More bad luck

[Kicker_92]

Like everyone says, milling is hard on a chainsaw...

The connecting rod bearing let go on our 385xp last weekend. Had just fired it up to buck up a few pieces, got two cuts in and it seized. Could not rotate it with the pullcord even once it cooled down.

Pulled the cylinder and found a bunch of metal, but the piston is all intact. Look down at the bearing on the crankshaft and there's pretty much nothing left. Looks like it'd need a new crank, connecting rod, and bearing.

So the milling's on hold for a while now. Anyone here split a Husky case to replace a crank? Are there any special tools needed?

 

[DRB]

Oh crap you got bad saw luck. I would be out of CS milling if I had two big saws go down.

Good luck with the recovery

 

[mtngun]

Sorry about your ongoing misfortune with milling saws.

I'm on my 3rd 066 top end and expect to install #4 later this year. At least aftermarket parts are affordable.

I've never worked on a husky. The chainsaw forum crowd will probably help you out, if you can put up with a little heckling and backseat driving.

 

[grapplermi]

Yep,

Ask that question on the chainsaw forum, they talk about it a lot. Better yet, do a search over there, you might find it already.

Cheers, Matt

 

[mountainlake]

Seems like a low cost bandmill would save a lot of chainsaws. Steve

 

[BobL]

If it makes you feel any better here was my what happened to my 38 year old mac 10-10 in 2007.

 

[tlbsg]

hey mtngun 3 rd top end and expect 4th this year aftermarket parts cheap maybe thats why the 066 is unreliable might be better of with genuine bits

 

[huskyhank]

Sorry for your trouble.

I'd sell it for parts and get another bigger saw. A nice used 395 maybe. I don't know for a fact but I think the bottom ends of the 385s is a weak point. You might come out better on the money selling it for parts than fixing the one you have.

 

[mtngun]

hey mtngun 3 rd top end and expect 4th this year aftermarket parts cheap maybe thats why the 066 is unreliable might be better of with genuine bits

Or maybe I'd be better off with a Husky ? :hmm3grin2orange:

Seriously....

1st failure -- circlip broke on Golf piston due to circlip groove machined to deep. Yes, defective aftermarket part, that was on the saw when I acquired it.

2nd failure -- sawdust poisoning on OEM P&C due to poorly designed way Stihl attaches air filter

3rd top end -- BB kit never failed, just lame performance because they copied OEM port timing and compression ratio

4th failure -- aftermarket rings won't seal in resurrected OEM jug, probably due to excessive jug damage in previous sawdust incident.

Except for the Golf piston, other issues were all related to poor OEM design.

 

[Kicker_92]

I don't know for a fact but I think the bottom ends of the 385s is a weak point. You might come out better on the money selling it for parts than fixing the one you have.

Searching through the chainsaw forum shows a lot of main bearing failures, especially on the PTO side. I didn't see anything the crank/connecting rod bearing though.

I really like this saw, nice and light for the power with a 30" bar. Just got a new set of dawgs for it too. Will price out the parts and see if it's worthwhile. The saw has about three years of hard use on it, so might just be towards the end of it's life.

Bob, I guess I'm lucky that the cylinder and piston are in decent shape! Was that the bearing at the crank or piston pin that let go?

 

[MR4WD]

There's a guy on ebay.ca that's got a steady stream of 385's for sale. They all look well used, but in any capacity would be good for parts, or even as a whole.

I feel that yes, the 385/390 is a nimble light package for milling, but for heavier use I'd look at a 394/395 set up.

 

[BobL]

Bob, I guess I'm lucky that the cylinder and piston are in decent shape! Was that the bearing at the crank or piston pin that let go?

Piston.

 

[woodsrunner]

Bailey's(one of the AS sponsors) has OEM Husky parts you are likely to need if you decide to repair the saw yourself.

Scott

 

[matt9923]

If it makes you feel any better here was my what happened to my 38 year old mac 10-10 in 2007.

That doesn't make me feel good, how was the jug? I must have missed that thread if it was one.

 

[Brmorgan]

hey mtngun 3 rd top end and expect 4th this year aftermarket parts cheap maybe thats why the 066 is unreliable might be better of with genuine bits

On the other hand, why sink all that money into an OEM topend to throw on a slightly suspect saw that's already blown a couple times?

