$ Husky saw!!!

[mga]

i bought my husky 350 last year. it's a great saw and it's been nice to me until yesterday. i was using it and heard a metallic vibration. i noticed one of the muffler screws came loose.

ok...so i tighten it and the other one and restart the saw and continue cutting. then, same noise....this time i loose the screw in the snow. sheesh. so, to finish, i tighten the other and keep going. then, after about 20 minutes....the damn muffler falls off!!! $#!$#$@#$@!#$@@#!

i didn't see any lock washers on them, so what holds them tight? now i gotta go get two screws and a gasket. but, why would they keep coming loose? should i put loc-tite on them? or should i just use lock washers?

 

[04ultra]

i bought my husky 350 last year. it's a great saw and it's been nice to me until yesterday. i was using it and heard a metallic vibration. i noticed one of the muffler screws came loose.

ok...so i tighten it and the other one and restart the saw and continue cutting. then, same noise....this time i loose the screw in the snow. sheesh. so, to finish, i tighten the other and keep going. then, after about 20 minutes....the damn muffler falls off!!! $#!$#$@#$@!#$@@#!

i didn't see any lock washers on them, so what holds them tight? now i gotta go get two screws and a gasket. but, why would they keep coming loose? should i put loc-tite on them? or should i just use lock washers?

Some people say that never happens on a Husky.. ...I use 246 Loc-tite...It works for me.....If the holes are striped use Time-sert's to repair them...



BTW check the top of the crankcase under the muffler....When mufflers come loose on Plastic crankcase saws the exhaust gas can burn a hole through the case...


.

 

[sawinredneck]

Mine have had lock washers on them, never been a problem? Like Ultra said, Loc-tite!!!

 

[TANDCLAWNCARE]

just to let you know i had the same problem on my 350 .i went to dealer to get a bolt.from what i was told the bolt problem we are having they know about .i was also told to bring saw in any time i had a bolt falling out as they had to replace a few saws from the holes striping and buring saw up
there is no plan at this point to do a fix other than keeping bolts tight and removing gasket to get the bolts a little farther in,that not being a husky fix.now that i know about this problem im planing on lock washers and see how that does.as for the dealer i didnt have the saw with me but he gave me 2 new bolts and allan just so i had one. thats the reason i buy all my stuff there good service
chris

 

[avalancher]

I had the same problem with my 350. Tried everything. Locktite, lockwashers. Both of them together. Even used the super green locktite. Nothing worked. Took it to the warranty repair. They suggested drilling out the holes and replacing them with bigger bolts. I brought the thing back to where I bought it and demanded to trade it in on a different saw. they said no. I got real ugly and real loud. Lots of shouting. they gave me what I paid for the 350 towards the 455 Rancher, and a six pack of oil mix to get me to shut up. Never had a problem since. In my opinion its a design flaw. Those bolts fell out within 30 minutes of coming out of the box ,and fell out more times than I can count on.
Take it back from where you got it and demand a different saw, the problem if it ends up like mine will never go away.
Did sound pretty mean though without that muffler though, didnt it?:censored:

 

[csj11]

Safety wire?

Could you drill holes in the heads of the bolts and safety wire them together?
Used often in aircraft.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Safety_wire
http://www.whizwheels.com/Tips/safetywiring.html

 

[Burvol]

All brands of saws vibrate and ratttle stuff loose from time to time, hence the importance of periodic maintance. Husky, Stihl, Potato, Potahto....

 

[avalancher]

All brands of saws vibrate and ratttle stuff loose from time to time, hence the importance of periodic maintance. Husky, Stihl, Potato, Potahto....

Your absolutely right on that one, but the husky 350 seems to have a real problem with losing its muffler bolts. Like I said, mine shook them loose in the first 30 minutes of its lifetime, and never got better regardless of what I did. I lose the little screws from time to time that hold the plastic case halves together, and has become a regular chore at home when going over the saws after a long day of cutting, checking for missing bolts and screws. But nothing compared to that lousy muffer bolts on the 350. I spent as much time hunting for the muffler, bolts, and gasket in the brush as I did hauling wood to the trailer and that is not acceptable.
That was a good idea, wire tying the heads together after drilling a hole through the head. That might be an option for the OP if he decided to keep the saw. Seems a whole lot less radical than the option that was presented to me.

 

[TANDCLAWNCARE]

saftey wire would be a good fix to keep from losing the bolts . i really thought about if it really turned out to be a pain ,tacking the bolts to the muffler .just a quick hit with the wire feed. would not be a big deal to get them out small grinder at most to weaken the weld

 

[mga]

i just sent them (Husqvarna USA) an email detailing my problem.

i also stated that this seems to be a regular problem with the 350 model and asked them what suggestions they have on how to correct this design problem.

i'll post what they tell me when i get a reply.

