Husqvarna 359, what a saw.

[Trigger Man]

Jerry, are those style mufflers any quieter than the regular ones?:taped:

 

[Trigger Man]

Jerry do you think that the 359 you got had all those problems from factory (blocked fuel line ,selophane wraped oil p/u) or do you suppose it was sloppy repair work performed by slack dealers?

 

[pioneerguy600]

Jerry do you think that the 359 you got had all those problems from factory (blocked fuel line ,selophane wraped oil p/u) or do you suppose it was sloppy repair work performed by slack dealers?

I think the problems above were the work of others after the factory but the cellophane wrapped tank filter, well that I could see coming from the factory. I can`t see anyone working on a poorly running saw removing the oil line or replacing the filter/pickup on the lines end. There was just so many little things I found on this saw, and most of them were probably after sales created. The bar and chain on this saw are the original and although the bar got hardly any oil there is no burn marks on the rails. The saw ran so little I guess it never got hot in a cut.
Pioneerguy600

 

[pioneerguy600]

I have yet to put my 359 in some wood. Gonna do it soon, though.

I have run this saw on two different days and must say that it is a well behaved powerful cutting saw but I am only running a 16" bar with .325 chain on it cutting hardwood no bigger than 16"dia.
Pioneerguy600

 

[pioneerguy600]

Jerry, are those style mufflers any quieter than the regular ones?:taped:

I think they would compare with the original cat mufflers for quietness but seem to flow really well, something to do with that tube setup. It was explained to me that once that tube heats up it helps to extract the exhaust gasses. If one tube is good I will try putting another in the opposite corner in a future muffler modd and see how that works out.
Pioneerguy600

 

[Trigger Man]

Jerry, the old dealer I use to buy from who just passed away late last year, always liked .325 pitch chain on the 357/359 saws, I wounder though if 3/8" would'nt be better for hard wood though.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Jerry, the old dealer I use to buy from who just passed away late last year, always liked .325 pitch chain on the 357/359 saws, I wounder though if 3/8" would'nt be better for hard wood though.

I actually tried 3/8" on a 18" bar but the .325 would beat it in small hardwood 12" and under, filed the rakers down .045 on the .325 and the saw pulls it faster than the 3/8" with the rakers filed .030. If the rakers are filed lower than .030 the saw starts to grab too hard or jumps in the cut and that slows down cutting time. Try filing the rakers down to .040 on a half worn chain on a 14-16" bar and see how that cuts, if it does cut well then try .045 , that seems to be the limit with lowering the rakers, after that it becomes too grabby and cutting speed is lost.
This chain also is the best on my 036 PRO that I did a full woods port on it, it keeps its rev`s up with the .325 RSC chisel chain with the rakers cut down to .045. in hardwood, it cuts relatively smooth and fast.
Pioneerguy600

 

[pioneerguy600]

There were a couple of other little problems this saw had that I did not mention in the previous posts, they are in no particular order of diagnosis but required fixing before final assembly and running to cut. The fuel tank air vent porous discs were missing, likely removed when someone was trying to see if they were blocked, thinking the tank was air locked. There is supposed to be a support ring between the carb and boot, it holds the rubber boot open in a circular shape. Lastly the saw would backfire sometimes when I was trying to start it and until the saw was complete I just assumed that it was part of the other problems with the saw. After everything else was installed the backfiring became quite accute, if the saw started it did not run very well, bogged when I tried to spool it up. I pulled the flywheel and low and behold the built in flywheel key was sheared, the flywheel was advanced about 1/4" on the crank.No other damage done so I cleaned everything up nicely and reinstalled the flywheel, torqued down the nut and it won`t give me any more trouble.
It is now a very good working saw, starts easy,idles for ever,no misses or stutters and spools to WOT instantly and cuts strong. I may give the original owner a call and see if he wants to give the saw a run now that it runs correctly but the last time I spoke to him he stated that he never wanted to see this saw again.LOL.

Pioneerguy600

 

[Trigger Man]

There were a couple of other little problems this saw had that I did not mention in the previous posts, they are in no particular order of diagnosis but required fixing before final assembly and running to cut. The fuel tank air vent porous discs were missing, likely removed when someone was trying to see if they were blocked, thinking the tank was air locked. There is supposed to be a support ring between the carb and boot, it holds the rubber boot open in a circular shape. Lastly the saw would backfire sometimes when I was trying to start it and until the saw was complete I just assumed that it was part of the other problems with the saw. After everything else was installed the backfiring became quite accute, if the saw started it did not run very well, bogged when I tried to spool it up. I pulled the flywheel and low and behold the built in flywheel key was sheared, the flywheel was advanced about 1/4" on the crank.No other damage done so I cleaned everything up nicely and reinstalled the flywheel, torqued down the nut and it won`t give me any more trouble.
It is now a very good working saw, starts easy,idles for ever,no misses or stutters and spools to WOT instantly and cuts strong. I may give the original owner a call and see if he wants to give the saw a run now that it runs correctly but the last time I spoke to him he stated that he never wanted to see this saw again.LOL.

Pioneerguy600

Lol, I don't blame him, that's one husky from hell going by your repair list. Its a shame the cust had to go to a stihl just to get a working saw! Not a good jesture on Husky's behalf to have to make the customer go to another brand just to get satisfaction.

 

[pioneerguy600]

Lol, I don't blame him, that's one husky from hell going by your repair list. Its a shame the cust had to go to a stihl just to get a working saw! Not a good jesture on Husky's behalf to have to make the customer go to another brand just to get satisfaction.

That customer is now a dyed in the wool Stihl man, he loves his MS280 and would just about spit in your eye if you told him a Husky was a good saw. That`s one customer who swears that he will never again buy a Husky, but we all know those feelings mellow with time.
Pioneerguy600

 

[Trigger Man]

I don't blame him Jer, it would leave a bitter taste in my mouth as well. I'm glad he likes his 280, most people who own that series of saws have good luck with them.

 

[Urbicide]

I have seen how one's bad experience affects their future buying choices. My Dad got screwed over by a Ford dealer's service department back in the early 50's. He has never owned a Ford product since.

 

[pioneerguy600]

I have seen how one's bad experience affects their future buying choices. My Dad got screwed over by a Ford dealer's service department back in the early 50's. He has never owned a Ford product since.

Stuff happens, that`s life, some good, some bad, hopefully a lot more good than bad. There has been an ongoing problem with the 357 & 359 carbs on the Etech saws, maybe on the older non Etech also. Husky may suffer a black eye on this and lose some potential sales down the road from disgruntled owners. The saws seem well made and when they work right they make very nice cutting saws, there is a good following out there running them and many happy owners also.
Pioneerguy600

 

[sdhamblin]

I picked up a used 359 without being familiar with the carb issues-I should have known when it came with a bag full of extra carbs! The thing wouldn't run so I took the carb apart-it's the Walbro 199. The diaphragm had a gasket on BOTH sides of it, so I removed one and it ran great, but leaked fuel because the screws were too long to seal up the carb without the extra gasket in there. So rather than look for shorter screws, I put on some washers. That sealed the carb, but then it wouldn't run again. The metal lid over the diaphragm on most other carbs I've looked at have had a hole in them, but this one didn't, so I drilled a hole in it. I put it back together, and now it runs great, is tuneable, and doesn't leak. Fixed for now, costing $0.98 for washers and a day of troubleshooting! Beats $60 for a new carb.

Thought I'd post my experience in case it helps someone, or someone can point out how poking the hole in the top of my carb was a bad thing to do!

 

[sunfish]

Old thread. Good saw!

Put the Zama replacement carb and metal intake clamp on it. No more worries.

 

[PogoInTheWoods]

Old thread. Good saw!

Put the Zama replacement carb and metal intake clamp on it. No more worries.

So are there any "good" 199B's on 357's/359's from '08 onward? My recently acquired 357 is an '08 with a metal intake clamp, but a HBA199-B carb.

It musta run halfway decent -- at least just long enough to toast the top end by the original owner.

edit: BTW, Husky replaced the entire power head for the guy as a warranty deal. More like a PR move if you ask me.

Poge

 

[turtle561]

pogo-does it have a plastic spacer on the metering side w/o a vent hole in the metal cover ?

sdhamblin-you did the right thing drilling a hole. the kit gaskets lacked the extra vent holes in the diaphragm and gasket for that type carb. there was a spacer missing,hence the longer screws. just ran into this myself, finally noticed the missing holes. runs great now !

 

[sunfish]

So are there any "good" 199B's on 357's/359's from '08 onward? My recently acquired 357 is an '08 with a metal intake clamp, but a HBA199-B carb.

It musta run halfway decent -- at least just long enough to toast the top end by the original owner.

edit: BTW, Husky replaced the entire power head for the guy as a warranty deal. More like a PR move if you ask me.

Poge

I don't know the Walbro #s. But almost all 359/357s with walbro carbs and problems running, or fried top-end, have been carb related. The Zama replacement has solved all problems, that and replacing the plastic clamp.

My older 357 has the problem walbro, but still runs perfect. So it's not a problem with all, or it takes awhile to show up.

 

[sunfish]

So are there any "good" 199B's on 357's/359's from '08 onward? My recently acquired 357 is an '08 with a metal intake clamp, but a HBA199-B carb.
Poge

08 on w/metal clamp should OK.

 

[PogoInTheWoods]

does it have a plastic spacer on the metering side w/o a vent hole in the metal cover ?

Will need to check. So far I've been primarily working on getting the cylinder cleaned up. Lots of elbow grease needed on this one.

Poge

(sorry for the lousy pic)