Broke my Echo CS-355T

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Cliff R

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Finally broke something significant on one of my Echo's. I have quite a few in the line-up at this point and to date they have been pretty much flawless. Couple of days ago I was out checking the property and had a HUGE Cherry across one of the paths. The only saw I had with me was the CS-355T. Being older and a little lazy these days I'd didn't make the trip back to the shop for more saw and attacked the Cherry log with the CS-355T. It did a fantastic job of cutting the log and I was able to roll the 3 pretty large sections off the path to come back later and cut the whole thing up with a larger saw.

Good plan right? Oh no, I'm NOT being able to leave well enough alone I decided to work the piss out of the little CS-355T and do some more cutting. Oh yeah, the way the tree fell with the root ball still on it the entire log was elevated about 3' off the ground. How can you pass that up? The litte 355 was going thru that big Cherry log like Grant thru Richmond then all of a sudden it started loosing power and slowing down. Not leaving well enough alone once again I just kep "pushing" it to finish the cut the it stalled out against the clutch. OOPS!

I worked it out of the log and the chain and bar were bone dry. Oh, once again being overly optimistic I figured that I probably ran the oil tank dry as I was cutting for at least 10 minutes. It was just about empty so just figured that was the issue. Back at the shop after refilling with gas/oil it just wasn't oiling the chain very well, then started to do OK. Then as quickly as it started to oil the chain all oil flow stopped.

I quickly tore it down and the oil pump gear is toast. It appears to be a gray plastic material and not replaceable, have to get a new oil pump. The drive gear behind the clutch is metal, so good to go there. I ordered a new genuine Echo part that was nearly $50 instead of the $6-10 offshore replacements that showed up all over the place on a Google search.

Not sure if that's a design flaw with the 355T's but the saw doesn't have that much time on it and very well maintained...........
 
Just had to do the same with my 271T. The teeth on the drive were sheared clean. This saw was practically new with nothing but stihl platinum bar oil put through it. They must have a manufacturing problem.
 
I have a small 280T, its my most used saw and I never had any problems with it whatsoever.
I also have 360T but its not used that much, never heard or seen the oilpump/gear being an issue on these saws though.
 
The new oiler showed up today, back together and working fine. It's putting out a LOT more oil than the original oiler, at least at the mid-setting, so I turned it back some. Not quite sure what's up with that put at the rate it's oiling the bar I doubt if the oil tank will last the entire fuel tank. I'll put a tank thru it and see how that goes.....
 
Cliff, is it possible that crud got in the oil tank and stopped the gear? Is there a filter to prevent that from happening? I am very careful not to contaminate the oil when removing the cap, but I suppose some chips could get in unseen. The 355T is a great saw, but I had to remove the completely plugged exhaust screen. I will be trying a different 2 cycle oil - Red something or other.
 
In my case it was the gear that is inside the oil pump assembly. Teeth sheared off it. This saw was about 2 year from purchase date. Very lightly used ( 10 - 15 tanks gas). the oil was very clean. Straight from the stihl platinum bottle to the saw. I check both hoses for blockage but there was nothing.
 
Just had to have the oil pump replaced on my lightly-used CS400 under warranty, and now my 590 has stopped oiling after only a few uses.

Must be a design issue.
 
Just had to have the oil pump replaced on my lightly-used CS400 under warranty, and now my 590 has stopped oiling after only a few uses.

Must be a design issue.
Not to invalidate what any one has experienced but I’m going out on a limb and assuming it’s not really a design issue. I’ve got 2 400s, one being nearly 13 years old and used beyond its capacity, and it oils like a dream. Same with my newer one that is heavily used for about a year. Also have a 680 that is an unstoppable workhorse for 5 years and they are all superior oilers to my Stihl and Husqy(261 & 395). Never replaced an oil filter either.
 
Companies change design in subtle ways from time to time on existing products and never make it public. They could have cost reduced the oil pump without adequate testing. It is certainly an unusual situation considering their prior high quality.
 
If that’s the case I’ll catch it on my latest 400. Bought it new this year. It’s got some hours on it though. Time will tell.
 
"Cliff, is it possible that crud got in the oil tank and stopped the gear? Is there a filter to prevent that from happening?"

The old gear turns freely if you catch it with a small screwdriver, just sheared the teeth off in one spot for some reason. The new pump also had the same grey color plastic gear, so no upgrade that I can see. It's driven by a metal drive gear off the clutch. I did apply a small amount of grease to the gears and to the clutch needle bearing when I put it back together.

So far so good, just went thru two tanks and it's working fine. Putting out a LOT of oil even with the adjuster turned back but the oil tank isn't empty when the gas tank is so not much worried about it.

This is the first mechanical issue I've had with any of my Echo saws. I've had to put fuel lines on a couple of my leaf blowers and replace the carburetor on my string trimmer. It's around 20 years old and the carb finally crapped out. I did get tricked by some careful wording in an advertisement into buying an offshore replacement carb and it didn't last for ****. Second time in I made sure to get a genuine OEM carb for it and good to go.......
 
Cool beans. I bought my 355T as a "Poor Runner" with no b&c. Original carb would flood saw out something bad. Put in OEM rebuild kit with no luck. Adjustments no help either. Broke down a bought an OEM Walbro for $65 at the time.... problem solved and a peppy little top handle!
 
Finally broke something significant on one of my Echo's. I have quite a few in the line-up at this point and to date they have been pretty much flawless. Couple of days ago I was out checking the property and had a HUGE Cherry across one of the paths. The only saw I had with me was the CS-355T. Being older and a little lazy these days I'd didn't make the trip back to the shop for more saw and attacked the Cherry log with the CS-355T. It did a fantastic job of cutting the log and I was able to roll the 3 pretty large sections off the path to come back later and cut the whole thing up with a larger saw.

Good plan right? Oh no, I'm NOT being able to leave well enough alone I decided to work the piss out of the little CS-355T and do some more cutting. Oh yeah, the way the tree fell with the root ball still on it the entire log was elevated about 3' off the ground. How can you pass that up? The litte 355 was going thru that big Cherry log like Grant thru Richmond then all of a sudden it started loosing power and slowing down. Not leaving well enough alone once again I just kep "pushing" it to finish the cut the it stalled out against the clutch. OOPS!

I worked it out of the log and the chain and bar were bone dry. Oh, once again being overly optimistic I figured that I probably ran the oil tank dry as I was cutting for at least 10 minutes. It was just about empty so just figured that was the issue. Back at the shop after refilling with gas/oil it just wasn't oiling the chain very well, then started to do OK. Then as quickly as it started to oil the chain all oil flow stopped.

I quickly tore it down and the oil pump gear is toast. It appears to be a gray plastic material and not replaceable, have to get a new oil pump. The drive gear behind the clutch is metal, so good to go there. I ordered a new genuine Echo part that was nearly $50 instead of the $6-10 offshore replacements that showed up all over the place on a Google search.

Not sure if that's a design flaw with the 355T's but the saw doesn't have that much time on it and very well maintained...........
I'd have a hard time passing up a log three feet off the ground. Would probably cut it with whatever I had in my hand. Thanks for the story, good luck with the repair.
 
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