repairing 350 Husky muffler bolt holes

[milkie62]

Loaned out my 350 Husky which was in great condition to a non-chainsaw user friend against my better judgement. Gave back the saw a few days later. Started it up in the dark and OH-NO....No muffler. Asked him where the muffler was.He had no clue. So he buys me one on ebay along with giving me money for a new chain which he destroyed. Put new muffler on and it will work its way loose after a few minutes now. Thought about giving it a light tap with a punch at each hole in the cylinder to tighten up threads. Other idea was to helicoil it. Anybody have any ideas what I should do ? As a last resort I was going to buy a big bore kit off ebay. Saw was a great runner and the forest service wanted to know if I had done anything to it to make it run so good previously to the muffler mishap. Thanks Ed

 

[alexcagle]

Keep the Oem cylinder. Those big bore kits don't really give more power, plus they are far inferior.
Get some 5mm x 2D helicoils off ebay. They are longer so they resist pulling out. They also have the bits by themselves, or in a boxed metric helicoi tool kit ranging from 5mm to 12mm.
Then use red 266 loctite to keep them from loosening up. Yes, you will be able to remove them later, if you want.

 

[alexcagle]

Here are two links for what you'd need.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/232116549905


https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/142469868927

 

[alexcagle]

This stuff is good to prevent the aluminum from galling while tapping. Any automotive or good hardware store carries it.
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/382110927063

 

[redunshee]

Along with the above thoughts get a muffler bracket like the 346xp. The 350's were notorious about loose muffler bolts due to vibration. You can cut off one leg of the bracket to fit your case. Great insurance.

 

[Big_Wood]

if the threads still bite then there is no need to heli coil them. the long 346 muffler bolts will break or strip the heads out before they strip the threads. limp wristing the bolts tight will cause them to back out quick too. if you are the type to run a saw with a stripped muffler bolt hole your probably not the type that's gonna fix this properly so hopefully tightening them properly and getting the 346 support bracket will get you saw cutting again. a good drip of red loctite on the muffler bolts works great. the heat of the saw makes it so they remove fairly easy but stay put until you want them out. just don't use green loctite lol

 

[alexcagle]

if the threads still bite then there is no need to heli coil them. the long 346 muffler bolts will break or strip the heads out before they strip the threads. limp wristing the bolts tight will cause them to back out quick too. if you are the type to run a saw with a stripped muffler bolt hole your probably not the type that's gonna fix this properly so hopefully tightening them properly and getting the 346 support bracket will get you saw cutting again. a good drip of red loctite on the muffler bolts works great. the heat of the saw makes it so they remove fairly easy but stay put until you want them out. just don't use green loctite lol

............limp wristing...............baha!

 

[Big_Wood]

............limp wristing...............baha!

better then ham fisting! lol

 

[Husq445]

Ball bearing set over hole and tapped with a hammer is all you need, worked great on my 350.

 

[jltrent]

Good info

 

[milkie62]

Ball bearing set over hole and tapped with a hammer is all you need, worked great on my 350.

Will try this along with the 346 bracket and red loctite. Never loaning a good saw out again.

 

[jr27236]

Will try this along with the 346 bracket and red loctite. Never loaning a good saw out again.

That would be my advise. Some people have NO business operating a chainsaw, that is most likely why they dont own one in the first place. Not a toy or a tool that has !my forgiveness for mishandling or improper use.

 

[canadian175]

I make it a rule NEVER lone out a saw to someone who dont have one or use one.i had same miss fourtane lot yrs ago only i never got any money for damages.some guys are lucky to get some money back beacuse of a misadventure.i made that rule and stuck bye it.anyone borrowing saws dont usually have any or no experience in using 1.

 

[Wood Doctor]

I make it a rule NEVER lone out a saw to someone who dont have one or use one.i had same miss fourtane lot yrs ago only i never got any money for damages.some guys are lucky to get some money back beacuse of a misadventure.i made that rule and stuck bye it.anyone borrowing saws dont usually have any or no experience in using 1.

Good advice. Loaning a saw out that you want to keep usually means it will come back broken or ruined. That's Murphy's Law. I keep a few lazy dogs around as loaners but not many because I seldom loan any saw out.

 

[sean donato]

Not to step on anyone's willy, but this thread is from 2017....

 

[sundance]

Not to step on anyone's willy, but this thread is from 2017....

Wonder if he fixed the saw yet?

 

[Wood Doctor]

Wonder if he fixed the saw yet?

Probably not. He has not reported back in five years. The underlying message is still there, however, as reported by Canadian175 and me.