Husqvarna 359, what a saw.

This saw gave me a run for my money, I like a challenge once in a while and this saw gave a workout. Thanks to Jacob J for his help in getting the carb issue to my attention and the remedy was the Zama C3 -EL42. there was also many other issues so after a couple weeks of on and off working,troubleshooting and parts ordering and waiting for parts it now runs like it should have the day it came from the factory.





I will post a few of the problems I encountered each night, its a riot so all can laugh along if you like.
Pioneerguy600

Nice! Send it to TW for a whole new monster.

Sometimes, these simple two strokes can indeed make you run for a while.

The sourcing for parts is the biggest bummer for my projects... These saws block the bench and the urge to start new projects is always there. I have 3 saws waiting for parts right now.

This particular saw was passed along to me after it was sold here locally when new. It was a problem from day one and spent most of its life back at the dealer sitting and waiting to be looked at,they evidently did not know these saws were plagued with that bad carb syndrome that the Walbro WT 199A had.
The shop tried their best to adjust the carb and kitted it but did not realize that once the Walbro went bad only replacing the carb would rectify the problem.
Pioneerguy600

The saw came to me and it was missing its original muffler and it was evident that the saw had been looked over quite a bit. Lots of loose screws,some missing and things not completely reassembled properly. I decided to do a vac test first and it failed miserably, so applied low pressure air line from the compressor supply and started with the spray bottle with soapy water. Found the clutch side seal leaking, there was a piece of black plastic matereial riding around between the seal lip and the crank, pulled it out with needlenose pliers and kept it for further study. The seal lip was deformed and would not seal correctly but to continue with the pressure test I put some heavy grease and wrapped a shop cloth around the crank stub to help slow the leak. I also found the boot clamp at the cylinder to be leaking and put 2 seals and the boot +clamp on order along with a new partition block as the threads that held the carb were stripped on the left side. The saw needed a muffler, support bracket,heat shield and 2 gaskets plus the screws to hold them in place so ordered them also.
Looking in through the exhaust port there appeared to be some dark stains on the intake side so I pulled the jug and took a look. No marks or gouges found only dark streaks so some scotch brite pad rubbing and both cylinder and piston buffed up real nice. After some cleanup and degreasing with acetone I applied a little Permatex Copper to the mating surfaces and reinstalled the jug.Checked the final squish and it read .020-.021 so leave it at that for now.
Pioneerguy600

Next step came when the new ZamaC3-EL42 carb arrived along with the new partition,boot and clamp, they got installed and a few days later the seals arrived and got pressed in place.

pioneerguy600 said:

This saw gave me a run for my money, I like a challenge once in a while and this saw gave a workout. Thanks to Jacob J for his help in getting the carb issue to my attention and the remedy was the Zama C3 -EL42. there was also many other issues so after a couple weeks of on and off working,troubleshooting and parts ordering and waiting for parts it now runs like it should have the day it came from the factory.

I will post a few of the problems I encountered each night, its a riot so all can laugh along if you like.
Pioneerguy600

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It says E-tech on it (= cat muffler) - have you fixed that?

Edit, that may be the reason that the original one was missing - but get rid of that ugly green fuel cap!

great saw, i recently got one at work as a basket case, lucky me i only paid $10 for it! (post pics later) Mine needs a P&C and a muffler, other than that its complete! I cant really beat that

Looks like the saw threw a chain too, at sometime in its life, I look forward to reading your updated posts. Jerry did the customer get a new saw, from the dealer who could'nt fix the saw?

Jerr, how come you went without a cylinder gasket?

I would like a 359, but if I bought a new one I would sure hate to have to buy a new carb for it right off the bat. Is their a serial # cutoff that would get a guy an updated carb? Jerry I'm always impressed when a mechanic's work is neater and cleaner than a hospital! Ever work for NASA? REJ2

SawTroll said:

It says E-tech on it (= cat muffler) - have you fixed that?