That's a crappy deal, Kicker. So far I've never had a saw pack it in while I was running it (fingers crossed) but I know it's inevitable in the long run. I too think you'd be better off with a 395 though if it comes down to replacing the saw.

mtngun, I'm thinking as long as the cylinder coating isn't worn (or badly scratched) right through to bare aluminum, it should still be usable. Otherwise you'd be having some severe piston clearance and premature skirt wear issues as well, no? Did you take some sandpaper to the cylinder to rough it up ever so slightly to allow the new rings to seat?

 

[BobL]

That doesn't make me feel good, how was the jug? I must have missed that thread if it was one.

Jug is shot. It's a gutsy little saw - I'd like to fix it up if I could find a jug and slug.

 

[Brmorgan]

Jug is shot. It's a gutsy little saw - I'd like to fix it up if I could find a jug and slug.

Bob - I have a spare 10-10 my friend gave me that I've robbed a few parts off of to get my yard sale special PM 10-10A up and running - I'm still chasing a carb issue with it though. I can't remember if I checked the topend out on it or not; if it's good it's yours for the price of shipping along with anything else I don't need. I'm not doing anything important right now (ladies already won the gold in Hockey; my night is complete!) so I'll go down and tear it out to see what it looks like. Not sure how much shipping for something like that would be to Oz, maybe $15-20?


Kicker, I forgot to mention - you CAN get a special tool from Husky to split the cases, but if you do a good search on the topic over in the chainsaw forum you'll get a whole bunch of homebrew jigs that do just as well. A piece of angle iron with three holes drilled through (two for bar studs, one for crank) and a nut welded over the crank hole will do. Drive a bolt into the crank and it'll split. Make sure you have ALL the case bolts out though!

 

[mtngun]

mtngun, I'm thinking as long as the cylinder coating isn't worn (or badly scratched) right through to bare aluminum, it should still be usable. Otherwise you'd be having some severe piston clearance and premature skirt wear issues as well, no? Did you take some sandpaper to the cylinder to rough it up ever so slightly to allow the new rings to seat?

I only lightly sanded the damaged spots, not the whole jug.

I may tear it apart, and if it is not already a lost cause, hone it aggressively and try again. Nothing to lose.

It's weird what sawdust does to an engine. You wouldn't think it would hurt the engine that much, but it does.

 

[BobL]

Bob - I have a spare 10-10 my friend gave me that I've robbed a few parts off of to get my yard sale special PM 10-10A up and running - I'm still chasing a carb issue with it though. I can't remember if I checked the topend out on it or not; if it's good it's yours for the price of shipping along with anything else I don't need. I'm not doing anything important right now (ladies already won the gold in Hockey; my night is complete!) so I'll go down and tear it out to see what it looks like. Not sure how much shipping for something like that would be to Oz, maybe $15-20?

Wow - that's just awesome - The other thing I'd need for it is an air filter.
Now I absolutely have to come and see you when I come to Canada!
I'll be PMing you!

 

[Andrew96]

Seems like a low cost bandmill would save a lot of chainsaws. Steve

Steve....I'd say...recommended service limits and inspections would save more of them.

Hmm...Time to vent. Why does it seem that hard working saws only seem to get maintenance after they destruct and are scrap?
You know....pistons/rings have service limits. The weight savings we get with a 2 stroke means you have a lower service limit for piston and ring replacement (than say....a low rpm 4 stroke). You could measure it in hours...or take it apart and measure..inspect the B/C. If the piston looks good (ie visually AND measures out to still be within spec)...put a new ring(s) on it and go for another 25 hrs. It's not like it's a weekend to pull it apart and check (like other engines). If you don't 'bother' to do this...don't be shocked when it stops and the saw is scrap, or start looking to see if it's a known weak point. It's much easier...and cheaper to 'maintain' your saw rather than replace it...start the research now, while your saw is still running and replace the parts that are known to not last as many hours as people had hoped. I don't see too much discussion on ring end gap, piston ring or skirt clearance numbers, burn patterns, hours running vs ring end gap...lots of photos of destruction though.

Kicker......I don't mean to be disrespectful here....but I know your blown crank bearings would have made a hell of a noise...and major vibration before they let go....and this is your second catastrophic failure in as many months!! I sure hope someone else was running it at the time...they really should have shut it down before it stopped. Do you replace piston and rings based on the amount of fuel through the saw or do you have an hour meter like some people here? I hope you have some 'system'...or I'd expect the rest of your equipment to blow up soon (they will after all...only run for so long without replacement parts).
Con rod failures are 'usually' either way too many hours (past service limit) or oil related.