# 29 Years and a big screw up - NEED HELP



## toddnic (Sep 17, 2014)

Hello all, I have been running a chainsaw for a long time but yesterday I experienced my first big screw up. My primary go-to saw is a Husqvarna 346xp which has been an incredible saw. I accidentally put gas in the saw without any oil....not paying attention....ARGH  The saw ran for about 3 minutes and then just stalled. The piston is not froze up.  I took out the fuel and put in a gas/oil mix. I also took out the spark plug, added a little oil to the cylinder, and let the saw cool. After cooling, the saw will start for about one second and then stop. Any ideas on how to fix my problem?  If a rebuild is necessary, the type of rebuild kit I should get?  I've never rebuilt a saw so any suggestions would be appreciated.   THANKS!


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## blades (Sep 17, 2014)

pull the muffler and look in the  exhaust port , you should be able to see the condition of the piston - likely scored to sin, which would mean a new jug /piston/rings on a minimum basis


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## Jon1270 (Sep 17, 2014)

As Blades suggested, pull off the muffler and have a look.  That will most likely confirm the engine damage.  At that point you'll know that a rebuild is inevitable, so you can proceed to detach the carburetor and pull the cylinder off of the saw.  The piston will surely need to be replaced, but the cylinder might or might not be salvageable.


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## toddnic (Sep 17, 2014)

What rebuild kit do you suggest?  I just saw this one on ebay - http://www.ebay.com/itm/BIG-BORE-HU...689?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20dd438ed9

I don't have a clue what is quality versus what is not.


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## Jon1270 (Sep 17, 2014)

I would not suggest any rebuild kit until you do the above steps to get a look at the damage.  You'll be better off salvaging the original cylinder if that's possible.


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## Jon1270 (Sep 17, 2014)

If you do end up having to buy a full P&C kit, keep in mind that there are two different versions of the 346XP.  Does yours have a primer bulb?


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## toddnic (Sep 17, 2014)

Jon1270 said:


> If you do end up having to buy a full P&C kit, keep in mind that there are two different versions of the 346XP.  Does yours have a primer bulb?


Mine does not have a primer bulb.  I've had it for probably 12 - 13 years.


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## toddnic (Sep 17, 2014)

I pulled the muffler.  The piston shows significant scoring.


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## Jon1270 (Sep 17, 2014)

As expected.  Time to pull the cylinder.


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## toddnic (Sep 17, 2014)

Jon1270 said:


> As expected.  Time to pull the cylinder.


Any reason to rebuild the bottom-end of the saw?


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## Jon1270 (Sep 17, 2014)

Bottom end is a lot more work. I'd inspect it while you've got the cylinder off, but wouldn't rebuild it if it's in good condition.


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## toddnic (Sep 17, 2014)

Jon1270 said:


> Bottom end is a lot more work. I'd inspect it while you've got the cylinder off, but wouldn't rebuild it if it's in good condition.


Any suggestion on a rebuild kit?


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## Jon1270 (Sep 17, 2014)

If you can save the cylinder, I'd get a Meteor piston.  Your early-version 346 should have a 42mm bore, so if the cylinder is salvageable, get the 42mm Meteor piston.

If the cylinder is not salvageable, it looks like you'll have to switch to the larger bore of the newer-version 346 unless you want to spend big bucks on OEM parts.

Meteor does not offer a 346 cylinder. They offer a 45mm 353 replacement cylinder that will fit your saw, but it may not perform to your expectations.

I'm not seeing a 346XP cylinder from a brand that I recognize.  In fact, most seem to be totally nameless.  

A guy on AS liked this one, but others criticized the quality of the piston.

This one looks decent to me.

Wish I could help more.  But really, pull the cylinder and see whether its salvageable.  Keeping it is by far the best and cheapest option if its possible.


