Husqvarna 268 XP (Special) restoration

[mikey78]

Thankyou guys for your advice :
I won't put the spark arrestor back !!!

What about the chain guide plates ? Do they have to be two or just one attached to the crankcase side ?

Let's pass now to the oil tank vent .
Thanks to CJ Brown for helping with this issue !!!

Parts list just says : hose (...9301) and spiral pin (...3250) .
At the moment I cannot go and check it out on the chainsaw but I have two pictures that can help :





Is this the oil tank ventilation ?
When I first cleaned the saw I thought this was just a stain ,
if CJ Brown is right with a deeper cleaning the stain should disappear leaving exposed a ventilation hole ?
Am I correct ?

 

[Cantdog]

Yes there should be a hole. This is a Jonsereds 630 Super but the same year and same family. This is the earlier case design that has the two piece ign. so it's slightly different castings but all the same parts in the same places. The inner bar plate is installed in this pic. It looks like someone put JB Weld or similar in it........to stop it from leaking perhaps...??

 

[SawTroll]

......

While I look for the best deal ,
I've a few more questions on the saw from a functional point of view !!!
View attachment 625922

In the above drawing (bottom ), I see 2 chain plates :
My chainsaw only came with one plate on the crankcase side,
is that wrong ? Am I missing a second chain plate on the chain brake assembly ?
Hope I was clear

To me it looks like that page/frame of the IPL is about optional extras, that most users won't need - and the illustrated "winter cover" for the recoil surely is (were) just that.

I really have no clue what conditions/situations the optional bar plates were for though - except that two plates likely push the clutch cover slightly further away from the case, which may be a good thing at least with a bar that is on the thin side, and likely helps chip clearing a bit with any bar (particularly useful when noodling with the saw).

 

[Cliff R]

I have a Husqvarna 268 XP "Special" and it has both stickers on the top cover. A few years ago I gave it a good cleaning and replaced some parts. It was giving me some issues and didn't idle well once warmed up. Started with the easy stuff, carb kit, fuel line, filter and tank vent. That didn't improve anything so I put new crank seals in it. It ended up being some trash in the carb which I finally got out and that corrected that issue.

Another issue I was having was loosing power in an "up cut" but fine for normal operation. That problem baffled me for a while until I figured out that the engine anti-vibe rubber mounts were too soft and when you put upward pressure on a heavy cut it would move the case and handle far enough apart to pull on the throttle arm some. So basically it wasn't staying at full throttle and loosing power.

I installed new mounts and that corrected that issue as well. My 268XPS is a very strong runner so you woln't be disappointed in it. It is however very difficult to pull thru not having a compression release. Last time I did a compression test it was pretty high and rebuilding the pull started didn't improve anything.......Cliff

 

[Marshy]

Thankyou guys for your advice :
I won't put the spark arrestor back !!!

What about the chain guide plates ? Do they have to be two or just one attached to the crankcase side ?

Let's pass now to the oil tank vent .
Thanks to CJ Brown for helping with this issue !!!
View attachment 626121
Parts list just says : hose (...9301) and spiral pin (...3250) .
At the moment I cannot go and check it out on the chainsaw but I have two pictures that can help :

View attachment 626122

View attachment 626123

Is this the oil tank ventilation ?
When I first cleaned the saw I thought this was just a stain ,
if CJ Brown is right with a deeper cleaning the stain should disappear leaving exposed a ventilation hole ?
Am I correct ?

I believe the bar plates are just there to lessen the wear to the case and clutch cover. If you can find a replacement for the clutch cover side scoop it up. If none are available it wouldn't stop me from using the saw. I would use the one you have.

 

[mikey78]

Oil tank vent :
I wanna thankyou all guys for supporting me in finding the ventilation hole . . .
It was a long exhausting journey but at the end we managed to find it
Now I just feel like floating in a frying pan because I have to wait for the weekend to make sure that hole is really there

Bar plates :
As long as I hear from both Saw Troll and Marshy chainsaw originally come with one bar plate, If I wish I can put an additional plate on the chain brake side.
If so I will have no safety issues (most important thing) and the additional plate will also "lessen the wear to the ... clutch cover" as well as "help with chip clearing" !!!
If I'm wrong please correct me

 

[Marshy]

No safety concerns. Debatable if it even helps with clearing the chips. It might protect the clutch cover and saw case in the event the chain comes off the bar but I believe the protection would be marginal at best.

The little rubber flap at the back of the clutch cover helps knock the chips to the ground also. No real safety concerns.

 

[mikey78]

Goodmorning guys (8:00 am in Italy ) !!!
I'm back from a long and busy week-end,
and have also some updates about my chainsaw project

Following cantdog directions I had my oil tank ventilation hole checked :


At first I've thought the hole was just blocked by dirt (wood dust and oil ) but ...... I was wrong
I scratched the surface with a nail and no dirt ... hole looked like plugged with some sort of plastic stuff
I didn't want to screw everything up by hammering that thing back in the tank !!!
So I took some pictures of the inside of the tank and this is what one can see inside it :




This is my situation at the moment ...

