Motivation to work on your own ....

[Viper21]

I've been a member here for awhile. I'm just as addicted to chainsaws as some of y'all are. I've had the pleasure of having a couple Mastermind saws. Sometimes I just hover in the background, as this site can be unfriendly to one's wallet..lol.

I've never really been into working on saws. I've only done routine maintenance so to speak, & cleaning. I may have to change that. So, my beloved 353, a saw I've had since new in spring of 2005, had a pretty obvious oil leak. I assumed the oil hose had dry rotted, or something to that effect. So, I did what I've always done with my small engines, I took it to a licensed dealer/service shop. Boom, it quit leaking. Problem solved.....

Well, since then, I've noticed I'm not oiling properly. Bar been getting hot, not using any oil. I've always been reluctant to dive deep into a saw. The idea of taking the clutch off held me back. Well, some good snow had me spending some time in my garage, & I got the nerve up to take the clutch off, & investigate myself.

Clearly this was the problem:

Well, keep in mind, this is the first time I've ever opened a saw to this point. While, I had to wait a couple weeks to get the right part mailed, I finally got it, put everything back together, was confident i had solved the issue, & was excited to put er back in action.

Nope. Still not oiling. So I take it apart again, & I started playing with the parts, & really looking at how this whole oiling set up works. Then it hit me. It was right in front of my face, & I didn't realize it because I was a rookie, & had never looked at this before. As you can see in the original picture from when I first broke it down:

What's missing..? You guessed it... no screw holding the oil pump in place. I could see by playing with it that, without being secured, there was enough play in the oil pump, to cause the plastic gear to strip out. Really pissed me off, when I got to thinking about it. Some jack@ss at the shop I took it to, left a screw out of my oil pump, causing my lots of grief.

As I'm sure most know, this ain't a screw you can just go to Lowe's, or HomeDepot & buy either. Well, long story short, I have one coming in the mail (and an extra), & am pretty happy to have figured it out myself.

While I'm still no saw mechanic, I do feel confident enough to be able to handle oiling issues in the future. I probably wouldn't have if it weren't for this forum. Thanks for sharing all the tips, & info y'all do, & hopefully my experience might help someone else.

 

[FergusonTO35]

Good job! That's the only way to learn.

 

[jacob j.]

Some jack@ss at the shop I took it to, left a screw out of my oil pump, causing my lots of grief.

This is how I was motivated to work on my own stuff way back when. A local shop ripped my mom off when I was in high school when she needed our riding mower fixed.

Good job on figuring your situation out. Working on saws is actually pretty easy - they're simple machines for the most part.

 

[Wolverine]

Lotta good help in this group of nuts. It’s just an ask away. Glad you got it figured out. Oh and when working in a hookie, apply small dab of blue loctite to every screw. They have so much powa, they like to shake em loose.

 

[Mattyo]

Yup....stuff like this continues to inspire me to work on my own stuff. House...cars. etc. Best of luck to the op!

 

[Duce]

You can find metric bolts at TSC or well stocked local hardware. Just watch lengths.

 

[Viper21]

Yup....stuff like this continues to inspire me to work on my own stuff. House...cars. etc. Best of luck to the op!

Same. For my day job, I'm a Roofing Contractor. Have been for 30 yrs. I also do carpentry, & have built plenty of buildings. When it comes to my own stuff, I do it all, except large concrete slabs, & masonry. Everything else, I've got covered.

Like the scenario in the original post, stuff like this is what motivated me to learn the other trades. I got tired of half/ass carpentry work, wiring, etc. So I was motivated to learn how to do it myself.

When I'm ready for another saw, I won't be building it myself, I'll be placing another order with Mastermind.... but, I won't be scared to dive into em a little, if I'm having a regular maintenance issue in the future.

 

[Viper21]

You can find metric bolts at TSC or well stocked local hardware. Just watch lengths.

Found some that looked like the same size, & length. However, the thread pattern was different. These bolts have a unique coarse thread to em. I couldn't really tell until I put some readers on, but it was obvious once I did.