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## D8Chumley (Sep 17, 2014)

Man that sucks, hope the jug is salvageable. I bought a HiWay P&C kit for my MS360 from ebay ( bought it straight gassed and torn apart ) and my buddy put it together for me. IIRC the kit was in the $120ish range with shipping. Ive used it a handful of times and it seems to run fine for what i need


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## toddnic (Sep 17, 2014)

I'm looking at this Hyway kit: http://www.hlsproparts.com/Hyway-Husqvarna-350-351-353-cylinder-kit-p/h30353.htm.  It has gotten great ratings with a lot of reviews.  Any thoughts?


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## Jon1270 (Sep 17, 2014)

Hyway makes good quality stuff, but this is designed after a 353, not a 346XP.  The thing is, the stroke and shape of the base of the cylinder is the same on several Husky models -- the 350 (nice homeowner saw), the 353 (very similar to 350 but built more like a pro saw) and the 346XP (actual full professional, high-performance saw).  If you use this kit your saw will work fine, but you can expect it to perform like a 353, not a 346XP.  You might care, or you might not.


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## D8Chumley (Sep 17, 2014)

Yes... Hyway, sorry I misspelled it. Jon1270 gave me some good advice when I was looking for a cyl kit and I appreciated it. He knows what he is talking about


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## D8Chumley (Sep 17, 2014)

THIS is the kit I got, but had to buy a separate gasket kit. I'm pleased with it with the 5-6 hrs I have on the saw since the rebuild


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## Quincy (Sep 17, 2014)

I have a husqvarna brush cutter I scored the piston on it years ago.I turned the piston 180 degrees and so far so good it has been running for years with no sign of diminished power might be worth a shot ,hope this helps.


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## toddnic (Sep 18, 2014)

Jon1270 said:


> Hyway makes good quality stuff, but this is designed after a 353, not a 346XP.  The thing is, the stroke and shape of the base of the cylinder is the same on several Husky models -- the 350 (nice homeowner saw), the 353 (very similar to 350 but built more like a pro saw) and the 346XP (actual full professional, high-performance saw).  If you use this kit your saw will work fine, but you can expect it to perform like a 353, not a 346XP.  You might care, or you might not.


Jon1270, how will this affect my saw? I have looked at OEM parts and they are around $250. I don't mind spending that if I have too but if the Hyway part will work without much of a sacrifice in performance, then I would definitely rather go that direction. I've noticed that the piston size will increase from 42mm to 45mm.  How will that affect the saw?  Less power, more power, less torch, more torch, more fuel consumption, etc. Thanks again for your help and advice!


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## Jon1270 (Sep 18, 2014)

Don't take me to be too much of an expert, I've just been messing around with saws for a couple of years.  Anyhow, the 353 was rated at 3.3 horsepower with a maximum RPM of 13,000.  The 346 was rated at 3.4 horsepower, with a top RPM of 14,700.  So, you'll likely see a small drop in horsepower and a  more noticeable drop in RPMs.  The RPM drop is really only relevant when cutting small diameter branches, e.g. limbing a downed tree; it won't matter when bucking logs into firewood length.

The two kits I linked above are copies of the later version of the 346 top end, and would likely keep the performance closer to what you're used to. (Edit: downside being that it's harder to be confident of the quality).


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## Jon1270 (Sep 18, 2014)

FWIW, meteor also makes the 44.3 mm piston for the newer 346 top ends, so you could used the cylinder from one of those nameless 346 kits I linked to, and pair it with a known high-quality piston.

But you should still pull the old jug off and have a look at it before you go buying anything.


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## Jon1270 (Sep 18, 2014)

Oh, and one other thing.  Regardless of which aftermarket stuff you use, you should buy new OEM wrist pin retaining clips.  For whatever reason, the aftermarket ones tend to be noticeably  lower quality and easier to damage during installation, and if one falls out during operation it's likely to ruin both cylinder and piston.


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## Clyde S. Dale (Sep 18, 2014)

Man that sucks, but it could happen to any one of us at anytime. I almost did it before. I thought I had mixed the oil into the gas can already and caught myself before it was too late. I'm curious to see how the cylinder looks if you wouldn't mind posting so pics. Some emory cloth and WD-40 and you may be able to salvage it if the scoring is not too bad.


