What chainsaw is best for my needs? Husqvarna preferably

[Pip]

So I've found this 357xpg. The guy says its lost compression and needs a new piston. But I'm guessing it might need a whole new top end, not sure.
How much do you think I should be offering for this?
Thanks

 

[Adam08ski]

Looks fairly decent. If you are handy enough you may be able to salvage the cylinder and just put a new piston. Meteor or OEM. UK prices will fetch £120 upwards for that even with it being a non runner. That's where I would start. Or lower even if the guy will go lower.

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[buttercup]

So I've found this 357xpg. The guy says its lost compression and needs a new piston. But I'm guessing it might need a whole new top end, not sure.
How much do you think I should be offering for this?
Thanks

I'm not the expert but that saw looks pretty nice for a well used object I'd say, I wouldn't mind having that saw in my inventory for sure.

 

[Pip]

So the guy is willing to take £100. It's a 2002 model. I heard that pre 2005 models of the 357 had a smaller connecting rod and you can't buy a piston for it, so you have to swap the crank to the newer type with the larger rod width. Is this true?

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

For 100 pound- I would take the gamble- but I am no 357 expert and cannot verify if the pistons differ- but if they do, I am willing to bet Meteor make a piston to suit the pre 2005 model.
If I go out to the workshop I can verify that for you, there is one out there somewhere.
If the cylinder is toast- Meteor certainly make a 357 P&C kit that fits pre 2005 con rods (that is the kit I had on my 2159 for a while).

Be a much nicer deal if it comes with the bar and chain though for the 100 quid.

 

[Okie294life]

Wow thanks so much for all the information. I quite like the idea of a two saw combination. Seeing as we already have a 385xp I think a mid 50cc saw such as the 357xp would be a perfect addition.

Is there anything in particular I should be looking for with 357xp's? Particular years or known problems these saws can have?

Many thanks

Sounds like you don’t want to hear this or look at it through orange colored glasses but.....stihl 261, light, drag a 20” bar like cutting butter and 4hp, which is more than or equivalent to a lot of 60 cc saws. If you buy it now you may never need another midrange saw again.

 

[holeycow]

yup, lots of good saws out there. Even ones that run..

you could be 400bucks into a 300dollar saw before you know it...or not..?

 

[Pip]

Hi guys.
Picked up this 357XPG for £100 today. It's got no compression which the guy told me so no surprise there. The most obvious reason at the moment for no compression is that the decompression valve is missing. Where's best to find a new valve in the UK, good websites to order from? Also, when looking into the cylinder and seeing the piston and cylinder it looks brand new, with a couple tiny scratch marks. Can anyone tell of this cylinder is a knock off Chinese or oem/meteor?

Moving on... The saw was full of old sawdust, dirt and bar oil so I started taking her apart to clean. I got the tank off and found that the wires for the heated handle have been cut Is there anyway to get in there and fix it? Or is it bust?

Thanks very much

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Whip the decomp out of Dad's 385, screw it in and see if you have compression before you worry too much about anything else. (13mm end of your scrench should work).
Heated handles can be fixed down the track if you must, but I would just ignore that for the time being.
Cannot say what the cylinder is off the photos provided.

 

[Huskybill]

yup, lots of good saws out there. Even ones that run..

you could be 400bucks into a 300dollar saw before you know it...or not..?

I end up putting too much cash fixing a saw correctly and end up keeping it.

 

[Pip]

Whip the decomp out of Dad's 385, screw it in and see if you have compression before you worry too much about anything else. (13mm end of your scrench should work).
Heated handles can be fixed down the track if you must, but I would just ignore that for the time being.
Cannot say what the cylinder is off the photos provided.

Thanks man. Was wondering if the on out the 385 would work. I'll do that today . What pics should I get of the cylinder?

 

[Adam08ski]

Thanks man. Was wondering if the on out the 385 would work. I'll do that today . What pics should I get of the cylinder?

Top around the spark plug or port area casting should have the meteor logo on the outside. Also the piston around the windows or inside should have a logo if meteor. And just general outside and inside pics will show the quality.

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[Pip]

So got some more pics of the cylinder and tried it out with the decompression valve in. I did a compression test and only got 60psi. So I'm thinking the next step will be to remove the cylinder and check it out properly?

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

A lot depends on your compression tester and if it is designed for car motors- or small capacity single cylinder motors and has a valve at the end of the hose that fits the cylinder.
What does the 385 read on the same tester?
Whip the exhaust off and take some photos of the piston, including the ring groove and if there is a ring in the thing!
60 psi the saw should fall down the recoil starter rope if you hold the rope handle and let the saw go.

Oh and you want to order some form of new metal clamp to hold the inlet manifold to the cylinder and ditch the current plastic clip.

 

[Huskitoter]

AM 359 cyl.

 

[foeke]

What Bob said.

 

[Pip]

A lot depends on your compression tester and if it is designed for car motors- or small capacity single cylinder motors and has a valve at the end of the hose that fits the cylinder.
What does the 385 read on the same tester?
Whip the exhaust off and take some photos of the piston, including the ring groove and if there is a ring in the thing!
60 psi the saw should fall down the recoil starter rope if you hold the rope handle and let the saw go.

Oh and you want to order some form of new metal clamp to hold the inlet manifold to the cylinder and ditch the current plastic clip.

Thanks Bob. The 385 is measuring around 170psi with the same compression tester. I'll wip the exhaust off of the 357 and get some pictures of the piston and cylinder.

Yeah I've read about those plastic intake things being dodgy. I'll look into a metal one.
Cheers

 

[Pip]

Got some pics of the piston and inside the cylinder @Bob Hedgecutter . It has a ring on it as well. Reckon it's a cheapo Chinese job?
Cheers

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Okay, if your gauge reads true on the 385- something is toast on the 357 and unfortunately it looks like the cylinder from what I can see in the photos through the port- piston does not look that bad.
Could be the saw was burned up running lean and the previous owner has had a play- maybe never fixing the original problem that cause it to run lean- just slapped a new top end on and it burned out rather quickly again.
With such low compression- do not be surprised if there is a 46mm (357) piston in there and it is a 47mm (359) cylinder! Could be the first replacement kit burned up and the owner ordered a new piston- but got the incorrect size! I only guess at this because it looks to have lots of transfer on the cylinder walls, but the piston does not look that bad.

What you need to do now is get yourself a 4mm long reach T handle hex wrench and pull off the cylinder, get some photos of the inside and see what you find. A set of verniers will be handy to measure the bore and the piston.
At this stage, I would start regretting the 100 quid, would have been better to have scored this for 50- but that is the risk we all take buying online. You still have the basis of a very good saw, but need to start making a list of bits you need to buy.
Easiest fix, order a new top end kit. Cheapest hopeful fix- repair what you have- if it is possible- might get away with a cylinder clean and a new caber ring....... but that might be hopeful dreaming as well.
Either which way, the cylinder needs to come off.
Biggest thing is, don't drop your lip- you might have bought a lemon, time to have some fun and learn along the way as you make lemons into lemonade.

 

[Bob Hedgecutter]

Once you get the cylinder off- we might be able to guess at what happened to cause the problem- that needs to be ascertained and repaired before adding a new top end- so it does not happen again.