Husqvarna 266 stripped muffler bolt and scored cylinder PICS

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Spokerider

Spokerider

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I just picked up a non running 266 SE for cheap............going to try to get it running again. PO said it just quit, wouldn't restart, so I'll begin with a new plug and check for spark. I'll go as far as rebuilding the carb, and changing the coil......might be willing to replace the piston and ring if needed.

Anyway........I did notice that one of the muffler bolts [ cylinder head stud holding muffler on? ] is stripped. Have read this is a common problem with these saws. How to fix?.......aside from a new cyl head. Helicoil thread repair work for this?

If it were to need a new piston and ring, who makes the best aftermarket parts, aside from OEM Husqvarna ? Meteor? NWP? Some thing from China? These all seem to be available on ebay.

Thanks.

Off to buy a spark plug.......
 
I had a Stihl 041 with a stripped out muffler bolt hole. I just took it apart, removed the old muffler...and re-tapped the hole on the exhaust manifold with a bottoming tap. The bolt for the muffler was much smaller than the re-tapped hole...so I screwed in an insert that fit the new hole in the manifold...and that also had a threaded hole in the center of it for the smaller muffler bolt. Not sure what it's called, but a nuts and bolt store will have them. And I JB welded it in place. It's held great so far and I've been using it for 6 months. Good luck buddy.

Dow
 
Thanks for the replies.

I got looking into a helicoil kit to repair the stripped threads.........$170......ouch! I have not explored the cost of having a machine shop do it for me yet.......I need to remove the cyl and inspect well before deciding to continue on with it.
The piston looks OK through the exhaust port, and looks good through the intake. The ring looks to be stuck in the groove........thus accounting for the low-feeling compression via pull cord. The inside of the cyl looks like, from peeking in through the ports, that it will be salvageable. There is some aluminum transfer though. I have a Meteor piston coming for it. Just rebuilt the carb also. Cleaned up and tested the coil / pick-up module.......nice fat blue sparks on the new plug!

Anyway, back to the thread repair........ I do have some Devcon metal epoxy.
http://www.devcon.com/products/products.cfm?brand=Devcon&cat=Metal Repair

Says it good to 350 deg F. Will this work for the muffler stud? Dunno just how hot a cyl at the muffler port will get?
Thoughts?
 
No, epoxy will not work in this case. Your cylinder has to come off anyways, so remove it and take it to a machine shop or saw shop, they should be able to fix it. I buy my kits individually and they rarely cost more than $40 USD, I use Recoil brand inserts with good luck.
 
..... Make sure to inspect the rest of the saw to make sure your not throwing money at somthibg that will never be worth it in the end

Make sure crank bearings have no play , inspect case for breaks/ issues etc etc
 
Yes, thanks for the tip.
There is no discernible movement either laterally or in / out of either side of the crank. I already had the clutch off but not the FW. If the seals are toast.......I will change them out, no biggie......I hope!
 
I took the cylinder off today and upon inspection, there is some scoring on the piston, intake side, at the bottom 1/3rd.......and there looks to be some ? metal transfer? on the cylinder at the mating surface of the scored skirt. As for the exhaust side, the cylinder and even the piston looks pretty good to [ inexperienced ] me [ anyway]. The ring was not seized onto the piston as I had thought before disassembly.

Then I carted the cylinder off to a repair guy at the local Husky shop. The guy said that the scoring to him [ scoring is what he called the ? metal transfer? ] below the intake port looked "pretty bad", and that the exhaust side didn't look too good either. He said he could hone the cylinder, but that would only be a band aid fix, and that the saw would wear out fast again because of the now-poor fit of the piston / cylinder............even with the new Meteor piston that I have coming. He also said he could fix the stripped muffler stud with a heli coil for $20.......not a bad price me thinks. But, is the cylinder worth it? If they were easier to get, I would just buy a new one, although, I do not want "made in China", period.

Here are the pics. Please have a look and tell me if you think the cylinder is salvageable. I hope to cut 3-4 cord of douglas fir / hemlock every year with it.

Intake port












 
I've run cylinders in much worse condition than that. I have a 266 SE that had lots of transfer that looked worse than that after n acid treatment. It is in my firewood arsenal now and runs great.

Hit the cylinder with some muriatic acid to get rid of any transferred aluminum, rinse it with water then hit it with some really fine wet-dry sandpaper. Rinse it out again to get rid of any grit in it and put it back together.

Make sure you replace all the rubber parts in the saw - fuel line, crank seals, all gaskets, etc. You want to eliminate the cause of the saw not running in the first place. These are great saws and they are worth fixing. I love mine.
 
That's not scored - there's no aluminum transfer and there's no gouging on the piston and the ring is free. Skip the acid. I'd put a new piston ring in it regardless. Check for spark - I've said this before: lots of old 266's get dumped for no spark when all it is is a short in one of the wires running between the two ignnition pieces. The wiring gets brittle and cracks and grounds out and then no speark. Easy to fix. Seals are usually brittle too and can be pried out with a bent screwdriver so you don't have to split the case.
 
There's no reason to use acid since there's no transfer. Go over the cylinder by hand with some 320-400 grit, with lubricant, and polish the piston a little as well.

For the striped threads, get a thin-sert from Fastenal. It's a solid steel insert that will make it stronger than new.
 
Thanks for your opinions on the condition of the cylinder and piston guys. It helps. I have to admit, my heart sank a little when the saw-shop guy told me the cylinder wasn't worth keeping, since I know how hard these are to find parts for. Anyway, I'm going to give the cylinder a polishing, install the Meteor piston and give it a try.

I will look into " thin-sert" repair from Fastenal as suggested Brad. Thanks for the tip.

Thanks for the heads-up on the ignition wiring problem with these saws Fiat47. I disassembled it, cleaned it all, inspected it, gapped to 0.012" and I have a fat blue spark. As for changing crank seals, are they easy to do? Can they be pried out and replaced without splitting the case? I'll order a set and get to reading about doing it.........

Since I'm doing this repair because I enjoy it [ when it all goes right that is ], and not because I have too, I'm going to polish the ports a little, maybe do a muffler mod, and I would like to see the compression somewhere around 150-160 psi. I have some Three bond 1194 to replace the cylinder gasket with, if the "squish" will allow it. That's something else I need to learn about.....how to perform a squish test.
 
That shop guy doesn't know what he's talking about - there's nothing wrong with your cylinder. Just drill out the old threads and tap next size up in SAE.
 
I think it was Mastermind who clued me in on using a sharpened and bent screwdriver to pry old seals out. Try a forum search. The post is on here somewhere.
 
$170 for a helicoil?! A kit should be about $35. If they're metric and no use to you other than for this saw then a small engine repair shop should be able to fix it in about 5 minutes.
Did your saw shop offer you a great deal on a new saw while they were passing their verdict on your jug?
 

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