Edit, that may be the reason that the original one was missing - but get rid of that ugly green fuel cap!

Click to expand...

Yes, the new muffler is touted to be an EURO muffler, it will be in a future pict. I have a new regular fuel cap that will show up near the end of this thread. Cheers Nikko.
Pioneerguy600

REJ2 said:

I would like a 359, but if I bought a new one I would sure hate to have to buy a new carb for it right off the bat. Is their a serial # cutoff that would get a guy an updated carb? Jerry I'm always impressed when a mechanic's work is neater and cleaner than a hospital! Ever work for NASA? REJ2

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I think any 359 after 2008 has the zama carb.

JohnnyBoy1986 said:

great saw, i recently got one at work as a basket case, lucky me i only paid $10 for it! (post pics later) Mine needs a P&C and a muffler, other than that its complete! I cant really beat that

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Lucky you, $10 . is a good deal, just think what the good parts on your saw would cost if bought separately, a little work and some parts and your saw will be up and running. This saw came to me as a freebie but it did cost a bit to fix it completely.
Pioneerguy600

Trigger Man said:

Looks like the saw threw a chain too, at sometime in its life, I look forward to reading your updated posts. Jerry did the customer get a new saw, from the dealer who could'nt fix the saw?

Jerr, how come you went without a cylinder gasket?

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It threw a chain at least a couple times, don`t know why, it hardly ran well enough to cut a couple sticks of firewood. I always try to set all my saws at around .019-.020 squish, it raises the comp and increases torque, the only way to get that clearance was without a gasket in this instance.
Pioneerguy600

That is one sweet looking chainsaw jig you there, be OK if I steal that idea?

I am watching a 359 on FeeBay right now and I bet it has the same carb issue as the guy says it just quit running. It looks like new.

REJ2 said:

I would like a 359, but if I bought a new one I would sure hate to have to buy a new carb for it right off the bat. Is their a serial # cutoff that would get a guy an updated carb? Jerry I'm always impressed when a mechanic's work is neater and cleaner than a hospital! Ever work for NASA? REJ2

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Some one else may know the answer re: the serial number, this is my first 359 and the dealer I get my parts from needs me to find the parts numbers for him so he`s of little use for info. I heard that the later 359`s used the Zama carb instead of the problematic Walbro but I have not seen one with that carb that was supplied stock. I guess the neatness comes from my machinist background, I can`t stand working on a dirty machine, makes me a poor mechanic.LOL
Pioneerguy600

Hey, I got a 357 that is giving me some problems like this. I've kitted the carb and adjusted to no avail. Its very low time saw?? Its got the updated boot clamp, what carb is it that can give troubles?

Moss Man said:

That is one sweet looking chainsaw jig you there, be OK if I steal that idea?

I am watching a 359 on FeeBay right now and I bet it has the same carb issue as the guy says it just quit running. It looks like new.

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You can copy that jig bolt for bolt or steal the idea as long as you don`t steal this one. LOL.
If the carb issue is all that is wrong then it is a cheap fix, likely $45-$50. for a new carb. Just hope the saw was not run too lean, that gets a little more costly to repair. The aftermarket P&C can be had for around a $100., the OEM was $389. here in N.S.
Pioneerguy600

parrisw said:

Hey, I got a 357 that is giving me some problems like this. I've kitted the carb and adjusted to no avail. Its very low time saw?? Its got the updated boot clamp, what carb is it that can give troubles?

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The troublesome carb is the Walbro 199A or B and sometimes the 191A., they cannot be corrected with a carb kit. I have been told but have not taken time yet to find the accellerator pump in the Walbro carb, this pump is the culprit that causes all the issues with these carbs.
Pioneerguy600

Pioneerguy, How difficult to install seals?

I was just wondering how difficult it was to install crankcase seals on the 359? I would appreciate any helpful details as I may have to do this myself one day. Thanks