Husky 359 back from the dead to waking the dead

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VMI2002

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In light of the fierce winter to hit the Mid Atlantic in 2013/14 with the snow and Ice Storms I was in need of chainsaw. For my first saw I decided to stick to my mantra of do it right the first time and never look back. I found myself at the fork in the road as to rebuilding a quality saw or purchasing a quality saw. In the end the sense of pride and the challenge of tinkering with a small engine super-ceded the quick swipe of the plastic at my local Husky Dealer. For those interested, I was eyeballing the triple nickel like a obese kid in a Dunking Donuts at the local Husky Dealer. However with all the write ups on a ported 359 and its potential I went the modding route.

To rewind.... I spent 3 months reading up and squirreling info from all the vets here on the site for a good GP Saw to handle anything light of daily heavy commercial usage. I was searching for a deal on a saw in the 60cc bracket. With a little bit of luck and some dedicated sharking on ebay I was able to score a excellent condition 359 etech with a power-box on a buy it now price late on a Friday night. After arrival and upon tear down it was evident the previous owner probably straight gassed it on their 1st week/month of ownership.


IMG_0945.JPG Exhaust Port Side of the Piston showing failure.
IMG_0946.JPG
Probably could have got away with a new meteor piston & ring, along with a little elbow grease on the jug with a scotch brite pad and some kerosene. After reading srcarr52 thread on the replacement Hyway kit I thought I would give it a try. Emailed Randy Watson for his help and opinion and in less than a week had a hyway replacement kit and cabers ring on my doorstep.
While I was waiting on the hyway kit, I sent treemonkey the OE walbro carb for his rebuild. Placed an order with Baileys for the replacement intake shroud and metal clamp to replace the plastic intake band which is the known achiles heel with this model saw along with a new air cleaner.
Looking at the inners of the E Tech muffler after removal, t's a miracle that this saw could even run. From the info I garnished the 359 model really seemed to benefit from a MM. I ordered a Chinese Tube Style muffler for surgery off Ebay for $28 and it came with a fuel filter, replacement plug and few other minor parts. Upon arrival I immediately took the 3/8 drill and RTX to it. IMG_0991.JPG Back side shot prior to cutting the lip and opening it up to match the expanded exhaust port on the jug along with the heat shield and gasket. Now there is no lip for the gases to hit exiting the engine. IMG_0992.JPG
Next I took the 3/8 drill and a 1/2" Metal Bit to the partition wall in the center of the muffler. If you have not drilled a muffler partition wall, it's surprisingly thick stuff. Forgot to get a photo but after drilling four 1/2" holes in the partition wall I cleaned up the holes with a RTX burr and dremel grinding stones removing any potential IED's hanging by a thread to implode my saw down the road. Then I got to thinking why not just connect all four holes. With a little more help from the RTX and burrs and dremel stones I created 2 large openings the size of cylinder exhaust port on the partion wall along with the factory 1/2" hole in the lower right of the partition wall which was difficult to reach with the RTX. I left that hole alone. Needless to say getting the gases through the partition wall should not be a hindrance. As long I have a exit hole on the muffler it should flow pretty good. IMG_0990.JPG
I opened her up enough to fit a piece of 1" EMT I had laying around. RTX tool used with the grinding stones and cutting disc to remove the original 5/16 inside diameter exhaust tube.
IMG_1020.JPG
Next up brazed on the EMT pipe die cut with an angle cut for looks using a O/A torch. Brazing rods were Benzomatic NS3 nickel silver flux coated rods. Working temp is around 1700 degrees. MAPP or Propane will not get it hot enough FYI. If you are trying to replicate this mod for you muffler you need to get that muffler and piping cherry red and hot to get the rod to flow. Once it flows it flows clean and binds very well. Working strength is very high. See Benzomatic's site for specs.
IMG_1021.JPG
Finished product after hitting it with some High Temp Deck Grill Paint.

