Possible 357 Problem

[Stubby]

Well looks like i can change the name of this thread to Definate 357 problem !!. Brought it into the dealer other day . Dropped around this morning to see how it was going , out came one of the workshop guys with the exhaust removed . As one of the posters here had said , dry , white with vertical scores an ive a problem and thats exactly the way it was .

The guy said mix had to be the cause , im religous about consistant 40: 1 genuine husqy mix but had put 2 tanks of 45: 1 stihl in it when it met its waterloo .

The saw was always a bit finnicky it has to be said and was back in the dealers 3 times before it was running right . Early problems waere over - revving and sounding as if it was "hunting" for fuel . (usually id expect XP saws to have great throttle response) .

Ironically i had it at a little bit of softwood the day before the problem and i thought to myself it was going like a rocket finally .

This all points to the change in mix being the problem logically but i still find it hard to credit it would be so finely balanced ?.

As it stands a 251 Stihl (which im pretty sure id a semi - pro saw has comfortably outlasted it at much the same work )

P.S. it was always exceptionally easy on fuel , something i never thought was quite right either .

 

If it was over revving then that points to an air leak . Not your slightly differing mix ratio . I would check the fuel hose is not split , the carb boot , the crank seals etc etc ......

[wisecobandit]

Just because they claim its mix that was the issue don't take it as gospel.

Overrevving will cause the same issue due to excessive heat. Likewise a lean mix etc can score the piston in a similar way.

 

Its all to easy for the dealer to blame "bad mix" was the cause in my eyes. Yes that could well be the case for the hobbyist saw user or homeowner saw user but theres normally a deeper reason for a strong/professional saw user who usually tends to mix fuel/oil in there religious rituals.

[spudulike]

On a seized saw, any decent tech will check for air leaks when rebuilding the saw and also retune the carb for correct running!

[Stihl dealer in Scotland]

All Husky, Stihl an Oregon oil is 50:1. Why are you farting about with 40:1 and 45

:1?

[Lillywhite Timber]

Good question Stihl dealer , id always run every saw at 50 : 1 but not so long ago a 576 i had went the very same route as this on 50 : 1(lost compression) so i was naturally looking to avoid a future scenario and decided to richen everything to 45: 1 .

When i was doing my ticket ihad the 357 new . The instructor whos around husqys over 30 years told me to run it at 40 : 1 , this guy was absolutely certain , he said hed seen numerous 357s last no longer than 3 weeks flat out at thininngs when run at 50: 1 .

As i say He was absolutely certain about this and had followed it up as far as the importer . I hasten to add he was also a major Husqy fan waxing lyrical about 254s and reckoning a 346 was best saw he ever had .

The more i think about this , and reading spud , bandit ,stubby etc i think this saw always had an air leak somewhere from new . It explains inability to get a proper tune on it from the off .

[spudulike]

When I ported Stubbys 346XP, I found out the fuel tank breather had been blocked off from the day it was new - Andy said the local dealer had problems with his and another sold at the same time and couldn't find the reason why:001_rolleyes:

 

It does happen - issues with new equipment, like I said, any decent tech will investigate the reason for the initial failure so it doesn't happen again.

 

Pretty sure none of the machines I have done have failed after I have sorted them!

[Lillywhite Timber]

Well ,every cloud may have a silver lining... the aforementioned 357 has been rebuilt and ported by Spud . First impression is awesome...

[spudulike]

Well ,every cloud may have a silver lining... the aforementioned 357 has been rebuilt and ported by Spud . First impression is awesome...

 

Always a pleasure and glad it is going well:thumbup: