372 XP super diesel

[jo191145]

Hello everyone.

Wandered into a pawn shop the other day. Saw a saw. Decided to inquire as I've been wanting a larger saw.
They knew nothing about it besides it was a chainsaw, a big one.
Took it outside, slid, pushed and pulled the buttons and fired it up. Idles fine, seemed to diesel quite a bit while revved. ( think that's the correct term) I wasn't too concerned because it was obvious no one had done any service to it for awhile. Who knows how long the gas had been in it, air filter quite dirty etc.

Got a chance to run it today. New plug, cleaned filter (new filter arrives tomorrow) fresh canned gas.
Walked behind the house and knocked down a leaning red oak. About 26" at the felling point.
Now I wasn't sure what to expect as I've never had a saw bigger than my 550 XP. Obviously it wasn't running great. Diesels pretty bad while cutting. Seems to run even worse while felling as opposed to bucking.

Bucked up the trunk and cut the crotch apart. Decided to noodle the crotch in half as I wouldn't be able to lift it anyway. Got half way through and all of a sudden that saw roared to life. Guessing it picked up a couple thousand rpm and was screamin. Then it promptly ran out of gas. The change was enough I thought I threw the chain or something.

So I'm thinking I got a taste of how it's supposed to run. My question is is that even possible? Anyone ever notice a saw lean out at the end of a tank and make that big a difference? Can a saw with half turn limiters be that far out of tune?
I'm fairly confidant if I fill her up as is she'll go right back to dieseling. I know, why didn't I try? I will.

I'm new to saw tuning but want to learn. Thanks.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Keep on running it that way and you will be footing an expensive repair bill. Why not take the saw to a competent mechanic and have it gone over and tuned properly? That`s an expensive saw to ruin through inexperienced operation.

 

[jo191145]

Keep on running it that way and you will be footing an expensive repair bill. Why not take the saw to a competent mechanic and have it gone over and tuned properly? That`s an expensive saw to ruin through inexperienced operation.

I understand what your saying and it's good advice. On the other hand we all have to start learning somewhere.
I don't mind at all paying a good mechanic whatever they deem fair for an hourly rate. I also appreciate gaining the knowledge for myself, always have always will. It's easy to pay others. It's better to be self sufficient IMO.
Add the fact that the three closest Husqvarna dealers near me want to sell saws. Fixin em just ain't in their wheelhouse. I've brought other equipment to them and end up taking it back home. No time, mechanics sick, we didn't sell it so we don't service it. It's Connecticut, the throw away state.
Figured there's more knowledge on this forum than all the husky dealers in my state.
Stihl dealers are capable of repair but they don't want no husky in the store.
I'll keep looking. Might be a dealer somewhere that's knowledgable.

FWIW it seems the turn limiters have been half removed. I set H clockwise back half a turn and it's running much crisper. Still,somethings not quite right. Seems like the tune is constantly changing while cutting. Almost like its losing spark but I don't think that's it. Changing tune it seems to me. Weird.

Yes this post may have been premature. I should have done more research myself before posting. Just wanted knowledgable opinions on something that I never encountered before.

 

[pioneerguy600]

The saw has issues, if you know how to test and troubleshoot then do that before running it til its damaged. A saw rarely fixes itself.

 

[Tenderfoot]

Where about are you in CT?

 

[ANewSawyer]

Changing tune screams air leak. Air leak=dead saw if not addressed.

 

[jo191145]

Where about are you in CT?

Central. East Hampton to be exact.
I just noticed DH Marvin is an authorized repair center. Did not know that. I buy all my JD tractor parts from them.

 

[jo191145]

Changing tune screams air leak. Air leak=dead saw if not addressed.

Makes sense, thanks.
Off the top of my head I would guess Intake manifold (boot) or a leak between the jug and crankcase,,,,,possibly the crankcase halves themselves. Sound about right?

 

[Tenderfoot]

Central. East Hampton to be exact.
I just noticed DH Marvin is an authorized repair center. Did not know that. I buy all my JD tractor parts from them.

My stomping ground is more in Norwalk. If you trust that dealer it is worth a shot to get it vacuum tested. Be interesting to do a CT get together sometime if there is enough interest.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Saws rarely have a seal issue, but I'd check the jug bolts.

 

[ANewSawyer]

Crank seals are much more likely than the crankcase gasket. And what ^ he said.

 

[SOS Ridgerider]

Central. East Hampton to be exact.
I just noticed DH Marvin is an authorized repair center. Did not know that. I buy all my JD tractor parts from them.

