Husqvarna 350 / 346xp cylinder options comparison video is up!

[smokey7]

Dad bought it new only used xp oil. Ran for a few tanks, it screamed. We called the dealer and they said they did first start and tuned it. They said it was just a high revving saw different then the 3400 he came from. Ran for a couple more tanks and she started rattling bad and locked up tight. Dealer said strait gas and no warranty. Then dad called husky corporate and leveraged a warranty. Sent it back to selling dealer for a rebuild. New p&c crank and seals. Got it back rattled terrible like a bad crank and or loose clutch. Found riser bolts loose and tightnesed up and clutch missing washers. But it ran good now. Ran for 10 cords for season. Pulled out next year, ran for 1 tank and seized again. Called corporate got another warranty authorization to repair at a different dealer. He found a very old crank seals and rtv on the riser and cylinder. And a bad rod bearing. Rebuilt again with another crank and top end. This time we saw the old parts. It ran for about 6+years but still rattled bad and had low comp, and very cold blooded . It finally lost all comp. I tore it down and found a 44mm piston in a 44.3 bore. Tons of transfer and a wiped out cylinder. I'm guessing that both dealers used the wrong piston and cylinder combos and shoddy work killed it. This time she will be done by me and will be right.

 

[paragonbuilder]

Dad bought it new only used xp oil. Ran for a few tanks, it screamed. We called the dealer and they said they did first start and tuned it. They said it was just a high revving saw different then the 3400 he came from. Ran for a couple more tanks and she started rattling bad and locked up tight. Dealer said strait gas and no warranty. Then dad called husky corporate and leveraged a warranty. Sent it back to selling dealer for a rebuild. New p&c crank and seals. Got it back rattled terrible like a bad crank and or loose clutch. Found riser bolts loose and tightnesed up and clutch missing washers. But it ran good now. Ran for 10 cords for season. Pulled out next year, ran for 1 tank and seized again. Called corporate got another warranty authorization to repair at a different dealer. He found a very old crank seals and rtv on the riser and cylinder. And a bad rod bearing. Rebuilt again with another crank and top end. This time we saw the old parts. It ran for about 6+years but still rattled bad and had low comp, and very cold blooded . It finally lost all comp. I tore it down and found a 44mm piston in a 44.3 bore. Tons of transfer and a wiped out cylinder. I'm guessing that both dealers used the wrong piston and cylinder combos and shoddy work killed it. This time she will be done by me and will be right.

Blows your mind. WTF.
I wouldn't have any customers if I did work like that.


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[smokey7]

I really liked the info on piston cyl kits and will way heavily on my choice this time. I am trying g to figure out which was the kit that wowed everyone at the gtg? Hayway or kafar?

 

[paragonbuilder]

I really liked the info on piston cyl kits and will way heavily on my choice this time. I am trying g to figure out which was the kit that wowed everyone at the gtg? Hayway or kafar?

It was a hyway cylinder. But it was not run against an oem cylinder....
Soon we will see.


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[smokey7]

I don't believe this saw is worth a 120$ p&c kit. I'm trying to keep it reasonable and fun. It won't be a main saw anymore. So I'm planning on a reliable but hot firewood saw. Geared a bit towards limbing 12"" and under. I also may put a pipe on it if I can get a grasp on what to look for in a pre made pocket bike pipe.

 

[paragonbuilder]

If it's a saw I don't think it's worth spending money on I buy a cheap kit and clean it up a bit and add a caber ring. Worst that can happen is it fails. No big deal on my own saws.
I have yet to have one fail by the way.


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[Mattyo]

Personally owning the hyway kit... totally worth the $$. oem is probably worth it now too. OTOH, if you were gonna go with a cheap AM kit, the $40 kit on ebay probably would be fine.

I've put a 44mm piston in a 44.3 cylinder. It didn't run... 110 or so comp. Took me a while to figure out what was going on.

I don't know why, but that Kafar kit was one of the easiest to start kits I've had on a saw. It was really nice until I used too long of cylinder head bolts....doh. The kits I had in my vid, both the uk kit and the kafar I would not run unless they were polished up/ smoothed etc ... they needed work before going onto a saw.

Smokey, it really seems like you've had some boneheaded dealers. None of the dealers around me carry parts, so I don't bother frequenting them...if I gotta order something, might as well order it myself. I just can't understand how a dealer could be so ....ugh.