Unfortunately, best I could do was order online, & play the waiting game. Nice thing about adding a few years, I've got more patience than I used to...lol.

 

[Stump Shot]

Necessity is a good motivator for DIY and much knowledge that can save you money(if you have the time) can be gained.
If you happen to have a Fastenall store nearby they have all the socket head screws you could ever want for a Husqvarna.

 

[Stump Shot]

Found some that looked like the same size, & length. However, the thread pattern was different. These bolts have a unique coarse thread to em. I couldn't really tell until I put some readers on, but it was obvious once I did.

Unfortunately, best I could do was order online, & play the waiting game. Nice thing about adding a few years, I've got more patience than I used to...lol.

Yes they're like self tapping or some such thing and you would have to order them from Husqvarna.

 

[Nutball]

If it was a Stihl, there wouldn't be an oil pump left to screw down.

Yes, I've seen a ms290 LOOSE 2 SCREWS holding the oil pump in place, so the clutch chewed it up and flung the pieces everywhere. It's a known fact Stihls are more powerful than Husqies, and so more likely to loose screws

 

[Viper21]

If it was a Stihl, there wouldn't be an oil pump left to screw down.

Yes, I've seen a ms290 LOOSE 2 SCREWS holding the oil pump in place, so the clutch chewed it up and flung the pieces everywhere. It's a known fact Stihls are more powerful than Husqies, and so more likely to loose screws

Well this lil Husky runs circles around the 290's it routinely cuts with. Just sayin....

The two guys I cut with the most, both run MS 290's. One of em will grab my 353 if he has the option, over his 290. It's been a great saw. Lots of power, & still lightweight.

 

[Nutball]

What?

I believe you.

 

[Wood Doctor]

One friend of mine runs a tree service company and usually pays me to upgrade his Stihl MS290's to 390's whenever he finds one. I asked him why and he says, "Well, Edwin, your Husky 353 outcuts my 290's and weighs less. But, if I push the 290 up to a 390, it evens out the score." So, I have to agree with Viper's Post #12.

 

[Nathan lassley]

What motivates me to work on my own stuff is I enjoy it and I enjoy the money saved, plus getting screwed by a dealer shop more than once. Took a couple of weedwhips in for service, 300 buck to say their dead and half hour for me on the tailgate to replace some fuel lines. I saved an 034 super av a return trip to that same shop after they replaced the clutch but not the hunchback of notre dame looking oil line behind it. Replaced that in under an hour.

It's also fun to learn how things and go together. I think I've torn down every saw I've bought just to look at inner workings and see the differences between each one. It gives you a sense of accomplishment too.

 

[Catbuster]

I got sick of being managed. So I quit my job, which was as a site superintendent for a very large (hint: the name starts with a K & their trucks aren’t orange) civil contractor. Don’t get me wrong, I made really good money, and paid travel was fun sometimes, but I was sick of corporate telling me my jobs cost too much to run, the equipment had too much idle time, the crews were sitting around too much when they were more productive per hour because they were in a better mood and the atmosphere was laid back. So I left after the project I was running was done.

I started out with... Not as much money as I’d like to have and didn’t inow as much as I probably should have, but I made it work because I wasn’f interested in going back to work for somebody else. Today I’m a little more stable, and I’m damn sure happier getting to do things my way.

 

[FergusonTO35]

What motivates me to work on my own stuff is I enjoy it and I enjoy the money saved, plus getting screwed by a dealer shop more than once. Took a couple of weedwhips in for service, 300 buck to say their dead and half hour for me on the tailgate to replace some fuel lines. I saved an 034 super av a return trip to that same shop after they replaced the clutch but not the hunchback of notre dame looking oil line behind it. Replaced that in under an hour.

It's also fun to learn how things and go together. I think I've torn down every saw I've bought just to look at inner workings and see the differences between each one. It gives you a sense of accomplishment too.

I never get that lucky. When a machine is given to me, just the cost of parts is usually more than a new one would cost. Or, whatever is wrong with it is too hard for my little brain to figure out!

