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Deleted member 83629
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55 rancher thats a antique 
New Top Handle Chainsaw - Echo CS303T info?
- Thread starter Peter White
- Start date
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Peter White
PAW
Will do. Looking forward to playing with it tomorrow. I hope it runs as good as it looks! Have heard a lot of good things about this saw and am quite thrilled to have gotten my hands on one....
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Deleted member 83629
Guest
i know randy ported a 355t a while back and it a mean little sh** now
he goes by mastermind on the forum.
he goes by mastermind on the forum.
Peter White
PAW
Well, I'm guessing about 10 to 15 years old or so? It's in great shape with low hours, I checked piston and cylinder today and they look new. Needs a new fuel line, has some high power issues... I'm pretty sure it's the fuel line, anyway - it's full of holes! Runs great normally though, and does what I need it to!55 rancher thats a antique
Peter White
PAW
Yeah! I saw that, gets yer blood pumping. Thanks for the replys and advice!
There were five Echo CS341 types in the pile I got this morning.
Got two to run this evening.
Got two to run this evening.
mike515
ArboristSite Operative
I used to use Echo top-handle saws. They did ok but they also have some design flaws. You may never notice the one that pissed me off the most unless you're starting it 50 times a day but.....the recoil spring in the starter pull will cause problems after a while. The spring itself comes in a plastic housing. That sits down in the side cover under a plastic pull cord reel. The plastic spring housing sits in a recessed part of that cover. What eventually happens is the spring cover/housing gets warped and moves away from the the spring. This allows the spring to spread out into the recessed area enough to not allow that plastic piece to but pushed back it. That warped piece then causes enough friction on the pull cord reel to not allow it to reel in the cord and it will really irritate you. It used to pissed me off all the time. You can try to take it apart and recoil the spring but it will almost never work because the housing is warped. It will just do the same thing later that same day.
So if that's what's on your saw...my solution was to always have a new spring/housing on the truck. It's a quick fix and the spring is about $8. It happened often enough that our saw shop ordered them in advance knowing we would need them. Always buy two. I eventually stopped buying those saws because of crap like that though. But otherwise, they are ok.
So if that's what's on your saw...my solution was to always have a new spring/housing on the truck. It's a quick fix and the spring is about $8. It happened often enough that our saw shop ordered them in advance knowing we would need them. Always buy two. I eventually stopped buying those saws because of crap like that though. But otherwise, they are ok.
The five Echos in that pile above all had recoil starter issues. Mostly missing the rope and handle. Echo used a small diameter rope on an over wide pulley. Broke easily.
Peter White
PAW
Dang, that's quite a batting average! I will definitely pick up some spare cord and a spring next time I am in the shop. Thanks - that should save me some aggravation someday!
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Deleted member 83629
Guest
why not thin steel cable instead of rope that stuff never breaks lol i seen it in some 1950's two stroke lawnmower engines.
Peter White
PAW
Well, just went out and made a few cuts with the CS355T. That little saw rips! It seems comparable at least to the Stihl MS201T I tried out - I'd say likely better (it's been a few days since I ran it), but either way I'm thrilled with it. It's 15degF here and it started in 3 pulls, warmed up nice, then tore through an 8" log like it was butter. Saw is in great shape, and I can't wait to get up in a tree with it! If it was a little warmer I would have set the carb, but it seemed to run darn well right out of the mailbox.
mike515
ArboristSite Operative
I never had much of a problem with the pull cord itself. Just the recoil springs. The reason I switched back to Stihl was more about pricing. I don't remember the exact prices but when I was going to buy a new saw the guys at the Echo dealer told me the prices went up so I decided to check out the Stihl prices and I'm pretty sure the Stihl I bought was over $100 less than the Echo. It runs just as well, it's fairly comparable and it doesn't have any issues with the recoil. In fact, I can't think of the name of it but it has some kind of double recoil that allows you to barely pull the cord to start it and the gas and oil caps are much better than the Echo.
I think if one was using one of the Echo tophandles on a commercial basis it would be wise to carry an extra complete rewind starter to avoid any downtime.
Four screws and ready to go again.
Four screws and ready to go again.
Get your self a CS520 and muff modd it, you wont bother fixing a gutless 55 Rancher. Steve