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## toddnic (Sep 19, 2014)

Well, I've finally got the process figured out. The cylinder (42mm) had some damage (picture attached) but the small engine shop said to try sanding it with emery cloth. The cylinder now is smooth and I hope I did not remove too much material to mess up the compression. I have ordered a Meteor piston, rings, gasket, and I hope all of the other needed supplies. Now it is time to try and remove the piston pin (hopefully that will come out easier than what I expect), take off the piston, and wait on the new one to come in the mail.  Well, what have I learned.....ALWAYS CHECK TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE OIL IN THE GAS!


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## Jon1270 (Sep 20, 2014)

That really doesn't look bad at all.  The crosshatching from the cylinder's factory honing is still very obvious so I'd say the cylinder was in great shape before this little misadventure.  I don't see any scoring, just a fairly small amount of aluminum transfer which would've been easy to clean up.  That bore plating is very hard, so I doubt you did any damage with handheld emery cloth.  Also, damage below the exhaust port (where most of the transfer seems to have been) wouldn't affect compression.  I think it's going to be fine.

Some little tips that might help:

Buy new OEM clips for the wrist pin.  They're better than even the Meteor clips, and are cheap.  Don't try to reuse the originals, even if they seem to be okay. Buy three, in case you spoil or lose one.

While you're at it, buy a new base gasket.

ereplacementparts is likely to be a good source for both clips and gasket.

Rinse the heck out of that cylinder, to be sure you've eliminated any grit remaining from the emery cloth.  It's not ferrous, it won't rust.  Careful with harsh detergents, though; a brief spritz with simple green as a degreaser won't hurt it, but don't let anything like that remain on the surface for long.

Muster an extra measure of finesse when installing the ring onto the piston.  It's easy to slip and scratch the piston surface.

There will be a little arrow stamped on top of the piston.  It should point towards the exhaust.

The openings on the retaining clips should point either straight up or straight down, i.e. in line with the stroke of the piston.  If it is perpendicular to the stroke of the piston then there's a chance that its own inertia could cause it to flex and pop loose at high RPM's, which would likely lead to catastrophic failure.

Some people put the saw inside of a big clear plastic bag and reach inside of that to install the clips.  If a clip pops out of place and goes flying, the bag saves you from hunting around the room trying to find it.

A simple piston ring compressor like this one would make reassembly easier, but is not absolutely necessary.  Also, see the slotted rectangular plastic thing at the bottom of the main pic on this listing?  That spans the crankcase opening (slot is for the connecting rod) and supports the piston while you negotiate the bottom of the cylinder over the ring.  You can make an equivalent tool by simply cutting a slot in a piece of scrap wood.

Tightening torque for the cylinder is 8 to 10 Nm, or 70-88 inch pounds.  You probably don't have a tiny torque wrench, but keep in mind that those little cylinder bolts should be quite tight, and tightened evenly.  After you think you've got them all tightened down, go around and snug them all up again.

Let us know how it all goes!  I think you and the saw are going to be just fine.


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## Jon1270 (Sep 20, 2014)

Oh, and if the intake is held to the cylinder with a plastic snap-together hose clamp kind of thing, you should take this opportunity to replace that assembly with the updated version which has a metal clamp band.  The all-plastic ones are a common failure point; if the clamp breaks then an air leak develops and puts you right back where you are now.


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## toddnic (Sep 20, 2014)

Jon1270 said:


> Oh, and if the intake is held to the cylinder with a plastic snap-together hose clamp kind of thing, you should take this opportunity to replace that assembly with the updated version which has a metal clamp band.  The all-plastic ones are a common failure point; if the clamp breaks then an air leak develops and puts you right back where you are now.


Is this the correct part:  http://www.hlsproparts.com/Husqvarna-340-345-350-353-intake-manifold-p/h18345.htm


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## D8Chumley (Sep 20, 2014)

Great info Jon!


