I hate my late model 371

SawGarage · Jun 13, 2010

Bought a 371 for a good price, needed a few odds/ends. Ran real well when I purchased..

but now experiencing 2 issues that makes me want to throw it outside :angry:

( nice saw, but too much time into it already...

Washed the saw in and out...good shape!

BUT...

the flywheel side of the saw (bearing I'm thinking, although the stethoscope doesn't tell me much when turning by hand...) is NOISY

turns REAL smooth (was a bit tight the other day, but tossed some PB down the transfers and turned the saw left and right, now it's smooth as can be...)

also, I have a leak at the base gasket

never was there before...do ya think the crud that was there helped seal it up???

was a good saw, now i think it's going to stay in the corner of the shop. It's been BAD. :buttkick:

Thoughts?? I'm wondering if it makes sense just to pull the crank seal in the flywheel side and see if the bearing is sticky... (if it's going to possibly come out anyway...) maybe the seal is dirty, or it's got a bit of crud in the bearing. have NOT run it for more than a min this way... (and SMOKED like a CHIMNEY cause of the PB/WD-40)

:cry:

thanks guys.

little possum · Jun 13, 2010

opcorn: Just subscribing

andrethegiant70 · Jun 13, 2010

The bearings on the 371 are a very standard 6202 C3, I believe. Many other chainsaws have them, so this failure doesn't have much to do with this particular saw. Is it possible that someone rebuilt the saw with cheap bearings? The gasket thingy might indicate that someone went through the saw a bit too quickly. The one thing I have noticed in particular about the 371/371 is that I see more big end bearing failures that would expect. I believe that this failure is more common in the 371/2 because this saw is capable of pulling hard at low RPMS, a good thing, really. I do believe this transfers a lot of stress to the crankshaft bearing, though. For me, the message is clear, try not to lug your 371 just because you can.

Anyhoo, the problems you're having aren't typical of the saw, but may be brought on by the previous owner.

I'll give a hundred for it. :hmm3grin2orange:

SawGarage · Jun 13, 2010

andrethegiant70 said:
The bearings on the 371 are a very standard 6202 C3, I believe. Many other chainsaws have them, so this failure doesn't have much to do with this particular saw. Is it possible that someone rebuilt the saw with cheap bearings? The gasket thingy might indicate that someone went through the saw a bit too quickly. The one thing I have noticed in particular about the 371/371 is that I see more big end bearing failures that would expect. I believe that this failure is more common in the 371/2 because this saw is capable of pulling hard at low RPMS, a good thing, really. I do believe this transfers a lot of stress to the crankshaft bearing, though. For me, the message is clear, try not to lug your 371 just because you can.

Anyhoo, the problems you're having aren't typical of the saw, but may be brought on by the previous owner...

It seemed AWESOME when buying...

Honestly, I wonder if there was a bit of *cough*water*cough* that ended up in the bottom of the case after washing through the base-gasket leak grrrrr :angry:

the bearings were a bit stiff the other day, but turns free as a bird now! and the rest of the saw is REALLY nice.

I'm wondering if pulling the seal to have a look at the bearings would make sense before tearing down the whole saw....

I should post pics, HUH? piston still has grooves, pulls over 170 psi. 2 ring, BTW. maybe they used a OEM cyl?? It is a MAHLE after all.

andrethegiant70 said:
...
I'll give a hundred for it. :hmm3grin2orange:

Here we go

lol

parrisw · Jun 13, 2010

Need my address? I'll give it the love it needs!

Saw Dr. · Jun 14, 2010

Pull the top end of. If you had to spray PB in there to quiet things down, you're masking a problem. I have seen several of those with bad rod bearings, but I have not seen bad crank bearings yet.

RAMROD48 · Jun 14, 2010

Saw Dr. said:
Pull the top end of. If you had to spray PB in there to quiet things down, you're masking a problem. I have seen several of those with bad rod bearings, but I have not seen bad crank bearings yet.

Dont work much on Husky's??....hahahaha....easy now, i was teasing you....

SawGarage · Jun 14, 2010

Saw Dr. said:
Pull the top end of. If you had to spray PB in there to quiet things down, you're masking a problem. I have seen several of those with bad rod bearings, but I have not seen bad crank bearings yet.

Hey Tim,

it was only noisy after the 'cleaning'. maybe now I see why people use petroleum based products... :dizzy:

plus it sat for over a week (waiting on a handle, etc)

I put PB in there to keep things lubed, and to free up the 'stickyness'

how much play is 'normal'? i've seen BAD before, but I'm not sure how BAD it actually was (not on this saw)

J

Saw Dr. · Jun 14, 2010

RAMROD48 said:
Dont work much on Husky's??....hahahaha....easy now, i was teasing you....

LOL

I have seen bad crank bearings on plenty of Husky's, but not on the 365/371/372 series. It is always the big-end rod bearing on those.

SawGarage, I'd pull the top end. Crank bearings are fairly affordable when they're starting to fail. It gets quite costly after they fail.

SawGarage · Jun 14, 2010

parrisw said:
Need my address? I'll give it the love it needs!

again

Saw Dr. said:
LOL

I have seen bad crank bearings on plenty of Husky's, but not on the 365/371/372 series. It is always the big-end rod bearing on those.

SawGarage, I'd pull the top end. Crank bearings are fairly affordable when they're starting to fail. It gets quite costly after they fail.

UGH...

you guys are gonna make me split the case, huh :dizzy:

lol. I'm almost debating on selling as-is, and moving on. the 394 is awaiting some work...lol

maybe it's time to make a splitter... ParrisW do you have good pics of the tool you made??

Just frustrated going from it running good, and sounding ok, to this... (noise, and leaks....)

