OE 346XP Project

[jammin_with_j]

Have been doing a lot of reading, some posting and a lot of looking for saws and parts. I really wanted a 346xp, but don't have the money just like lots of guys here. But I was not going to let the money stop me from getting one. So I've been searching high and low locally for saws and parts and have met a lot of great people in doing so.

I met an older gent who worked for a tree service company for many years and decided he was getting too old and tired to carry on his work and passion. I contacted him through Kijiji when I saw an add posted (just like Craigslist). When I called him he said he had a truck load of stuff and wanted next to nothing for it. It was various saws brands and they were all broken into parts and pieces. Went out to his place and had a talk with him about what he wanted to sell. I didn't take pictures but I filled my car twice, trunk, back seats and front seats, to the roof with barely enough room for me to sit inside. He showed me some home made tools and we talked about his past, I think he was really happy to see someone with interest buying his things. He wished me well and told me to keep his number and call in the future incase he had more. We were both happy as pigs in sh** and when I left his house I could see him smiling.

So lets talk OE 346xp guys, I think I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on some parts soon.

View attachment 283936

 

[jammin_with_j]

I got a NOS OE 346xp cylinder almost a year ago and knew I had to hang on to it until the right opportunity presented itself. So looking through the parts I found two sets of case halves for the 346xp. Both were date to be OE models, one was an XPG, on just an XP. I was able to salvage one good set, the other two halves were ruined beyond my repair. Along my travels I had picked up a ruined 345 that was in pieces but was very low hours before it got straight gassed.

Can I use the crank out of the 345 in a 346xp? I can see that the stroke and bore is the same for the two models, but they have different part #'s.

I don't have the generator or heated carb for the XPG model, but do have the wrap handle and gas tank. Should I go XPG, or XP? I saved the XP tag from the case half of the regular model, so I could swap the serial tag (or is that a big no no? neither saw was stolen and I will be building this saw from parts)

I know about the weak intake, so I don't need to go over that, but what about carbs? I've got the walbro carb for the 346xp, but I've also got two carbs and intakes from the 357/359. Would I benifit from swapping the carbs and intakes? I've got a heated carb from a 357/359 would that work in the set up for an XPG model 346?

Many thanks on this topic, I know I've got a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm hoping I can build myself a budget 346 that will preform well. Any help/tips is greatly appreciated. I'm missing a top cover and some other bits, but I hope I can source out a lot of these pieces. I know I'm in for a 42mm piston and bearings/seals.

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[moody]

Use the Walbro from the 357 with the 346 boot. Muffler mod on top of that should give you a decent gain.

 

[nmurph]

If the Walbro is good, I would use it. It will supply plenty of fuel for a saw that is only MM. The venturi on the 357 may be too big unless you are porting and may make for sluggish throttle response.

I don't think the 345 crank will work. I have one in the shop that I will have to check out and compare to a 346.

 

[moody]

If the Walbro is good, I would use it. It will supply plenty of fuel for a saw that is only MM. The venturi on the 357 may be too big unless you are porting and may make for sluggish throttle response.

I don't think the 345 crank will work. I have one in the shop that I will have to check out and compare to a 346.

What's the venturi on those? I take it the case is smaller on the OE's?

 

[nmurph]

345 vs 346 crank

...I don't think the 345 crank will work. I have one in the shop that I will have to check out and compare to a 346.

I had a couple of minutes to rip the 345 crank out of the case last night. Here is a pic of it next to a 346 crank.

 

[SawTroll]

What's the venturi on those? I take it the case is smaller on the OE's?

The venturi of the Walbro HDA-199 etc is 16.66mm.

The venturi of an original 346xp (Zama) carb is 15.0mm. The Walbro used on the first ones is about the same, but I don't remember the exact number.

 

[johnlhatfield1]

Sounds Like a gd score jammin

Have been doing a lot of reading, some posting and a lot of looking for saws and parts. I really wanted a 346xp, but don't have the money just like lots of guys here. But I was not going to let the money stop me from getting one. So I've been searching high and low locally for saws and parts and have met a lot of great people in doing so.

I met an older gent who worked for a tree service company for many years and decided he was getting too old and tired to carry on his work and passion. I contacted him through Kijiji when I saw an add posted (just like Craigslist). When I called him he said he had a truck load of stuff and wanted next to nothing for it. It was various saws brands and they were all broken into parts and pieces. Went out to his place and had a talk with him about what he wanted to sell. I didn't take pictures but I filled my car twice, trunk, back seats and front seats, to the roof with barely enough room for me to sit inside. He showed me some home made tools and we talked about his past, I think he was really happy to see someone with interest buying his things. He wished me well and told me to keep his number and call in the future incase he had more. We were both happy as pigs in sh** and when I left his house I could see him smiling.

So lets talk OE 346xp guys, I think I'm just about ready to pull the trigger on some parts soon.

View attachment 283936

If you find extra Husky parts: I may contact you. Do you have enough for your 346 project? One thing about being an AS member, yoou arent alone when it comes to finding answers or some parts.

John

 

[angelo c]

Wonder if the oiler drive will work with that big of a diff on the shoulder for the drive side?

 

[jammin_with_j]

I had a couple of minutes to rip the 345 crank out of the case last night. Here is a pic of it next to a 346 crank.

