Husqvarna 236 XTorq....too far gone to waste any more money on?

[Lehobbit]

Hello folks. I am new in here so please be gentle!! Anyway we live in Limousin in France and have a property with lots of woodland. I am looking to upgrade to a better chainsaw, but do own a small Husqvarna 236 X Torq which I bought back in 2014. It's been a good little saw.

 

A few months ago I noticed that the 236 kept losing oil from the chain oil tank when it was stored for any time. On closer inspection it seems that where the metal log teeth screw into the plastic body, there was a crack in the bottom of the threaded hole on the body . This coincides with the exact location of the oil tank, hence the leaking. I tried to repair with araldite which worked for a short time, but then failed and my leak was back.

I found another body/crankcase for sale on UK ebay for the 236 model so bought it, stripped the saw down and fitted the new body. Obviously I had to open up the crankcase and remove the piston as the chain oil tank is part of one molding (grr). Since putting the saw back together it refuses to start? Have I affected compression by taking it all apart? To add, the pull cord pulley part (plastic) has now broken, so I cannot crank it properly. 

Do you think the saw is repairable, or should I just give up and buy a new one or decent secondhand one?

There is a guy close to me selling a Makita (Dolmar) FSC4610 with a 16" bar, refurbished for only €100? it's 45hp and 1400KW. Are they any good?

[pleasant]

Well, as I say to my customers EVERYTHING is repairable. Comes down to how much you want to spend and whether what you spend stacks up against a replacement machine.....that is what affects all repairs.

 

The Husqvarna as you probably know is very much a budget saw in their range, so doesn't take a lot of labour before a repairs is uneconomic...unless like you, you can repair it yourself. However having done that you still have a saw with some serious issues now. If time isn't an issue for you, then sure spend some more time investigating and repairing, but my gut feeling is sell it on the 'bay' as a spares machine and invest in a better, new or newer saw. Particularly if you rely on one.

[Lehobbit]

8 minutes ago, pleasant said:

Well, as I say to my customers EVERYTHING is repairable. Comes down to how much you want to spend and whether what you spend stacks up against a replacement machine.....that is what affects all repairs.

 

The Husqvarna as you probably know is very much a budget saw in their range, so doesn't take a lot of labour before a repairs is uneconomic...unless like you, you can repair it yourself. However having done that you still have a saw with some serious issues now. If time isn't an issue for you, then sure spend some more time investigating and repairing, but my gut feeling is sell it on the 'bay' as a spares machine and invest in a better, new or newer saw. Particularly if you rely on one.

 Any thoughts as to why it won't work? Have I messed up the compression by taking it all apart? 

Edited January 18 by Lehobbit

[pleasant]

Loads.....not knowing how you took it apart and how you put it back together it is nigh on impossible to know exactly what has caused these issues. Anything now would be a guess out of the dozen plus reasons you have this issue now. Sorry.

[Lehobbit]

If I'm going to replace it i would probably buy a decent secondhand model, something a bit older maybe and less plasticky. What are people recommendations. Personally I prefer Stihl. I borrowed an MS291 and it was leagues ahead of the Husqvarna as you would expect.

What about something like a Stihl 026? Soild and decent power? One for sale locally for €220? (secondhand stuff is much more expensive in rural France than the UK!)

[Dan Maynard]

Stihl 026 is a solid saw, but it is 2 generations ago so I'd check spares availablity. Piston and cylinder less likely to be required but clutch springs, brake band, anti vibe mounts, starter pawls etc.

 

Saying that you'll probably get what you need on ebay even if not available new.

[Mick Dempsey]

026 is a proven saw.
 

Do you ever go back to the UK? Pick one up when you’re there.

[Lehobbit]

1 minute ago, Mick Dempsey said:

026 is a proven saw.
 

Do you ever go back to the UK? Pick one up when you’re there.

Not been back since 2016!!

[pleasant]

56 minutes ago, Lehobbit said:

If I'm going to replace it i would probably buy a decent secondhand model, something a bit older maybe and less plasticky. What are people recommendations. Personally I prefer Stihl. I borrowed an MS291 and it was leagues ahead of the Husqvarna as you would expect.

What about something like a Stihl 026? Soild and decent power? One for sale locally for €220? (secondhand stuff is much more expensive in rural France than the UK!)

Avoid the 290/390/291/391 saws, they are the farmer range of saws and are beefed up domestic style saws in the stihl range. The engines are clamshell (cheap, and bastards to work on) construction same as their domestic stuff and the power to weight ratio is poor.

 

A really nice late ms260 would be superb. If you get offered an early ms261 then walk away as they have clutch bearing issues.....later ones are all sorted, but will be dearer than what you probably want to pay

[spudulike]

Just to add, if you look at the 026, ensure that the top end is genuine Stihl and not an aftermarket cylinder. A genuine Stihl cylinder will have "Stihl", possibly "Mahle" and various part numbers near the base of the cylinder. There will be a small flat near the top centre of the cylinder close to the spark plug and it will have numbers stamped on it....this is the way I tell a cylinder is genuine....an aftermarket one will often look a bit clean on a well used machine.

The 026 is an old saw superseded by the MS260 and now the MS261 but if the 026 is little used and looking pretty fresh, it may be a good one and have seen a few out there.