My modded 346

[Timberhauler]

I was very disappointed when my 346 showed up a few weeks ago and it was an e-tech..I bought two,one was in stock,a non e-tech,and he had to order the other..and when it came and I saw that green cap,I came within an inch of making him find me another non e-tech.I was very pleased with the first one...With it's first tank of fuel I brought along the MS260 and 280 for comparrison and it was no contest,the 346 spanked them both right out of the box.
When I brought home the e-tech model,I did the exact same comparrison,and the 260 was about on par with it...the 280(muffler modded) spanked it hard,so I did a little playing around with it...I took the caps off of the limiter screws and took the muffler off.I put what I did to the muffler in another post,but I'll repeat it..I cut off the pipe going from behind the CAT that is connected to the muffler port..I then drilled four 1/8 inch holes across the front of the muffler...I drilled out as much of the CAT screen as I could reach,then adjusted the carb to get the mixture right...Big improvement...It then was nearing the other 346,but wasn't quite as quick...So earlier this week,I tore the jug off and got out the Dremel again...I didn't do anything drastic...I polished the exhaust port and opened it up very little...On the intake side,I just took out the rough casting left by the factory and left a non polished finish,the surface of the port is about like very fine sandpaper..Again,a very noticeable difference....Once the tops were out of these big water oaks that I mentioned in the 660 vs 395 thread,they had to be lowered about twenty feet...The wood was about six inches where I started cutting and I went down to where the trunk was nearing twenty inches.I was using an 18 inch bar with Bailey's 20RC chain which is an excellent chain for this little guy BTW....The saw is nearing it's break in,and it now easily out cuts the non e-tech 346.I get to hammer out big saws all the time,but I'm very pleased with this little saw.

 

[tawilson]

Great analysis. When you get ready to fiddle with your other 346, how about a few pics?

 

[Timberhauler]

I'm going to leave the other 346 alone...It cuts good enough stock

 

[Hard Knocks]

Excellent post! We are all going to have to learn the best ways of getting around the e-tech restrictions. Thanks for the valuable info.

 

[hokiebob1]

excellent post. Here's a dumb question--when you remove the cylinder, I presume you can reuse the gaskets or must they be replaced?

 

[stonykill]

The 346 is quite a little saw. I had to cut tops the other day. 19 inches to 3 inches. Used the 346xp for all of it, and I gotta say, I was inpressed how well it worked on the larger diameter stuff. Normally I would of used the 266 for the larger, but its down at the moment, and we had 2 feet of snow coming, so this wood needed to go now. The 346 is a great little saw!:rockn:

 

[Timberhauler]

excellent post. Here's a dumb question--when you remove the cylinder, I presume you can reuse the gaskets or must they be replaced?

If you are very careful taking it apart and do not tear or otherwise damage the existing gaskets...they can be re-used...It is not reccomended,but it can be done...I'm probably gonna go back in and replace those gaskets to be on the safe side....So technically,you're not supposed to do it.