I was wondering what the difference was between the cranks. I was thinking the shaft diameter was different, or the big end of the rod might have a different bearing, but this shows clearly what the difference is. Is this because the 345 has a different oiler set up vs the 350,353,346 with the adjustable? While I'm on that thought will a 350 crank work?

Looks like I'll be looking for a crank, I'm not too worried about that as I have a box of used cranks just didn't have the time yet to get to them. Now that I have a picture for reference I can take my 345 crank and use it to compare. Thanks nmurph, you've helped out with lots of stuff so far. Seems I am able to find lots of early model Husky's for projects with odd part requirements. :msp_rolleyes:

 

[jammin_with_j]

Wonder if the oiler drive will work with that big of a diff on the shoulder for the drive side?

Would i be able to make a spacer to compensate for the difference in the shaft? I figure it would have to be something pressed on, and made of a softer material than the steel, so it won't wear away at the shaft or other parts. For what its worth I'm probably just going to wait to find the right crank. I've got a few other pieces to scrounge up for the saw anyways. I just wanted to make sure I had the main pieces like cases and of course crank.

 

[jammin_with_j]

I checked the crank I've got here to make sure it was not going to work, and sure enough it was one of the 345 crank's.
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[blsnelling]

I recommend using the entire intake tract from the 359. I find that the boot fits well and has a significantly larger ID than the 346 boot.

 

[jammin_with_j]

I recommend using the entire intake tract from the 359. I find that the boot fits well and has a significantly larger ID than the 346 boot.

I have looked at the intake tract for both saws. Yes indeed the intake from the 357/359 is larger in size(diameter) compared to the 346/353 inatke tract. But without the addition of the larger carb will I benifit from swapping the intakes? I did some rough measurements of the intake diameters.

The 346 intake pieces have 17.68mm for the IN side to the carb, 17.05mm EX side from the carb.
The 357 intake pieces have 19.14mm for the IN side to the carb, 18.48mm EX side from the carb.

These are just rough measurements, and I did not remove the brass sleeve for the 346 setup. Is the brass just to keep the intake rigid, or does it serve another purpose? With it removed it measures 17.85mm, a small gain in diameter.

Not much to gain on the end that connects to the cylinder intake, they both look very similar.

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357 is the first pic, 346 2nd, comparison of the pieces side by side in the last two pictures. Noticable gain for the filter side on the 357 intake, the filter has more area to allow air in through the filter as well.

Yes the plastic clamp has to be fixed, problem well documented on the site by many.

 

[nmurph]

...Is the brass just to keep the intake rigid, or does it serve another purpose?...

I think that screen is there to promote mixing of the A/F.

I don't think you need a 357 carb unless you are porting the saw.

 

[jammin_with_j]

I think that screen is there to promote mixing of the A/F.

I don't think you need a 357 carb unless you are porting the saw.

The air fuel mix was something I was thinking while I was looking at it, but seems its design would hinder flow through the passage. I don't think I'll be using the 357 carb either, although I would like to port the saw I'm lacking in knowledge and tooling at the moment to do such a task. I've got a Walbro HDA159A carb, I thought in the IPL it stated it was a US version carb.

A snap shot of the two filters for comparisson. Clear that the 357 filter will allow more flow to the carb(and yes I know the filter is ripped, just using it as an example)

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There are a few different versions of the Walbro carb listed through the various IPL's. The HDA 154A/B/C,159A,182 & 195, I'm not interested in going the route of the Zama as I haven't found one yet in my parts. But I very well could have some of the different carbs in a box of carbs I've got. Do any of the models offer a benifit over the others. I have yet to look up the venturi size, and will look into it. I remember reading that there were issues with the various Walbro carbs produced in the 3XX series saws, I'm just not sure which models were affected.

 

[jammin_with_j]

Heated my cases up yesterday to pop the bearings out. It was my first time and we learned about the coefficient of expansion in school. Principles are that two different materials will expand at two different rates. The Magnesium having a higher coefficient of expansion allowed the case to expand more than the bearings, and with a light tap they came out easily. I set the oven to about 230F.

Both bearings were marked, SKF BB1 3023 and SKF 6202 C3. Measured them up and now I've got to look to see if I can get them. The 6202 is pretty commonly used, have seen them in the 254/262 on both sides of the case. So buying the 6202 won't be an issue to get from a bearing supplier, but on the SKF site they no longer list the 3023. Is this going to be a dealer only part now, or is it still available through a bearing supplier? It doesn't have to be SKF, but that's the brand I pulled out of the saw and it seems odd that the manufacturer would stop producing them. Anyone know if these are available outside of a dealer?

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[SawTroll]

I have looked at the intake tract for both saws. Yes indeed the intake from the 357/359 is larger in size(diameter) compared to the 346/353 inatke tract. But without the addition of the larger carb will I benifit from swapping the intakes? I did some rough measurements of the intake diameters.

... .

No, the intake just has to match the carb venturi, or better.

 

[SawTroll]

The air fuel mix was something I was thinking while I was looking at it, but seems its design would hinder flow through the passage. I don't think I'll be using the 357 carb either, although I would like to port the saw I'm lacking in knowledge and tooling at the moment to do such a task. I've got a Walbro HDA159A carb, I thought in the IPL it stated it was a US version carb. .....

The HDA-159 is the EPA version of the -154, so that fits. Both have a nominal venturi of 15.08mm, which was quite good on a 45cc saw!