spudulike

I usually use two types of puller when splitting cases but as Chris says, your crank is knackered so beating the crap out of it won't cause you any issues. You may find a bit of warming up of the cases will help...an oven if all the plastic and rubber parts have been removed but only if it won't go without it. Make sure ALL the screws are removed, looking at an exploded diagram can help on this and never try to prise the cases apart or try doing it from the case cylinder opening as you will damage the mating surfaces or worse! It would be a good learning curve if it works out. One thing to also remember is to de-stress the bearings on reassembly. All they need is a couple of light wallops with a copper mallet on each end of the crank shaft and the crank rotation will go from spongy and slightly tight to nice and loose.

You can check for leakage by plugging the breather and purge lines then pumping air in through the fuel line with a Mityvac.

That is another muffler mod saw. For a relatively simple mod....not sticking a big outlet tube on the outside box...more to it than that, it sorts the cold start lag and gives the saw a decent boost in performance for not much money...I think it was probably around £60 if that was the only job done. Oh, if the saw had the issue with vertical running on idle, that would have been sorted as well. Glad you like it and it is giving good service...a nice discrete mod on these saws

Put some fuel in the tank, shake it about a bit and drain it out as that shyte has come from there. I used to do it through a fine filter to see when the tank is clean. It sometimes takes three purges to be clean. Make sure the fuel filter is also clean and in good shape. Another thing I always did if ever I found clag in the gauze strainer on a machine in for work on it.

Most sooted up glass is usually the owners inability to use the dampers correctly followed by burning wet wood. Stoves have their little foibles and you have to get to know them to get the best out of them. Shutting the dampers completely will initially give you heat and then sooted up glass.................. Wet wood....well why would you?

It shouldn't cause any issues and may give you a little more compression on a slightly damaged cylinder. I have done tests on a good cylinder and removing the lower ring caused no change to the compression reading - I guess you could just leave out the lower ring if you wanted less friction from the rings to bore!

Best just to stick a new OEM cylinder and piston on it and treat it as a winter project. The compression gauge may not like the step down fitting to attach to a machine with a 10mm plug, it usually knocks the reading down 20psi or so and the fact the machine is that small may add to the poor reading. I haven't tried measuring the compression on one of these saws. Usually pulling it over and inspecting the piston through the exhaust port does it for me.

Water sinks in petrol diesel so if your tank drains from the bottom, which I assume it does, drain the fuel in to a large clear bottle (or at least a couple of litres) and if the fuel looks milky, leave it for an hour and the fuel will clear and have water in the bottom of it. Like this.....(Pic Below) Also - a funnel with a piece of fine mesh in the bottom is a fab tool for shyte in the fuel!

I would ensure the bottom end is clear of any parts of the broken circlips and also check the exhaust. Check the main bearings are clear as best you can etc.

One thought - did you use your own fuel in these machines? I ask as I was working on an HL100 with no idle and the fuel had a lot of water in it. Did the usual - leaving it in a clear container and all the water sunk to the bottom!

It should go well if it is anything like the one I did for myself....and others. My 346 is my "go to saw", I was using it all day Monday ringing up a few tonnes of Ash and Pine...lovely saw, so punchy and revvy compared to most.

Correct and of course, I know that.

The larger housing companies will revert to acquiring land for building projects and then start building when the economy picks up again. It will be hard for smaller building companies that expected the gravy chain to continue for ever and have projects in process that may not sell very quickly when completed. Interest rates high - we had 14% when we purchased our first house!

I often found that good old fashion fault finding got most of the Husky AT machines running. One thing I always checked was that the air filter was clean by looking at it with a magnifying glass and a bright light. People often wash them or just blow the dust off so the open areas get blocked having the same effect as having the choke engaged. The 80 Micron ones do often get blocked. Other than that, check out the fuel filter, the gauze strainer, the pump diaphragm (flaps may be perforated), muffler spark arrestor, piston through exhaust port etc etc - you know the score.... The only time I reset the machine AT is if I had repaired a fault that the AT may have changed its settings to accommodate such as an air leak or shot piston etc. I never really found an AT reset helped anything as the system just adjusts to the condition of the engine and fuel system. Husqvarnas CST does give the current carb H&L settings which can help diagnostics but is no "silver bullet". It may be worth you having a dialogue with ADW....perhaps via PM, he knows a little about these machines

Nice job Wes, I am a brick cleaner man myself, mainly because the previous owners of my previous house (if that makes sense), left 5L in the garden shed and Hydrochloric acid dissolves aluminium rather well....or Muriatic acid to you folk across the pond.

OK, Meteor Piston then....a decent piston but perhaps the circlips weren't fitted well.

On the decomp valve - not sure on the size but needs a "Deep" socket thin wall socket - no workshop is complete without a set. The circlips are definitely not OEM which makes me think the piston probably isnt. The piston markings - Stating "B" makes it sound like it may have been a decent brand. Stihl usually have an arrow plus a "S" engraved in dots and other marks. Is there a brand on the inside of the piston? Stihl usually has a "S" logo in a square box.

Trying some winter onions this year courtesy of a neighbour who over purchased and a first for me. Pretty simple crop and nothing much eats them so should work out.

Blimey Wes, where have you been? Sounds like you are having fun. On the 660, it is unusual for a ring to fragment like that, you may get a break but not it breaking in to small pieces and it is unusual to get no impact marks on the piston crown.

Every picture tells a story. Yours looks less like rings but more like either circlip damage or big end bearing failure. Both are extremely rare on a machine with OEM parts. The circlip is easy to check.....were both present in the piston - they should be without tangs if OEM. The big end cage is relatively easy to check by turning the cage around with the rod pushed to one side, the cage to another. The piston looks a bit clean for 2007 and its look doesn't sit right with me. The windows on the OEM part are wider at the bottom than the top and yours looks like aftermarket to me. Do a pic of the top with the carbon rubbed off - that will tell another tale.

Seeing as it is a "customers saw", shouldn't you have the answers!! Anyway, it could be an air leak but the 372 is generally a pretty robust unit in this area but worth doing a vac and pressure check to discount it. The impulse line can come off and cause this type of issue. One thing on top of the previous possibilities, is a holed fuel line. The Husky 3 series often had a fuel line that is pushed through the sidewall of the fuel tank and it can split/hole where the fuel line pushes through the wall so get the Mityvac on one end and block the other and pressurise it and see if it holds pressure.

Get a photo up of the piston and bore to give us an idea of what has failed. Hyway do make decent kits, their big bore may be difficult to get a good seal on the gasket, that is what I have found the one time I used one. Meteor and Hyway kits are fine and I have a strong hunch that Hyway make the cylinders for Meteor anyway. Forget the cheap kits, they are cheap for a reason....the plating is like cheese, soft cheese and the piston to bore clearance is poor at best. Before spending out, make sure the big end is in good shape. The 660 is a rock solid saw and worth repairing if you have a bit of know how.

Did Matty win the prize?

I just purchased a Rover garden chipper which is 6HP. It has both flails for the thinner woody stuff and a blade on the flail plates and a side entry for branches up to around 2.5". I don't know if the mentioned unit has both but if it is classed as a "Shredder and chipper" I would think it has. My unit will chip thinner branches reasonably well so in short, if it is for a bit of garden waste or for a semi pro gardener needing to dispose of waste then I am sure it will fit a job but forget sticking big lumps of wood in to it like it is a Timberwolf or similar. I did see a vid of the Forest Master chipping and it seemed to work OK but build quality with heavy use may be an issue. So, it may well have a use for heavy domestic gardening but not for 8 hrs a day use for tree work.

Subaru Impreza....Alfa Romeo Sud?