# Husqvarna 350 and 346 aftermarket cylinder kits? which one's the best?



## slipknot (Feb 7, 2012)

OK fellas, im not sure if this has been hashed out before or not...didnt see it when i searched. Im thinkin' about springing for a new cylinder kit for this old husky 350 thats been around the country a bit. Its been owned by 2 previous AS members..lol. Anyhow...i was on feebay and noticed how many different kits are available. I got a good idea which one i might go with since that "kafar" fella disapeared..he had those 346 kits that screamed i do believe. But I figured we could all share our recent experiences. I plan on grinding on whatever i get. Which one has the most performace potential?


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## ndlawrence (Feb 7, 2012)

Well it's kinda a crap shoot on flea bay I believe some are ok and some are awful!!! I would look at baileys and either get oem,nwp or a meteor kit if you want something that will for sure last


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## adam32 (Feb 7, 2012)

I just put this one on my 350...

BIG BORE HUSQVARNA 340 345 356 350 353 CYLINDER AND PISTON KIT 45MM With Gasket | eBay

It has a two-ring piston which is the first one I've seen for a 350. I had to clean up all the ports a little and put a good bevel on them. I opened the exhaust port a little and worked on the transfers a bit and this saw runs pretty darn good. I've been running the snot out of it and has been running great. No complaints considering its a $100 kit...


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## SawTroll (Feb 7, 2012)

adam32 said:


> I just put this one on my 350...
> 
> BIG BORE HUSQVARNA 340 345 356 350 353 CYLINDER AND PISTON KIT 45MM With Gasket | eBay
> 
> It has a two-ring piston which is the first one I've seen for a 350. I had to clean up all the ports a little and put a good bevel on them. I opened the exhaust port a little and worked on the transfers a bit and this saw runs pretty darn good. I've been running the snot out of it and has been running great. No complaints considering its a $100 kit...



Well, that one will not provide the power that a 50cc 346xp one will - and two rings generally is a bad idea, that only adds friction without contributing to anything.

The 50cc (44.3mm) kits from Italy are the best AM ones, as I understand it. I believe those are Meteor ones, but I'm not sure.....:msp_confused:


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## adam32 (Feb 7, 2012)

SawTroll said:


> Well, that one will not provide the power that a 50cc 346xp one will - and two rings generally is a bad idea, that only adds friction without contributing to anything.
> 
> The 50cc (44.3mm) kits from Italy are the best AM ones, as I understand it. I believe those are Meteor ones, but I'm not sure.....:msp_confused:



I can't comment on the 346 kits since I've never ran one to compare, but I do know that this kit has more power and a lot snappier then my 2 stock 350's and even a little better then my ported one. I agree on the 2 ring piston, I just thought it was odd so would mention it.


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## blsnelling (Feb 7, 2012)

That is not the kit you want. You want a closed port cylinder and a single ring piston.


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## adam32 (Feb 7, 2012)

I'm thinking I might cut the jug, make a pop up and run one ring...that'll kick the 346 kits to the curb... :msp_biggrin:


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## SkippyKtm (Feb 8, 2012)

slipknot said:


> OK fellas, im not sure if this has been hashed out before or not...didnt see it when i searched. Im thinkin' about springing for a new cylinder kit for this old husky 350 thats been around the country a bit. Its been owned by 2 previous AS members..lol. Anyhow...i was on feebay and noticed how many different kits are available. I got a good idea which one i might go with since that *"kafar" fella disapeared..*he had those 346 kits that screamed i do believe. But I figured we could all share our recent experiences. I plan on grinding on whatever i get. Which one has the most performace potential?



Lukasz went off to MIT, he is one smart dude and quite young too, and he's done very well for himself. He sold his company "mag supply" to a nice lady (Janie) who runs it now and she still sells the same stuff on ebay. I believe she still has the same kit you refer to:
*LINK*

I have not used these kits so I can't vouch for them though...


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## SkippyKtm (Feb 8, 2012)

ndlawrence said:


> Well it's kinda a crap shoot on flea bay I believe some are ok and some are awful!!! I would look at baileys and either get oem,*nwp* or a meteor kit if you want something that will for sure last



I've had a NWP kit and I was less than impressed,:msp_thumbdn: it is no where near OEM when it comes to the toughness in the plating, the plating is much thinner and softer than OEM (Mahle), I really doubt it is *Nikasil* at all....


*Nikasil link*

I avoid AM cylinders like the plague, only OEM for me...


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## ncfarmboy (Feb 8, 2012)

SkippyKtm said:


> Lukasz went off to MIT, he is one smart dude and quite young too, and he's done very well for himself. He sold his company "mag supply" to a nice lady (Janie) who runs it now and she still sells the same stuff on ebay. I believe she still has the same kit you refer to:
> *LINK*
> 
> I have not used these kits so I can't vouch for them though...



I bought 2 of these kits when Lukasz owned Mag. I was very happy with plating etc. Ported one for a Pro carver. Wrist pin clip broke trashed the cyl. DO NOT USE THE CIRCLIPS IN THE KIT OEM ONLY!!!!! Saw only had an hour on it when it broke. Half is in piston half is in the top edge of piston. Did him the other cyl. about 4 mo. ago no other problems that I know of. He is running it @ 14,200 rpm's.
Shep


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## slipknot (Feb 8, 2012)

SkippyKtm said:


> Lukasz went off to MIT, he is one smart dude and quite young too, and he's done very well for himself. He sold his company "mag supply" to a nice lady (Janie) who runs it now and she still sells the same stuff on ebay. I believe she still has the same kit you refer to:
> *LINK*
> 
> I have not used these kits so I can't vouch for them though...



Yes, thats the one i was refering to....thats cool its back. i swear last month when i had the cash for it, there were none. 
Now how do you guys feel about replacing the bridge partitioning intake thingy? I think the 350 is one awsome saw except im afraid of the bottom end and how the seals are. Id rather had a 353 for the mag case but beggars cant be choosers as they say.


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## SawTroll (Feb 8, 2012)

SkippyKtm said:


> Lukasz went off to MIT, he is one smart dude and quite young too, and he's done very well for himself. He sold his company "mag supply" to a nice lady (Janie) who runs it now and she still sells the same stuff on ebay. I believe she still has the same kit you refer to:
> *LINK*
> 
> I have not used these kits so I can't vouch for them though...



Does anyone know for sure where those kits are made?


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## slipknot (Feb 8, 2012)

SawTroll said:


> Does anyone know for sure where those kits are made?



Thats one of the things id love to know...where and who makes them....also didnt know meteor made kits for the 350...not saying they dont...i just didnt know. Hopefully we'll find out here later tonight when the rest of the guys get on here.

Hey sawTroll...its 4:37 here in ohio, US....what time is it there your part of the world. Is it breakfast or dinner time..lol


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## SawTroll (Feb 8, 2012)

slipknot said:


> Thats one of the things id love to know...where and who makes them....also didnt know meteor made kits for the 350...not saying they dont...i just didnt know. Hopefully we'll find out here later tonight when the rest of the guys get on here.
> 
> Hey sawTroll...its 4:37 here in ohio, US....what time is it there your part of the world. Is it breakfast or dinner time..lol



10:56 pm right now, so 6 hour difference.

I *hope* they are from Italy, preferably Gilardoni - that is why I ask! :biggrinbounce2:


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## slipknot (Feb 8, 2012)

IMO gilardoni heads are as good as any...and that includes mahl. Arent the meteor kits cast in tiawan but machined in italy? I believe thats what grande dog of baileys told me when i asked. Baileys doesnt have the meteor kits avail for the 350 that i see.


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## slipknot (Feb 8, 2012)

I think SawTroll said the heck with this racket and went to bed..lol

Can anyone come up with a list of available brands of cylinder kits available for the 346/350 saws


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## SawTroll (Feb 8, 2012)

slipknot said:


> I think SawTroll said the heck with this racket and went to bed..lol
> 
> Can anyone come up with a list of available brands of cylinder kits available for the 346/350 saws



No, I just don't know! I keep absolutely no secrets here! 


...but I agree that Gilardoni is about as good as Mahle!


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## nmurph (Feb 8, 2012)

OEM and the Ebay kits. I have never been able to find any Meteors, etc...


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## forex82 (Feb 8, 2012)

I bought a kit from Kafar, and the cylinder scored after a few hours. A broken circlip. Got a new c/p set, but had to get a new piston because in the one which followed the kit, had the piston-ring pin way to much in the center. With the new piston, the saw ran for a few hours, before one of the clips broke again. Left the saw under the bench for a year, before I got bored during winter time, and bought a big-bore cyl&piston kit from Hl-supply on ebay. Put the things togheter, and the saw have ran every day for three weeks now. Quality seems to be much higher.


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## SawTroll (Feb 9, 2012)

forex82 said:


> I bought a kit from Kafar, and the cylinder scored after a few hours. A broken circlip. Got a new c/p set, but had to get a new piston because in the one which followed the kit, had the piston-ring pin way to much in the center. With the new piston, the saw ran for a few hours, before one of the clips broke again. Left the saw under the bench for a year, before I got bored during winter time, and bought a big-bore cyl&piston kit from Hl-supply on ebay. Put the things togheter, and the saw have ran every day for three weeks now. Quality seems to be much higher.



If you did a search on here, you would know that anything but OEM circlips are no good!


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## forex82 (Feb 9, 2012)

So right, so right......but did'n see that before they broke...


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## SawTroll (Feb 9, 2012)

forex82 said:


> So right, so right......but did'n see that before they broke...



Sorry, but the evidence is overwhelming, lots of reports on that! :msp_wink:


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## Mtnyota (Sep 15, 2012)

So is the consensus that the Kafar85 kits are a good alternative to the Pricey OEM Piston and cylinder for a NE346xp?

346XP 350 353 chainsaw cylinder & Piston kit fits Husqvarna (44.1mm) | eBay

Baileys is only listing the 42mm pistons & kits online right now


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## 3GGG (Oct 5, 2012)

Looking at the kafar85 kit also, anyone using this with any luck. Got quoted $465 plus gst for oem.


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## ncfarmboy (Oct 5, 2012)

Mtnyota said:


> So is the consensus that the Kafar85 kits are a good alternative to the Pricey OEM Piston and cylinder for a NE346xp?
> 
> 346XP 350 353 chainsaw cylinder & Piston kit fits Husqvarna (44.1mm) | eBay
> 
> Baileys is only listing the 42mm pistons & kits online right now



The one I ported for the Pro carver must be holding up OK haven't heard from him. It's been over a year. Shep


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## bjorn773 (Oct 5, 2012)

Here are some pics of the kafar kit. I have used this saw very little due to an idling issue, but when it runs it screams. Also, the p/c were not installed until significant mods were done to them. Expect to do a lot of grinding as the pics show.

http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/114159-5.htm


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## bushleague (Dec 22, 2012)

*Cylinder kits:*



bjorn773 said:


> Here are some pics of the kafar kit. I have used this saw very little due to an idling issue, but when it runs it screams. Also, the p/c were not installed until significant mods were done to them. Expect to do a lot of grinding as the pics show.
> 
> http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/114159-5.htm



Can we mount the Husqvarna 50/51 (46MM) kit on the 350 case?


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