All I need now is the Carb back from Treemonkey and she will be back in the reassembly department. While waiting I took my RTX and burr grinders to the Hyway Jug by expanding horizontally the exits and intake ports. Unfortunately I lost the pictures I took on my iPhone of the port job. With the exception of the one listed below. To start I blueprinted the cylinder wall with a sharpie and plastic ruler marking how wide I would expand the ports with my RTX Burrs and Stones. FYI, Carbide Cutting Burrs cut quick and fast. They also leave a rough finish. Be careful and keep your rotary tool at a mild speed if your a first timer porter like myself. After expanding to the desired width, I cleaned up the ports with the dremel stones to a rough looking but smooth to the finger feel finish. My dremel tool kit which I purchased off Amazon included 4 multi dimensional grinding stones, and I did use all of them for smoothing out the finish left by the carbide burrs. Carbide Burr Set was also purchased off Amazon separately. If I had to guess I would say that I opened up the Hyway ports horizontally by 5/16" on each side of the port. One note I caught when comparing the Hyway Cylinder to the OE Cylinder was that the Hyway cylinder did appear to be wider. I did not have a set of calipers but from an eyeball measure it did have that appearance. Again, I opened up the horizontal ports on the Hyway kit by 1/4" on each side and put a mild taper going into the intake and exhaust ports. I did remove a good bit of material on the shoulder out to the I/E ports creating that cone shape chamber in the I/E ports. Next I opened up the heat deflector and gasket to the size of the exhaust ports also making sure it matched the muffler opening leaving no lip or snag for exhaust gases to deflect on. I did the same on the intake side with the rubber intake boot, not much grinding just created a smooth transition from the intake boot to the port.
IMG_0994.JPG
I left the TP alone for the most part due to the fact I did not have a tool to reach the TP on the cylinder wall. With the exception of removing the square block separating the 2 ports at the base of the Jug they were left untouched. Now I know this will get mixed reviews. With my redneck engineering degree, I tested the concept with Water from a utility sink to simulate gas vapors and flow from the crankcase through to TP. By wedge shaping the middle partition on the transfer ports more water moved through the TP with less resistance than the flat angle. Next up, cleaned out the jug with my air tool, did a water flush, let it air dry, then baked the Jug in my oven like scarr52 did for a heat cycle. Just waiting on the Carb from Treemonkey. Next day carb arrived back in the mail and the saw began the reassembly process. Pretty straight forward on the reassembly. I did use Blue LocTite on the cylinder bolts, exhaust bolts, Felling Spike Bolts, and top handle bolts. I was going to replace the fuel line and fuel filter another known week point but they inspected well and I decided do this at a later date when needed or at failure. For now the parts will sit in the parts box. IMG_1023.JPG
Tossed on a beater bar and Stihl RS chain until the new bar and chain set arrive.
IMG_1024.jpg
Went and did some test cuts cleaning up some fallen oak in the 10-20" range. She ripped through some oak. Muffler is so loud it could be heard across the Mason Dixon waking the dead Yanks. Buddy I was cutting with could not get over the RPM's in the cut. After test cutting I did a quick torque check on all the bolts ensuring snugness. Could not be happier with my first saw. Would like to thank Rwatson & Treemonley for their assistance in the build.
 
sounds like a happy ending...nice work and good explanation. I am going to try to imitate you on my $40 359. why did you purchase an aftermarket muffler? couldnt you have modified the OEM muffler with the same result? I know it has alot of EPA things but couldnt you have done it anyway? can you post a pic of the intake and exhaust ports?
 
There was a couple reasons for the Huztl chinese muffler off ebay purchase. I live in MD, were pretty damp year round, most of buddies in LE never heard of the spark arrestor gestapo making busts or writing fines. I read in the 2 stroke tuners handbook that a 2 stroke engine needs to be planned from the start with the exhaust system. I knew what I wanted and took the most direct route.

1. I wanted an angled port off the saws 2:00 with no top port as my finished product. I liked the look of it. Not to mention from an engineering vantage point it would direct all the gases away from the operator in both a felling position or if you bucked up against a large fallen tree stump with the bar plunged to the dog there are no worries of hot gases coming back into your grill. I still do not understand why manufacturers direct all the hot gases towards the saws shell cover or brake. It just made more sense to direct the gases away from the saw on the clutch cover side. If I modded a top port muffler whether it was a cat or non cat like the one on it when it arrived, I would still have to deal with the brazing or welding shut of the muffler opening on the roof = Cutting, More Brazing Rods, piece of donor steel, and time.
2. If you look inside one of the Cat mufflers it just looks like a hassle. I wanted as hollowed out of a shell as possible. I did not want to split the muffler with a die grinder and weld it back up hoping to get it right with regards to lining up the factory mounting holes and bracketry. I rolled the dice and won on it since the description was non existent on ebay, seller had no clue when inquired, and there was no info here or any of the other the forums about these Tube Style Chinese Pieces sometimes referred to as jungle muffs or EU style.
3. It came with a host of spare parts. Fuel Line, Fuel Filter, Spark Plug, 2 pieces oil seals, Starter Handle, and Decompression Valve which I wanted for the new Jug.
4. It was 28.89 delivered to the door.

If I did it again I would do the same thing. It is time consuming. Then again it was my first time and new to the procedure. Im extremely impressed with the outcome. Only thing different on round 2; I would put way more loctite on the 2 bolts that secure the muffler to the front bracket on the saw. I did have one work loose in the test cutting after the build. Both those bolts now look painted loctite blue.

