Aargh! Husky 359 piston/cylinder

[housevet]

I just aquired a used 359 E-tech from a local guy off Craigslist. He had used it for one winter and cut about 9 cords of wood with it. Says he got a good deal and replaced it with a Stihl with same power and lighter weight .
So, anyway, it fired right up and seemed to run like a charm. I changed out the fuel mix. Put in my fresh 50:1 mix of husqvarna brand oil with 93 octane gas.
Ran great, only problem was chain would move a bit at idle, so I turned down the throttle screw a bit. Still would occasionally turn a bit at idle - possibly first mistake, decided that probably wasn't a really big deal, just wanted to cut some wood today.
Sharpened up a chain and cut up a 30 ft section of a big ol' red oak bottom that a harvester had dropped last year. Cut right through that baby slicker 'n snot
Filled up once with bar oil and fuel mix.
Just as I was getting towards the end of the log, I heard a funny pinging (at least it seemed something like that through my hearing protection!) so I stopped cutting. As soon as I let off the trigger the engine stopped dead. Hasn't started since. Starter cord wouldn't budge after first 4 inches and then wouldn't retract.
Piston would only move through lower section of cylinder.
Took the thing apart and here are the beautiful pictures.
So, I figure the piston is toast. Should I just bite the bullet and replace piston and cylinder?
What do you think may have been the issue so I can avoid this in the future?
The saw sounded like it was running ok aside from the chain moving some at idle. Good, fast throttle response, idle didn't seem too rough and didn't even seem too fast if that makes sense even with the chain moving at idle.
As far as I know, all parts are OEM - only thing the guy I bought it from had replaced was the air filter.
Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[blsnelling]

You won't know until you get some of that Al off there. Get yourself some Muratic acid and apply it with a Q-tip. You'll probably have to get in there with some wet/dry sandpaper too.

 

[Jacob J.]

Most likely the deal was that the saw sat for a while and the diaphragms in the carburetor stiffened up nice and hard. The reason the chain wanted to spin at idle was because the carb was running too lean....

To avoid this in the future you'll need to richen the carb adjustments if you're using a saw that's sat for a while- whether or not the fuel was purged prior.


That's a lot of aluminum transfer, follow Brad's directions and you'll see if the cylinder can be salvaged.

 

[timberwolf]

Cyl looks pretty bad, but like said you don't know til you clean off the Al.

Could it have been a leak on the intake boot (plastic clamp)?

 

[timberwolf]

I would take the oportunity to smooth out the transfers a bit and open the exhaust up, 359 will thank you for that. Will cut better than it ever did and run cooler if you ditch the CAT muffler.

 

[outdoortype]

Timberwolf makes a good point. Some of the intakes with plastic clamps failed and caused air leaks. They now use a stronger boot with a metal clamp. Since you already have the saw apart, spend like $10 and get the new style boot with the metal clamp.

 

[housevet]

ok, here it is pretty well cleaned up

Took some time tonight to clean up with some muriatic acid.
Cylinder looks better - do you think it's likely to be functional now?
The piston is truly shot - not even going to bother posting cleaned up pictures!
I'll be getting a non-cat muffler from Amicks. Where could I get the intake boot with a metal clamp?
Thanks for all your help guys!
I'm learning tons about saws and these small engines from this process!

 

[Steve128]

Timberwolf makes a good point. Some of the intakes with plastic clamps failed and caused air leaks. They now use a stronger boot with a metal clamp. Since you already have the saw apart, spend like $10 and get the new style boot with the metal clamp.

+1

While about as popular on AS as the MS290, the 359 has been a dependable saw for my use.

 

[Evin]

I got my parts at the local Husq dealer...They did not know about the service Bulletin:

Service Bulletin for 357XP, 359, 353, 346XP
This service bulletin is not new. I thought that there might be some out there who were not aware of it so here it is. If your saw has a black plastic clamp around the intake right next to the cylinder it is applicable to it. If the clamp is of steel construction then you should be ok.

B0600023
SERVICE

*537 43 88-01*
*compl 537 25 13-02
English 1 (1)

SB, 357 XP, 359, 353, 346 XP,
Partition wall and clamp for intake system,
2006-03

The existing intake system on 357XP, 359,353 and 346XP currently consists of an integrated plastic clamp in the partition wall. As the clamp is made of plastic, there is a risk of deformation. This results in impaired clamping force against the cylinder, which in turn can result in leakage in the intake system. To prevent this from occurring, we have now introduced a metal clamp and a new partition wall.

The new partition wall is made up of polyamide with 30 % fibre glass.
The new clamp is a hardened steel clamp. The new material and the design of the clamp reduce the risk of deformation and the subsequent risk of leakage.

Full replaceability prevails.
Introduced from serial number:
357XP 061100201
359 061100001
353 061100001
346XP 061100001

New part no. Description Excl. part. no. Remark
537 25 13-02 Partition wall, intake, complete New spare part
537 43 88-01 Clamp, intake New spare part

Spare part, partition wall, part number 537 25 13-01, has been discontinued and is replaced by part number 537 25 13-02.

 

[housevet]

Thanks Evin!

Thanks for the service bulletin. I've sent an inquiry to Husqvarna warranty department about this issue. Would be nice to get some of parts from them, but I'm not holding my breath as I am not the original purchaser!

Any more input of the appearance of the cylinder?

 

[timberwolf]

Any input on that would be like reading tea leaves, until you clean the AL off you won't know. Nothing to loose, then once it's clean you can decide if you need just a piston or piston and new jug.

 

[woodfarmer]

the same thing happened to a 2150 i bought used, emery cloth the cylinder, new piston and ring, away ya go

 

[blsnelling]

You still have aluminum in the cylinder. Don't be afraid to go after it with some 320-400 wet/dry sandpaper.

 

[timberwolf]

Yep, sand paper works well for sticky spots. If there are scratches deep enough you can catch a fingernail on it's toast. Plating is only a couple Thou thick so not much room to hone away problems. If you put a good piston into a bad jug you are like to find it low on compression and it will just chew up the new piston and ring in a short while.

 

[B_Turner]

Obviously that amount of scoring in the OP is very bad, but how much vertical lines in a cylinder is "normal"?

I just looked into the exhaust port of a friends saw (only maybe 5 tanks, good fresh mix because it was from my can) and on the intake side of the cylinder there are fairly faint vertical lines. Otherwise brand new clean.

Is that normal for such a new saw?

Just curious as this cylinder peeping is new to me, even though I've run saws a while.

 

[blsnelling]

There appears to be a lot of porosity in the cylinder. Is that normal for these saws?

 

[housevet]

I'll work some more on the Al tonight & post more pics!

Thanks!

 

[timberwolf]

There will be lines visable, but you should not be able to feel them when running something across them.

Any 359s I have seen have had porosity and small pockets in the bore, does not in it's self seem to be a big problem. you do need to watch using acid if there is a lot of porosity, it will eat the AL out behind the plating.

Also see in the last pic the acid is starting to eat away in the exhaust port, that will be easy to clean up, but when done if the jug is to be saved, you may need to do a little work cleaning the port up and puting a new bevel on the port.

 

[housevet]

Got reply from husky warranty support . . .

I'll be taking the saw into the shop to see if warranty is still in force because of the service bulletin for the plastic clamp in the partition wall - perhaps it played a role in the problem. Hopefully my mucking around with the piston & cylinder doesn't void anything! I'm somewhat doubtful I'll get too far with warranty service as I don't have a proof of purchase and didn't register the saw.
Thanks again to all of y'all for your help! umpkin2: