Husqvarna 545 p/c and upgrade questions

Dalbery · Oct 23, 2022

I am not a pro and have never rebuilt a saw. I mainly just cut 5-9 cords of firewood a year, mostly hardwood. I'm buying a cheap 545 with a bad p/c to play with/rebuild. I own a 365 special that I love, a 357Xp, and my old 136 that I bought new in 2001 and has been a little gem. My question is, where and what P/C should I be looking for? I'd like to get some extra power out of this saw to possibly replace my heavier 357XP. I don't necessarily need it to have as much or more power than my 357XP. I'd just like a lightweight saw with good power. The 545 is not a mark II so I will be muffler modding it while I have it apart.

SimonHS · Oct 23, 2022

If you are lucky the cylinder might just have aluminium transfer. You can clean it off and just fit a new piston and rings, saving money.

Post some pictures when you get it.

Dalbery · Nov 8, 2022

So the cylinder was bad as well. I ordered an aftermarket p/c. I did a little porting work on the cylinder, did not use the base gasket, and put on a free flowing dual port muffler. This was my first time rebuilding a 2 stroke. I let it sit 24 hours after putting it back together to let the sealants dry. I just fired it up for the first time starting my heat cycles. This saw sounds mean now!! It does not idle well right now. I'm hoping I just need to cut with it so that the autotune can do it's thing.

GusGus2020 · Dec 11, 2022

Dalbery said:
So the cylinder was bad as well. I ordered an aftermarket p/c. I did a little porting work on the cylinder, did not use the base gasket, and put on a free flowing dual port muffler. This was my first time rebuilding a 2 stroke. I let it sit 24 hours after putting it back together to let the sealants dry. I just fired it up for the first time starting my heat cycles. This saw sounds mean now!! It does not idle well right now. I'm hoping I just need to cut with it so that the autotune can do it's thing.

Did you do a leak test on it? I’d be concerned about the way the area circled might hold up long-term with the sealant. Looks pretty rough, but maybe it’s just the camera angle/lighting.

Dalbery · Dec 15, 2022

GusGus2020 said:
Did you do a leak test on it? I’d be concerned about the way the area circled might hold up long-term with the sealant. Looks pretty rough, but maybe it’s just the camera angle/lighting.View attachment 1039658

That's definitely my crappy phone camera. The sealing surface was untouched. The picture does make it look ugly.

Dalbery · Dec 15, 2022

Update: This saw is a cutting beast!! I cut a ton of Oak with it. Just out of my own curiosity I put down this 545 and grabbed my 77cc 365 special and tried it side by side. The 365 all of a sudden felt very heavy compared to the 545. And the wood I was cutting was under 16" diameter, but the 545 was definitely a lot faster cutting than my hopped up 365. I know the 365 would spank it in larger wood, but I don't cut big wood too often.

GusGus2020 · Dec 16, 2022

I did notice some poor idling with a 562xp right after I put a new p/c on it - I think I ended up letting it fast idle for 30-60 second , did a few revs with it, and it went back to idling and restarting fine.