Husky 359 carb question

[baggedcc07]

A friend recently gave me a 359. It's a little hard to start and it won't idle on its own. It's fine at WOT. He said it ran fine, and just one day, it started acting up. The carb is a Walbro 21-245. Is that the same one as the 199A, or whichever one it was, that I've read is not worth rebuilding? I'm trying to narrow down if it's a carb issue, fuel line, or tuning. I just started messing with it, so I haven't replaced the fuel line. It seems like its in real good shape though. Air filter isn't new, but it's clean. New plug.

I'm sure it won't hurt to go through the carb. Replace or rebuild is the question. I've read old threads suggesting some members that are really good at re-doing the walbro carbs. Are those guys still out there? Thanks in advance!

 

[ELECT6845]

Tree monkey has a thread on fixing the 199. You can always replace it with a Zama

 

[Ck0461]

Replaced mine with a zama. Been a good saw ever since.

 

[cuinrearview]

After re-building a 199 is a fine carb. The problem with the 359 and 357 was a weak impulse system. The blue pump side diaphragms that WB used at the factory were barely pliable enough to pull fuel at idle. Plus the attempt at a compensating carb was prone to plugging. Add in any wear to the engine and stiffening and you would lose idle. Scott will show you how to make one livable.

 

[belgian]

Although I hate Chinese stuff, you can buy an aftermarket replacement carb or a zama and your problems are gone. just repaired a 359 originally fitted with the HDA199, so experienced the problem myself.

 

[J D]

+1 for tree monkeys fix. Mine never idled right until I replaced the top cover with one with a hole in it. Also, check the impulse line for pin holes

 

[baggedcc07]

Update. I rebuilt the carb last week using the k24-hda kit. I held off on drilling the hole in the cover so I could see the response with just the kit. The saw idles great now, so I'm not even sure if its worth drilling the hole. Everything seems to be working just fine. Quick throttle response, no bogging throughout the rpm range, and good power in the cut.