i think you can swap the parts out but never done it.are you certain its not reaching full throttle? 181 carbs will have a flood governor and it could just be flooding. post some pics

Hello yes with the top cover off I can see it only going about halfway with the trigger fully depressed, I figured I could just convert my carb to that sort of roller set up?

 

[cus_deluxe]

yeah probably best to switch to the 281/288 style. much easier to take up slack with the roller style if needed.

 

[Hoser]

 

[Hoser]

I put up some pictures to show what I’m up against. The crack in the fuel tank is the biggest concern to me personally as I don’t have a lot of experience patching plastic and intend to put the old girl back to work. The price on farmertec 288 rear handles got me thinking but I’ve had hit and miss luck with Chinese aftermarket

 

[jacob j.]

If you want to switch to the 288-style tank, you'll also need the newer style throttle trigger/lever assembly and you'll have to change the throttle shaft in your carburetor or get a 288 carburetor. As Custer pointed out - the 288 parts are more adjustable. Sometimes when the roller on the 288 throttle shaft gets worn, guys put a piece of tubing or heat shrink on it.

 

[Hoser]

I noticed I can buy a farmertec 288 whole rear tank, trigger, lever everything. For around $80 but I’m concerned about how they’d fit up being 288 and aftermarket. I don’t think I’d have much trouble finding a carb or throttle shaft atleast not as much as finding 181 trigger parts

 

[jacob j.]

Looking for a good used OEM tank would be better than aftermarket. Even if you found a stripped used OEM, you could install aftermarket trigger parts on it.

It would be pretty easy to swap out the throttle shaft - I've done many and it usually takes about 20 minutes.

 

[Hoser]

Just poor fitment on the aftermarket tanks? Finding husky parts in my area is usually hens teeth, so that’s why I’m asking. Thank you for your help

 

[jacob j.]

It's not usually the fitment - it's usually a poor fitting tank vent which will likely leak after a short time; junk fuel hose and filter, and sometimes the seams leak. You might roll the dice and get a good one but my experience has been that good ones are about a 50/50 shot.

 

[Hoser]

That’s too bad. I already have oem fuel line and filter and the local husky guy was looking into a tank vent for me. I guess I’ll keep my eyes peeled for an oem tank or talk to someone who does plastic welding. Maybe see if an oem tank is available new? I only have $200 CAD and p/c looks excellent so I figure it’s worth spending money on?

 

[Burt]

Where in Canada are you? If you don’t mind me asking.

 

[Hoser]

Grey county Ontario

 

[Burt]

I may have an used 181 tank not 100% sure and I’m stuck in camp working for a few more days but if your interested shoot me a message and I can send some pics

 

[Hoser]

Pm sent Burt tanks

 

[Hoser]

Well I figured I’d update this thread, the “crack” is more of a gouge and I wasn’t looking close enough. the tank vent leaks and I didn’t see where it was placed until tonight. But atleast I can fill it past the fuel filter. She runs pretty good but seems to really pull rpm which is maybe concerning me I have an air leak? Any idea what rpm these saws pull out of the cut? Low screw is out 1 1/4 High 1 turn idles nicely

 

[Hoser]

Obligatory pic with my only other Husqvarna. The 390 with an 8 pin had impressed me so much I bought the 181 when I saw it

 

[davidwyby]

welcome. Can ya get a vid of it running/tune? Got a tach?


Love that chassis. My 2188 is fast, my 288 pulls hard down low.

 

[davidwyby]

@Reveller Saws might have a tank