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## Jon1270 (Sep 20, 2014)

toddnic said:


> Is this the correct part:  http://www.hlsproparts.com/Husqvarna-340-345-350-353-intake-manifold-p/h18345.htm



Nope, but it's a related part.  I'm referring to the "partition wall intake" linked in my post, and in any case there's no point buying aftermarket when the OEM part is cheaper.


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## toddnic (Sep 20, 2014)

Jon1270 said:


> Nope, but it's a related part.  I'm referring to the "partition wall intake" linked in my post, and in any case there's no point buying aftermarket when the OEM part is cheaper.


Thanks!  Just checking!  I'll keep you posted on how the rebuild goes.


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## Danno77 (Sep 24, 2014)

I don't know if they have all these other parts you are looking for, and I know I'm late to the conversation, but I always feel comfortable buying from Baileys Online. They probably have the piston kit you got for $40 bucks. I've never ordered from the hlsproparts website y'all are talking about, so don't take my recommendation as indicating that baileys is better. I don't know!

Good luck with the rebuild!


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## toddnic (Nov 19, 2014)

Well, I finally got the 346xp running again! It is a scream machine. I was able to lightly sand the cylinder with emery cloth to remove the scoring just underneath the down stroke on the muffler side. I installed a Meteor piston and ring (42mm). I also installed a new partition wall intake. The most difficult part was putting the carburetor back on the saw....I don't cuss but I came close . Thanks all for your help!  Hopefully I won't make the stupid mistake of not checking my gas and oil mixture ever again!


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## Jon1270 (Nov 19, 2014)

That's great to hear. Congrats!


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## JRHAWK9 (Nov 19, 2014)

I wouldn't put anything but OEM stuff....but that's just me. There's some real crap out there.


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## Rock Crusher (Nov 20, 2014)

Yes there is some real crap out there, but the Meteor piston is top shelf, along with Caber piston ring(s).   Glad the saw is back in service, and yes re-installing the carb is a PITA.


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## toddnic (Nov 20, 2014)

JRHAWK9 said:


> I wouldn't put anything but OEM stuff....but that's just me. There's some real crap out there.


I did the research on the best part and Meteor is a 'top level' replacement part. And....your right, there is a lot of junk out there!


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## TMonter (Nov 20, 2014)

toddnic said:


> Hello all, I have been running a chainsaw for a long time but yesterday I experienced my first big screw up. My primary go-to saw is a Husqvarna 346xp which has been an incredible saw. I accidentally put gas in the saw without any oil....not paying attention....ARGH  The saw ran for about 3 minutes and then just stalled. The piston is not froze up.  I took out the fuel and put in a gas/oil mix. I also took out the spark plug, added a little oil to the cylinder, and let the saw cool. After cooling, the saw will start for about one second and then stop. Any ideas on how to fix my problem?  If a rebuild is necessary, the type of rebuild kit I should get?  I've never rebuilt a saw so any suggestions would be appreciated.   THANKS!



Just a suggestion for preventing this in the future. Get a gas can that is different that all the other gas cans you use and use ONLY that can for your saw(s). I never add gas to this can without first adding oil before adding any gas. I figure worst case I'd put gas in my saw that has too much oil which would not be catastrophic.

After seeing several straight gassed saws over the years this is what I have gone to and it prevents me from making a stupid mistake.


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## toddnic (Nov 20, 2014)

Just cut up a cord of hemlock for next season (2015 - 2016). The saw ran perfect! Thanks all!


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## Jon1270 (Nov 21, 2014)

Not only do you have your saw back, but you know a lot more about it.  Ain't tinkering great?


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## toddnic (Nov 21, 2014)

Jon1270 said:


> Not only do you have your saw back, but you know a lot more about it.  Ain't tinkering great?


Except for trying to put the carburetor back on


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## mecreature (Nov 21, 2014)

Nice Job. I love nice endings.


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## Jon1270 (Nov 21, 2014)

mecreature said:


> Nice Job. I love nice endings.



It would've been nicer if he'd just given up and sent the saw to me, but this is a decent consolation prize.


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