I think I saw an auction on ebay for bearings, gasket, seals and top end kit for like 140.... is $50 good for all the needed lower-end stuff? then I could sell the top end kit, or hold on to it for the next 372 that comes in...

Or could I get the bearings @ my bearing dealer??

J

parrisw · Jun 14, 2010

SawGarage said:
again

UGH...

you guys are gonna make me split the case, huh lol. I'm almost debating on selling as-is, and moving on. the 394 is awaiting some work...lol

maybe it's time to make a splitter... ParrisW do you have good pics of the tool you made??

Just frustrated going from it running good, and sounding ok, to this... (noise, and leaks....)

I think I saw an auction on ebay for bearings, gasket, seals and top end kit for like 140.... is $50 good for all the needed lower-end stuff? then I could sell the top end kit, or hold on to it for the next 372 that comes in...

Or could I get the bearings @ my bearing dealer??

J

Shouldn't bee too bad to fix, cost wise. Your top end is probably ok. I don't have any better pics, I could take a few. Its pretty simple. Just angle iron boxed in, and a long nut used to join threaded rod welded on the end, and some threaded rod goes through that and pushes on the crank.

SawGarage · Jun 14, 2010

parrisw said:
Shouldn't bee too bad to fix, cost wise. Your top end is probably ok. I don't have any better pics, I could take a few. Its pretty simple. Just angle iron boxed in, and a long nut used to join threaded rod welded on the end, and some threaded rod goes through that and pushes on the crank.

It's just $hitty time... but really the fact that I BOUGHT it, and it was cool, and now it's pooped the bed; AND I HAVE NOT cut a damn thing with it... UGH.

Top end is like NEW! over 165psi

how about 2" box tube? I have scraps. using the bar studs?

speaking of bar stud... one was half in, for some odd reason. never noticed that before. unless someone replaced a bar stud and didn't set it..

So, do we go this route: bearings

or this route: KIT

parrisw · Jun 14, 2010

SawGarage said:
It's just $hitty time... but really the fact that I BOUGHT it, and it was cool, and now it's pooped the bed; AND I HAVE NOT cut a damn thing with it... UGH.

Top end is like NEW! over 165psi

how about 2" box tube? I have scraps. using the bar studs?

speaking of bar stud... one was half in, for some odd reason. never noticed that before. unless someone replaced a bar stud and didn't set it..

So, do we go this route: bearings

or this route: KIT

If your top end is good, don't waste your money. 2" box tube would work just fine. Yes I use the bar studs to hold the splitter on the saw. You could even just use a 2 jaw puller over the box tube, drill a hole for the puller threaded section to go through to push on the crank.

little possum · Jun 14, 2010

Knew I should have made a offer on my first post

If you washed it with water (or pressure washer) you should have pulled the jug off and flushed the inside with some premix...

Rust on bearings isn't your friend.

And like Tim said, its a little cheaper to replace bearings than a top end.

PS, Me likes them Huskys

SawGarage · Jun 14, 2010

little possum said:
Knew I should have made a offer on my first post ...

as long as it wasn't going to be as rediculous as the last offer... UGH.

little possum said:
If you washed it with water (or pressure washer) you should have pulled the jug off and flushed the inside with some premix...

Rust on bearings isn't your friend.

And like Tim said, its a little cheaper to replace bearings than a top end.

now ya tell me..lol. usually they don't sit that long, get put back together and run... but this one was waiting...live and learn I guess (I like learning from other's mistakes...not my own, they're too expensive...

I'm surprised it's the bearing, as it turns to freely... but it is noisy...

J

little possum · Jun 14, 2010

Ever had a bearing go out on a axle? Lots of noise, and it keeps turning.
Same situation, pretty much.

In my small mind, it would take a while for it to rust enough to be stuck.

And how bout 101$? :hmm3grin2orange:

SawGarage · Jun 15, 2010

little possum said:
Ever had a bearing go out on a axle? Lots of noise, and it keeps turning.
Same situation, pretty much.

In my small mind, it would take a while for it to rust enough to be stuck.

And how bout 101$? :hmm3grin2orange:

OH boy...

good point on the axle bearing....yup...

J

little possum · Jun 15, 2010

So J, get that thing tore apart, fixed, and enjoy it. Best saw there is dont ya know :monkey:

SawGarage · Jun 15, 2010

little possum said:
So J, get that thing tore apart, fixed, and enjoy it. Best saw there is dont ya know :monkey:

10-4. I think I have a perfect understanding of the task @ hand..but we all know the stages of grief...

denial
anger
depression
sorrow
acceptance...

I think I'm leaning toward the last one...lol but was stuck on the 1st for a few, and the 2nd a bit still....lol

I guess some porting is in order....

anyone out there able to take the base down a bit?? I wanna go all out if it's coming apart :hmm3grin2orange:

or knowledge of porting upper x-fers? gotta get the BIG DREMEL out (they had a flex shaft tool with a 1/4" collet @ one time... can't find any online info, and the part # escapes me...)

thanks!

jay

parrisw · Jun 15, 2010

SawGarage said:
10-4. I think I have a perfect understanding of the task @ hand..but we all know the stages of grief...

denial
anger
depression
sorrow
acceptance...

I think I'm leaning toward the last one...lol but was stuck on the 1st for a few, and the 2nd a bit still....lol

I guess some porting is in order....

anyone out there able to take the base down a bit?? I wanna go all out if it's coming apart :hmm3grin2orange:

or knowledge of porting upper x-fers? gotta get the BIG DREMEL out (they had a flex shaft tool with a 1/4" collet @ one time... can't find any online info, and the part # escapes me...)

thanks!

jay

You'll need a right angle for doing the uppper transfers.

I hate my late model 371

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