 

[mikey78]

I then went back home thinking and re-thinking what would be next step or if I just had to live with it ...
After some reserch I luckily ran across a thread debating the same issue and found some very usefull pictures,
low resolution but still very interesting, the guy was replacing the ventilation line :


He pressed the old line inside the oil tank


After that he pressed in the hole a new plastic tube with its threaded pin ...


He kept pressing the whole thing flush with the case and this is the job finished with the new vent installed !!!!

 

[mikey78]

What do you guys think ?
Is the above solution the one I should go for ?
The saw at the moment is oiling just fine and I'm tempted to leave things the way they are ...
From a different point of view I really would like to fix the whole thing up,
I'm not sure if the above repair is the way to go ...
(for example in the Jonsered cantdog posted i see the vent hole but I don't see the valve/threaded pin )

 

[Sepia]

That pin isn't threaded and it isn't a valve. It is a small split pin/spring pin - like this:

That vent style has been the source of a lot of aggravation of the years for Husky owners. The plastic tube that that the pin inserts into will eventually droop inside the oil reservoir and provide a pathway for oil to seep out of the saw when in storage, leaving a puddle under the saw.

 

[mikey78]

Hi CJ Brown,
If it is just a tube with a spring pin, I can do it by myself !!!
What do you think ?

But from your words I understand that this system has never been very efficient so...
What would you do ?
Should I go for an aftermarket replacement ? Should I make it by myself or should I just leave the valve on the oil cap ?

 

[Sepia]

You stated earlier that the saw is oiling properly, so unless your OCD is kicking in, or the saw is leaving oil puddles everywhere, I would just leave it as is.

I think the old saying applies here - if it isn't broke, don't "fix" it.

 

[mikey78]

Hello again CJ,
I've been looking at the saw diagram and parts list and have to say that
they do not mention any spring pin ...
Descriptions, diagrams and parts list always talk about hose + spiral pin ...
Now I'm a newbie, have very little experience ( to no experience at all ) with chainsaws and don't want to question your wide knowledge ...
All of this premised I would like to restore the saw to its original conditions so, if anyone could share its thoughts, it would be great !!!

If the replacement part does not work , It does not take very long to plug again the vent hole and use the oil tank cap with the diy air valve

P.S. What does OCD mean ?

 

[Sepia]

Spring pin vs. spiral pin... the draftsman that labeled the parts diagram can call the pin inside the vent tube anything he wants I guess, but if you order the part from Husqvarna, you will get a spring pin, not a spiral pin.



OCD = obsessive compulsive disorder - I get it bad at times when it comes to restoring a saw lol

 

[mikey78]

Hello CJ , glad to hear from you again
First of all I want to make sure you have not been bothered by my words . . .
If so I must admit I'am a compulsive restorer, I don't want to mention the dozens of woodworking tools (saw, handplanes, ...) I've restored and still keep restoring in my daily life ...
So please would you excuse me if I look stubborn and keep asking about the above question .
I would like to give the original system a try , if it doesn't work it takes me 10 minutes to plug back the vent hole and use again the tank cap with its diy air-valve.
I don't think I can screw anything up ...
In the event that I choose to install a new vent could you give me your advice or any suggestion that can be helpfull ?

 

[Cantdog]

The roll pin can be tapped in from the outside until flush with the case.....the hose slips on over the pin inside the tank....the crucial parts are the hose must be fairly rigid and cutting the hose to the exact right length to wedge in the upper right (looking from the front to back) hand corner.....there is a pocket in there that holds the hose as high as possible in the tank. You can see this pocket from the outside...it's where the back of the flat area under the muffler goes uphill to where the cyl bolts down. Doing this keeps the end of the hose above the oil level in the tank......if the hose is to flexible or to short and doesn't remain in this position oil will drain out of the tank down to the level of the vent hole between the bar studs.

 

[Sepia]

No worries here mikey78. And I think Cantdog has answered your query perfectly. Keep asking questions and someone will almost certainly have an answer for you - a ton of knowledge and experience on this site, not to mention the library of knowledge in past threads.

 

[Cantdog]

No worries here mikey78. And I think Cantdog has answered your query perfectly. Keep asking questions and someone will almost certainly have an answer for you - a ton of knowledge and experience on this site, not to mention the library of knowledge in past threads.

I would suggest that if you are going to do this Mikey that you buy the pin and hose from OEM Husqvarna, that way the hose will be to correct material and probably cut the correct length already. Durn it....looks like the pin 721 42 32-50 is available but the hose 501 83 93-01 is not. Hmmm it appears that in 93, when the 272 came out they changed the tank vent to a single piece/part number 503 66 84-03.......this is practically the same thing but looks like what you posted in post #49. The only difference is the hole in the case is bored larger........just verified this by examining a 93 272XP I have here.....much bigger hole than the earlier ones.

 

[mikey78]

Hello CJ hand thankyou for your help
Cantdog : Thank-you-so-much for your contribution . . . this was exactly the kind of help I was looking for
I'll let you know what I do with the vent if I find a good replacement part.
In the meantime a couple of pictures for the smallest repair work :




The chain tensioner was missing that small plastic washer
so It was moving freely in its slot, now when I take off bar and chain it stays in position !!!