 

[P.M.P.]

I've been a member here for awhile. I'm just as addicted to chainsaws as some of y'all are. I've had the pleasure of having a couple Mastermind saws. Sometimes I just hover in the background, as this site can be unfriendly to one's wallet..lol.

I've never really been into working on saws. I've only done routine maintenance so to speak, & cleaning. I may have to change that. So, my beloved 353, a saw I've had since new in spring of 2005, had a pretty obvious oil leak. I assumed the oil hose had dry rotted, or something to that effect. So, I did what I've always done with my small engines, I took it to a licensed dealer/service shop. Boom, it quit leaking. Problem solved.....

Well, since then, I've noticed I'm not oiling properly. Bar been getting hot, not using any oil. I've always been reluctant to dive deep into a saw. The idea of taking the clutch off held me back. Well, some good snow had me spending some time in my garage, & I got the nerve up to take the clutch off, & investigate myself.

Clearly this was the problem:

Well, keep in mind, this is the first time I've ever opened a saw to this point. While, I had to wait a couple weeks to get the right part mailed, I finally got it, put everything back together, was confident i had solved the issue, & was excited to put er back in action.

Nope. Still not oiling. So I take it apart again, & I started playing with the parts, & really looking at how this whole oiling set up works. Then it hit me. It was right in front of my face, & I didn't realize it because I was a rookie, & had never looked at this before. As you can see in the original picture from when I first broke it down:

What's missing..? You guessed it... no screw holding the oil pump in place. I could see by playing with it that, without being secured, there was enough play in the oil pump, to cause the plastic gear to strip out. Really pissed me off, when I got to thinking about it. Some jack@ss at the shop I took it to, left a screw out of my oil pump, causing my lots of grief.

As I'm sure most know, this ain't a screw you can just go to Lowe's, or HomeDepot & buy either. Well, long story short, I have one coming in the mail (and an extra), & am pretty happy to have figured it out myself.

While I'm still no saw mechanic, I do feel confident enough to be able to handle oiling issues in the future. I probably wouldn't have if it weren't for this forum. Thanks for sharing all the tips, & info y'all do, & hopefully my experience might help someone else.

If you need anything else to keep that bad boy running. Post in the swap meet thread as to what you might need. Lots of us have parts and are willing to help.

 

[Nathan lassley]

I never get that lucky. When a machine is given to me, just the cost of parts is usually more than a new one would cost. Or, whatever is wrong with it is too hard for my little brain to figure out!

I'm lucky to work at place that at one time bought top of the line ope and quite frankly redmax and echo weed eaters are much easier to work on than Stihl and the Stihl fs130 doesn't hold up near as well as either redmax or echo with moderate abuse.

My personal equipment is a different story and I've surprised myself and dumped things that just were not worth the time, cost, or effort like burned up tanaka chainsaws because the piston and cylinder are more than the new saw.

 

[Viper21]

I got sick of being managed. So I quit my job, which was as a site superintendent for a very large (hint: the name starts with a K & their trucks aren’t orange) civil contractor. Don’t get me wrong, I made really good money, and paid travel was fun sometimes, but I was sick of corporate telling me my jobs cost too much to run, the equipment had too much idle time, the crews were sitting around too much when they were more productive per hour because they were in a better mood and the atmosphere was laid back. So I left after the project I was running was done.

I started out with... Not as much money as I’d like to have and didn’t inow as much as I probably should have, but I made it work because I wasn’f interested in going back to work for somebody else. Today I’m a little more stable, and I’m damn sure happier getting to do things my way.

I can definitely relate. I've been self employed the majority of my life (50 now). Have been in business for 28 yrs, Dec this year makes 29. I couldn't punch a clock today, regardless of what the pay offered. I turned down a reasonable offer just a few years ago for a job that honestly, was perfect for my expertise, & would've been somewhat tailored. Once you experience freedom, it's impossible to want to be a wage slave again. At least that's how I feel about it.