There's a Husky dealer only a few miles away from me. They're in Bolton, and seem to do a fair bit of saw work. A buddy with a tree service brings all his stuff there. I don't have more than a couple of Huskys myself so I rarely go there for saw stuff, but my lawnmower and blower both come from them. I have nothing but good experience there.
Probably a half hour from East Hampton.

 

[Gypo Logger]

There's a Husky dealer only a few miles away from me. They're in Bolton, and seem to do a fair bit of saw work. A buddy with a tree service brings all his stuff there. I don't have more than a couple of Huskys myself so I rarely go there for saw stuff, but my lawnmower and blower both come from them. I have nothing but good experience there.
Probably a half hour from East Hampton.

Good advice for sure. Some people make more green doing what they do as opposed to donkey dinking around with a saw. Most of us sawheads here like to work on our own stuff, whether it's a false economy or not.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Good advice for sure. Some people make more green doing what they do as opposed to donkey dinking around with a saw. Most of us sawheads here like to work on our own stuff, whether it's a false economy or not.

If you have the knowledge and experience chainsaws are about the easiest gasoline powered tools to work on, they are very simple air pumps but to the inexperienced they are a puzzle. John, you run plenty of those orange plastic saws yourself so please help the OP so he don`t ruin a good P&C on his Husky.

 

[Gypo Logger]

If you have the knowledge and experience chainsaws are about the easiest gasoline powered tools to work on, they are very simple air pumps but to the inexperienced they are a puzzle. John, you run plenty of those orange plastic saws yourself so please help the OP so he don`t ruin a good P&C on his Husky.

I hear ya Jerry. I doubt I spend more than 200$ US on saw stuff in a year. The older I get, the longer my stuff lasts, and not because I use them less. Well maybe, I'm reduced to cutting a paltry 125 cords a year of spruce.
The op should be a saw adict soon if he isn't already and if I may, I think his 372 needs a big bore kit.

 

[Cantdog]

Hey John.....you show up in the funniest places!!...LOL!! Good to see you around!!

OP......It sounds like you have a pretty nice saw.....I expect your thoughts concerning intake boot and/or clampage are not far from the mark. Jerry is absolutely correct though...you are experiencing a condition that could well mean the end of your saw if not addressed.......if you are patient, proficient and do a bunch of research on this site you can probably solve the problem yourself.......however just "guessing" on the problem and the cure is a roll of the dice.....you know how that generally ends. I would suggest having the saw gone over by the shop you trust and get it straightened out.....then take your time and learn how to keep it that way.....well worth what it costs.

 

[kz1000]

He said that the saw idles great, I would guess that his dieseling is rich four stroking and it's spitting blue smoke. Adjust the carburetor to factory specs and start from there.

 

[Gypo Logger]

Hey John.....you show up in the funniest places!!...LOL!! Good to see you around!!

OP......It sounds like you have a pretty nice saw.....I expect your thoughts concerning intake boot and/or clampage are not far from the mark. Jerry is absolutely correct though...you are experiencing a condition that could well mean the end of your saw if not addressed.......if you are patient, proficient and do a bunch of research on this site you can probably solve the problem yourself.......however just "guessing" on the problem and the cure is a roll of the dice.....you know how that generally ends. I would suggest having the saw gone over by the shop you trust and get it straightened out.....then take your time and learn how to keep it that way.....well worth what it costs.

Thanks for the acknowledgment Robin, I miss the old gtg days when I could afford to travel, but now I live in poverty and like it as a woodcutter.
If I get another kick at the can, I'll come south and meet all you guys for a gtg. I'd like to meet Bob and Slowp and Bitzer and that forester moderator guy and all the other woodticks who I can't recall at the moment.

 

[CR888]

He said that it idles great, I would guess that his dieseling is rich four stroking and it's spitting blue smoke. Adjust the carburetor to factory specs and start from there.

^^^This. It's where I'd start based on what the OP has said. However he cut up a whole tree and when the saw leaned out just before running out of gas it 'magically' ran better an gained a few K. This points to not the most experience in the tuning dept. Start at factory settings and read up on the basics of tuning.

 

[Mattyo]

I live in Farmington, we are having a CT gtg Norwich Nov 5th fyi.

There are lots of 372 rebuild videos on my youtube channel, check my sig.

There are lots of vids out there on how to tune a saw properly also. I'll reiterate to start at square one, get the carb back to nearly factory settings and see if the saw behaves. If not, shut it down and either get a dealer to fix or go through the saw yourself.

I can look at it but i'm not cheap lol

Is there history on the saw, do you have a compression reading? has there been a rebuild in its past?

Also on my youtube channel is a vid on doing a pressure test, and I use a 372 as an example.