394XP circlip failure.

[Dave Shepard]

Took the 394 apart this morning. Circlip is MIA on clutch side, piston cracked, jug is junk. Is this a common failure? I think I read something saying certain brands of piston clips were junk. Not sure what to do now. I think another jug is either going to be hard to find, or hard to afford. I had to break out old faithful, my Husky 66 that has never wanted for anything more than a rubber mount now and then.





eta: The saw was still running, just making a funny pinging noise.

 

[Tucker943]

Send me the saw........you dont want to be messin with it.

 

[Dave Shepard]

Hey, I'm the one that trolls for 394s. Off my turf!

 

[Cut4fun]

Sending you a link for p+c. See if you can fix the exhaust mount .

 

[Dave Shepard]

That would be a bit of a project. How well does the jug weld with TIG?

 

[woodworkingboy]

Too bad.

Wonder if the clip broke in half or just popped out? Never heard of that happening with the clip set in at the correct position, or any position for that matter. The rule is to always replace with new after disassembly, right? I haven't always followed that.

 

[SkwerI]

Hard to tell, could the piston have cracked first and allowed the circlip to fall out?

 

[NeTree]

With the high heat that comes with milling, I can see that happening.

 

[Dave Shepard]

I've never used this saw for milling. I'm just whacking the butt flares off big logs so they clear the roller on the Wood-Mizer. I suppose the cracks could have let the clip escape, but I suspect that the cracks formed from the pin catching in the transfer ports.

 

[NeTree]

Got it; I musta misunderstood.

 

[Burnham]

That s**t will most definitely not buff out. Sad to look at, sorry Dave .

 

[Dave Shepard]

Thanks Burnham. I'd like to know why the clip failed, but I may never get an answer to that. I'm going to try and find a top end for it. Worst case, Bailey's lists an OEM top end kit for $399.

 

[Al Smith]

You could probabley do better than that with a used one . The only problem I've ever had was on some aftermarket pistons regarding the clips .Those were all Stihl though and I just reused the OEM clips and had no problems .

 

[Cut4fun]

couple used cylinders on feebay right now. BIN and best offers.

 

[Jed]

Hey: Why's a 394 so great if there are plenty more 395's to be had? Just askin'. I'm new to the whole Husky thing, and trying to figure out which brand to go with for a new big saw that I'll be needing here shortly.

Oh yeah... Really sorry about the luck.

 

[Dave Shepard]

I've had the saw for a long time, and really like it. It stuck a piston in '04 due to a bad fuel line. I rebuilt it in '09 for about $130, which was way cheaper than a new 90+ cc saw. I'm still going to fix this one, just not sure when. I don't know of much difference between the 394 and the 395, other than the 394 has a bolt on carb and the 395 has a boot and clamp arrangement. Back in '97 when I bought it, the air filtration and spring suspension was way ahead of the saws I had been using. Looks like Stihl is finally catching up. I do like Stihl saws, I've got a few of them, but I've always gotten really good deals on low hours Huskys.

 

[Burnham]

If you are of the mind to do so, hunting down a Stihl 064 might be fun...mine is mighty fine, fun to run and full of gumption in the cut. Those funny colored saws are...funny .

 

[NeTree]

Hey: Why's a 394 so great if there are plenty more 395's to be had? Just askin'. I'm new to the whole Husky thing, and trying to figure out which brand to go with for a new big saw that I'll be needing here shortly.

Oh yeah... Really sorry about the luck.

My old 394 has taken a ton of use and neglect, and still pulls a 42" bar and asks for more. Mildly ported about ten years ago, and I run Stihl synthetic and keep pump gas far away from it.

 

[Dave Shepard]

What is the average airport response to some clown wanting to buy some gas for their chainsaw? Or do you just not tell them what you are up to? I run 93 and Stihl synthetic. The 93 I've tested doesn't seem to have much, if any, alcohol in it.

 

[Burnham]

Close enough, imo Dave. If you are really wanting to up the quality of your fuel, you might try to run down a supplier of non-ethenol automotive fuel. There are a handful of stations that carry it around here.

 

[NeTree]

What is the average airport response to some clown wanting to buy some gas for their chainsaw? Or do you just not tell them what you are up to? I run 93 and Stihl synthetic. The 93 I've tested doesn't seem to have much, if any, alcohol in it.

Hard for me to say; I'm a pilot.

Just tell them you're getting fuel for your buddy's Kitfox ultralight.

 

[CurSedVoyce]

One person at the airport here gives me smack.. the other is service with a smile. I am betting the service with the smile guy is the one that has to show a profit while the other one is just a glorifies secretary. Has for AIR CRAFT ONLY all over the pumps though.

 

[Burnham]

Any chainsaw worth the name FLIES, does it not? Can I get an amen?

 

[CurSedVoyce]

A MEN brother!

Hey Erik.. Do you get deposits from running it.. I am getting some yellow and occasionally foiled plugs. Like the lead is beading on the plug. They have BP 100 LL here.

 

[NeTree]

Some, but that's to be expected. Aircraft engines run completely different plugs, and more than one per cylinder. Try going the next hotter plug- it seems to help.

Hard to find, but ideally we'd be buying 100UL; unleaded, 100 octane avgas. Cheer up, it's going to get much more common really soon, as the FAA is working up rules to eliminate lead in avgas soon.