Chris Sheppard

Can't help any more than anyone else has but what I have found is the 353's are heavy on clutch springs. Mine has always been like it and I know of at least two others the same. No one seems to have an answer as to why when they share the same clucth as some of the other saws, including the 346 which doesn't seem to eat springs Why did you need to replace the whole clutch? My 353's around 7 years old now and has been pushed fairly hard in thinnings and is still on it's original clutch (I'd hazard a guess it's had 15 or so clutch springs in that time though )

I really wish I was going. We were going to be driving down tonight but got to work over weekend

With a bit of luck then, a new set of bearings and a piston and pot kit should solve it - still thinking the 288 kit will be the way to go

Still not got round to having a look yet - did you manage to re use the crank or was it fubared? Chances are it was me - the scruffy one in a pair of manky saw kegs Glad it's working well for you

Really nice work

I dunno

I reckon All I see is a row of boxes and an "i" after the A in make Nope, just scratch me head a bit

I still don't get it.

Sounds like he needs an OxTrac Smart looking skidder Dave

Because unfortunately, they don't make them like they used to IMO

you not planning on buying up all the 357's and 372's before they stop making them are you Josh?

I'm always a bit intrigued by using m3 when dealing with small roundwood - do you measure each stick or go by stack volume? Surely it could be flawed slightly as potentially two different drivers could stack the same load of timber but end up with two different sized stacks (if that makes sense?).

Yep, I bought the ARB ireland kit, which is actually a 359/2159 kit so slightly bigger bore but goes on and only needs a little tweak of the screws after fitting. I bought mine blown up and traced it back to a split pipe on the auto decompressor - the good news is the replacement barrels are for the standard decomp so all you need to do is bung a normal one in and not have to worry about blocking up the other end of the pipe. Mine's been running fine since I did it and will have felled a hundred or so tonne of Pine so far with no probs. I've not had chance to compare it against another 357 yet but I'm not conviced it's quite as aggressive as it should be, but pulls an 18" bar on a 7 tooth rim fine. the 372 is a fairly big jump in size/weight even if it doesn't look much - as much as I like mine, I've just hardly used it since gettign the 357. They do go well though with a 15" bar and 8 tooth rim though

try speaking to Woodmad on here, he's your way.

Managed to snap one completely and the other has got some black tape holding it together at the mo before it snaps. Do you need a special tool for the rivets? Also, do you need to splice a bit in either side of the break? I've been being really careful not to kink it but still don't seem to be able to do more than a few weeks at a time without damaging one - can remember why I hate usign them so much

That looks great Canoe camping is something I really want to do but need to get over my fear of deep water first

They look to be not a bad build for the money, if a little agricultural:001_smile:

Was recently given an elderly (think it's only two years younger than me!) Husky 181 non runner by a fellow Arbtalker (thanks Pete ) as a bit of a project. It doesn't look to have been abused and other than a feelign a bit low on compression didn't seem to be a bad saw. Anyhow, finally got ahlf an hour this aft to get a proper look at it and whipped the ehaust off. Bit of scoring on one side and the rings looked quite blue, but then spotted something on top of the piston which seemed to be fairly well embedded. Whipped pot off and think I might have worked out why it wouldn't run Bet it went with a bang when it stopped If it wasn't for the rings being present I'd have said it had dropped a ring so I'm not entirely sure what it may be embedded in the top of the piston and pot but it's made a bit of a mess. Also, theres a notchy bit on the bearings at TDC. Have noticed on ebay one guy listing piston and pot to suit 281 and 288, taking it up to 288 bore, so hoping that could be one option - anyone happen to know if it's doable? Carb kits seem to be the same for 181,281 and 288 too so hoping so.

Great trucks but they don't carry much before they're up to weight.

going down that route, mine would be the 95hp Carraro - 40k box, 16" ground clearance, reverse drive and no bigger than a 135 - but I'm in the same boat - funds say no.

I think like that too

Has anyone got any suggestions for a bigger compact/small conventional tractor of around 50hp ish (other than a holder)? We're throwing some ideas around and one is to replace the little international with something of a similar size but 4wd, bit more ground clearance and get it properly guarded up. Currently we can whiz around in thinnings without too much bother so at the mo small is working well.

I don't know for certain but it's probably something like a Pinosa or maybe a Pezzolato - though they aren't portable. There must have been some sold over here - I think Clearview run something similar

Try Stan (Woodmad on here) - he's based near Kendal but travels about a bit.

It looks pretty, but the video doesn't really show very much does it? I know I'm quite resistant to change but I still feel that there's so much more to go wrong that could potentially make it blow itself to pieces than on an older style saw. hopefully it won't feel as plasticy as the other newer huskys either