 

[mga]

after corresponding back and forth, this was the final reply i got from husky:

Please Contact your local dealer. Get your saw there AND you need to request that they call in for their tech support. They will need to speak with a master tech to get your saw up and running.

sheesh...all i wanted to know was to how they recommend keeping the screws tight. now, i'll probably be without my saw for a few days if i drop it off for a company "master tech" to tell me what to do about it.

but, at least they replied and offered to do something about it, so, i guess Husqvarna is at least trying....

 

[avalancher]

after corresponding back and forth, this was the final reply i got from husky:



sheesh...all i wanted to know was to how they recommend keeping the screws tight. now, i'll probably be without my saw for a few days if i drop it off for a company "master tech" to tell me what to do about it.

but, at least they replied and offered to do something about it, so, i guess Husqvarna is at least trying....

It could be that Husky is scratching their heads over this as much as we are. What is causing the bolts to back out? Too much vibration in the wrong area? Defective bolts? Holes machine incorrectly? I know when I had the trouble with my 350 I ended up with two new bolts from Carquest just to make sure that those stock bolts werent the trouble, but a different bolt made no difference.
Hey, let us know what is done about the trouble, I know I am curious about what was causing the problem, and what Husky came up with to solve the problem.
Maybe they will just give you a 455 instead to make you happy.....

 

[mga]

It could be that Husky is scratching their heads over this as much as we are. What is causing the bolts to back out? Too much vibration in the wrong area? Defective bolts? Holes machine incorrectly? I know when I had the trouble with my 350 I ended up with two new bolts from Carquest just to make sure that those stock bolts werent the trouble, but a different bolt made no difference.
Hey, let us know what is done about the trouble, I know I am curious about what was causing the problem, and what Husky came up with to solve the problem.
Maybe they will just give you a 455 instead to make you happy.....

lol..yea, right.

i went to the dealer to pick up a new gasket and told him of my emails with Husky (even brought a print-out of our conversation). the guy just laughed and said all Husky will do is tell us to try lock washers and maybe loc-tite.

my issue is that as the muffler came loose, the exhuast had melted some of the plastic housing around it. it's not a big deal, just cosmetically. but, from the posts i have read here, it's an apparent problem with this model. i asked Husqvarna why they didn't tell customers who bought this model that there was a potential problem. they ignored my question.

one of my first chainsaws was a sears Homelite. i owned that thing for almost 30 years before it finally died. my next one was a Mc Culloch, which ran Ok, but the auto oiler fell apart and later a friend dropped a tree on it. it's still sitting in the garage attic, collecting dust.

so, i went out and bought this Husky, thinking i was buying a good, top of the line machine. sorry to say, i'm disappointed that with a name brand like this, that it would have problems with a simple exhaust system.

so, i came home and i'll try the loc-tite and lock washers and see what happens, but i'm not pleased with Husky's responses.

my next saw will be a Stihl...for sure.

 

[spike60]

Yeah, it is a real problem, but there is a solution. Three things can be done. One is the 246 loctite that Ultra mentioned, two is the double lock washers that you can get from Husky, and three is a slightly longer muffler bolt that will grab more of the threads in the cylinder.

How well these fixes work, either by themselves or by using all three, depends on when you discover the problem. If the threads on the cylinder are damaged by the bolts coming loose, they may not work at all.

This extent of this problem is enough that it has been addressed by Husky, but in my experience it would have to be labled "occasional" rather than "frequent". We have sold a boat load of these saws, and on most of them there is never a problem. But those that have the problem, deserve a decent solution.

 

[Kansas]

OR do what airplane dudes have done for years and drill the heads of allen head bolts and safety wire them simple huh?!

 

[Kansas]

my next saw will be a Stihl...for sure.

Oh them are fightin words sir! j/k hahahaha

Lighten up man all mechanical things have their issues there is a simple easily done fix read my post please.

edited: I see others have the same safety wire suggestion so it cant be bad! BTW a 350 isnt a "pro" saw its a good saw but it has lower standard of operation designed for occasional use it has nothing to do with Husqvarna as a whole a 346xp or 357xp will prove what I am saying so take it with a grain of salt. HTH

 

[sawinredneck]

Funny Kansas!!!!

I have a different take!!!

I will buy 350's all day long, but I'd be hard pressed to own another 346!!!! Cant say anything about the 357.

 

[04ultra]

Funny Kansas!!!!

I have a different take!!!

I will buy 350's all day long, but I'd be hard pressed to own another 346!!!! Cant say anything about the 357.

Andy you get a 5100 yet??




.

 

[mga]

OR do what airplane dudes have done for years and drill the heads of allen head bolts and safety wire them simple huh?!

if i continue to have problems with them, i'm going to try your advice.

this wire would link the two bolts together? what material would the wire be?

 

[David Wayne]

Its just a soft metal wire, around here we call it
mechanics wire. Used in manufacturing machines to keep bolts from backing out & going through gears.Your supposed to run it through the hole and around the top of the bolt head (left bolt)& twist the wires tight then go under the right bolt head & through the hole. That way if either bolt tries to loosen it will be pulling the other bolt tighter.They make special pliers to put the twist in with but you can do it by hand.
Dave