Even with putting together your 350 and getting everything best as possible, expect "gremlins" in the saw...you'll work them out...and it'll rock. It'll be your go -to saw. It is for me. The parts are so cheap .... best to wear out the 350's IMHO... parts are everywhere when you do wear them out.

 

[Mattyo]

Stock squish for the different kits:

 

[drf256]

Great job Mattyo.

So a gasket delete on the Hyway should yield .022. Nice.

 

[idiotwithasaw]

Did you ever get any comparison videos or timed cuts between the different cylinder kits. I'm curious to see if right out of the box no mods, real world gotta get a saw going situation, which one runs the "best".

 

[Mattyo]

I don't have timed cuts out of the box. I'm simply going to mod them all to the same spec, then do the comparison. personally, I don't think they are that different. That said, I don't think the uk kit or the kafar kit should be run out of the box. The oe and the hyway sure.

drf255... the oem kit would be good w/ a coke can gasket

I'm going to machine all the risers to optimize the squish , then i'll get the timing get to porting

 

[idiotwithasaw]

Are you going to check squish before you cut the risers. I've found that they aren't all the same. I put a cylinder on two different 350 saws and came up with two wildly different numbers from each saw same jug and piston.

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[drf256]

I'm gonna try to get to mine before the GTG Matty.

I'll be bothering you on the phone a bunch.

I'm gonna need to make a 44.3mm mandrel, or figure out how to machine that riser.

 

[Mattyo]

Ben, thats what I was doing. the hyway and oem were compared on the same riser. I'm not planning on using that particular hyway cylinder head in this string of projects because I already have a hyway saw. no need to make another for this comparison. the other 2 cylinder heads were checked with the risers (and saws ....there are 3 different chassis in that vid) they would be used on. so no worries there.

Machining the riser is really easy. super easy on the bridgeport. I just slap them in the vice and mill away

You can do it w/ a 4 jaw as well. I don't see the point in cutting squishband, unless you really want to alter timing. and even if you cut squish by 30-40thou, whats that, a degree or two? certainly for evenness I get it, but, these are pretty darn good to start. on that hyway cylinder that plating is so nice on that squishband I'd leave it for sure.

 

[Mattyo]

some before and afters ... just transfers. my attempt is to make them all identical.

oem before and after

kafar kit before and after

 

[Mattyo]

uk kit before and after

 

[Mattyo]

the oem kit is oem, but the uk kit isn't far behind. the amount of grinding is similar. the kafar kit needed quite a bit of cleanup.

so far I've gotta the oem saw together, and it runs, and the kafar saw is together, will test tomorrow .. the compression is about the same .. 155 psi for both. squish is opimized for both, at around .020, but because of the plating lip at the edge of the squishband both of these are relatively low comp as compared to running a popup or cutting squishband. ideally they all need to have squishband cut to really increase compression. these numbers are unbroken in, so I assume 165 comp or so will be achievable with optimal squish.

the oem saw is ready for the GTG... just gotta make sure everything else is ready too! I'm workin!

 

[Red97]

the oem kit is oem, but the uk kit isn't far behind. the amount of grinding is similar. the kafar kit needed quite a bit of cleanup.

so far I've gotta the oem saw together, and it runs, and the kafar saw is together, will test tomorrow .. the compression is about the same .. 155 psi for both. squish is opimized for both, at around .020, but because of the plating lip at the edge of the squishband both of these are relatively low comp as compared to running a popup or cutting squishband. ideally they all need to have squishband cut to really increase compression. these numbers are unbroken in, so I assume 165 comp or so will be achievable with optimal squish.

the oem saw is ready for the GTG... just gotta make sure everything else is ready too! I'm workin!

Thank you for taking the time to do this.

The kafar 346 kit on my saw needed a lot of help but took to porting well.

The first kit they sent was garbage, huge casting flaws, they sent another jug out the next day. I would gladly buy from them again if needed. But with oem prices so low, it is hard to justify.

Anxiously awaiting the vids.

 

[Mattyo]

Far as I can see...no point in the kafar kit. UK kit is similar...cheap. ..better cast and more complete. I'll be grinding on this one today.

But...oem isn't much more expensive.

Interesting. ...I think there IS a point to buying the hyway kit. But I'll share that at the gtg. When we do the comparison. ...people won't be able to tell which saw is which by the looks we will run them....then talk about which is which after

 

[Mattyo]

uk kit is down and sealed, just have to build the rest of it

both the oem and the kafar kit saws run fine