Unfortunately, I lost the pictures of the porting on my i phone. The recommended metal clamp upgrade on the intake boot is a PITA. Sorry, I do not plan on taking that off for a pic. If I do pull the muffler I will snap a picture of the exhaust port. If you look at my ports and compare them to the Factory Scorched jug which I did ts night and day of a difference.

On another note: I did forget to mention the squish in my write up. I tested the squish with 4 pieces of lead core soft solder. The Hyway kits are very tight as mentioned in Scarr52 thread. I did run a base gasket even though I was hoping to eliminate the gasket and use Loctite 51831. What I did with the base gasket was trim away alot of the excess overlay. The Hyway kit is less restrictive with the closed ports over the OE jug. Go to weedeaterman.com to look at his pictures. Meaning the untouched gasket would obstruct flow on the factory untouched Hyway Kit without trimming it back. Prior to mounting the jug, I took a x-acto knife, flipped the jug on its head placed the gasket over the base, and trimmed liberally the excess gasket material to not impede flow around the transfer ports.

Second Afterthought, Randy recommended the cabers ring. In addition to his input which mirrored what I had read, the rings do increase compression in compression tests and should extend the engine life do the hardness of the material used in the manufacturing process. For $15 odd bucks the kit came with 2 rings, well the 359 only has 1 piston ring so I have a back up or one for another build. If you go the Hyway route on your 359 its a no brainer to add in the caber ring. It's definitely a high compression setup.
 
ok great. now alot is making sense. VMI. there is nothing "redneck" in this write up. good job. I did look for the metal clamp you mentioned at baileys but didnt see anything. I havent really gotten to look at my saw too much as I have other projects that will make money for me. if you dont plan on using the other ring I will certainly purchase it from you. look forward to future posts!
 
Sounds like you done good. I well ported and tuned 359 will run with a stock 372 in my opinion. Mine has been a reliable work horse and a very strong runner after porting. You were lucky to find one in such good shape looks like a brand new saw still.
 
VM12002--

I was amazed at your craftsmanship as I read your post. My guess is at one time you might have been into customizing old Ford engines : - )

Foggy
 
You brought up another great point Roundhead for fellow 35niners looking to get their saw done right. When I was looking for the clamp it was no where to be found on Baileys, Lil Red Barn, and another site I cannot remember. They all ell it, problem is you cannot locate it.... and if you do the description is lousy and you will most likely truck on like I did.

It left me at the time with the only option of ebay sellers for the part on an easy search. I was skeptical about ordering for the lack of accuracy when dealing with a very specific part from ebay bulk sellers, especially one if done in error will lead me to another scorched P&C. I emailed sales support at Baileys and Robert Bell responded to my concern about not being able to locate the clamp in their database either. We emailed back and forth and it eventually got to the point where he had to email me a 359 Husqvarna engine diagram and I had to MS Paint circle the part I needed and return it to him for him to give me the part number to enter into the search engine on their web site to order.

I'm going to save you Husky 35niners $2.40 with this recommendation.

HVP 537 25 13 02 is the part # for the upgrade Manifold Partition. $7.27 ***It comes with the clamp. Which is the recommended upgrade/fix for the OE faulty plastic clamp that was known to fail.
HVP 537 43 88 01 is the clamp part # that you do not need to order this unless you are looking for a spare/backup clamp.

Robert Bell nor Baileys provided that info when I ordered. I could have saved $2.40....oh well another part in the replacement part bin. I recommended this to him following the arrival of the order when I had 2 clamps that Bailey's clarify this on their web site with a better description and picture, but with your recent search Roundhead they must not have moved on my recommendation. Which is surprising hearing about all the 359's that locked up due to this Husqvarna engineering blunder. If it were me and someone typed in Husqvarna 359 I would list that at the first part in the search results. Just my $0.02 Rant Finished!!!

Afterthought: Some of you may think..... well I can just order the clamp for $2.40 and save the difference. Not the case, because if you know about the OE partition then you know that it has a plastic band clamp that is part of the original faulty manifold partition. So you cannot just order the clamp for the repair. You need the newly re-engineered replacement part to get your saw done right. So simply order the HVP 537 25 13 02 part with your next baileys order and your :rock:

Never ran a 372 but would like to for a comparison to be able to chime in with, but I have seen this mentioned in numerous threads. I'm just a finance guy that likes to play with tools, guns, engines, mud tires and other stuff outlawed inside city limits.
 
Just great. I also came away, from lotsa reading, with the impression that the Hyway kits were the only way to go, especially after a rebuild thread comparo that might be the same one you referenced. Thanks. Nice work.
 
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