Got myself in a pickle!!!

[matdand]

I wanted to change the sprocket on my 346, so I stuffed the closest piece of rope I had laying around in the spark plug hole. Seems a couple of the strands made their way into the muffler port and now the piston is locked up. I tried turning both the flywheel and the clutch in the opposite direction and can't seem to get it to move.

This was supposed to be an easy, simple job!!! ARGHHHHH!!!!

 

[Altissimus]

Ouch...

 

[matdand]

Yup!

 

[Jomo]

Take off muffler and apply heat to piston carefully with small butane torch?

Jomo

 

[matdand]

To burn the fibers? That would work maybe. Even with a BBQ lighter.

 

[matdand]

Thanks Ill give it a try.

 

[Jomo]

Might wanna pull your carb first?

Jomo

 

[Magnus]

No heat. Your piston is likely pinching string.
Get a rd of softer material (wood/plastic or so) down plug hole and give it a tap.

 

[Magnus]

Blocking piston is the absolute last resort as it put strain on rod/piston/bearings.
Better is to tap/knock them off.

346 often break crank inside threads and knocking them is sometimes not easy if wrong tools are used or clutch is bad.

 

[matdand]

Got it! Was able to pull one strand out after lunch and it made enough room to turn the flywheel.

Thanks guys!

 

[komatsuvarna]

You'll have to pull the recoil cover off on those I believe for it to spin backwards without engaging the starter pawls.

Rope works fine for this, just make sure the piston is above the exhaust port before putting the rope in.

 

[woodworkingboy]

I'm no stranger to that pickle myself. Loosened up or might have broken to free up the piston.

 

[Ax-Man]

Had this happen myself. I was lucky to get the rope out. I still use a rope to jam a piston only instead of sticking the rope in the plug hole . I make a bight or double the rope and push it in with a screwdriver if it won't go in on it's own. As soon as the rope or cord is in the cylinder I draw the piston up. If the piston doesn't jam I stick the doubled up cord down a little further till it jams the piston. There is no real trick to this you just have to know about where your ports are located . I try to guide the doubled up cord off to one side of the cylinder just to be on the safe side to stay out of a port.

 

[Jomo]

Doesn't a simple screw in piston stop obviate the need for stuffin stuff where it don't belong?

Jomo

 

[Magnus]

This is a piston stop damage. Use of correct tools prevent this.

 

[Jomo]

No, that's dummies not screwing the stop all the way down and banging their clutches ccw instead of clockwise mate.

You caint fool me mate!

Jomo

 

[Magnus]

You know best I guess...

Don't use a screw in stopper on this piston/saw or it will look like this.

 

[Magnus]

This is how it should look.

 

[Jomo]

You're honestly sayin that piston damage you posted was not caused by an amateur tryin to bang the clutch off the wrong way?

Is that what you're sayin mate?

That the screw in piston stops I've used with no I'll affects for 30 years caused that damage when used properly?

Jomo

 

[matdand]

FWIW this is the first time I've had a problem using rope. Had i gone outside to get the rope i normally use, everything would have been gravy. But i was lazy and just grabbed some of splicing residues I had leading around. But it's not like I remove hundreds of clutches a year either.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Magnus, thanks for your thoughts perspective and especially the pictures.

 

[Dave Shepard]

You can also pull out the starter rope, double it over and stuff it in. I like Magnus' stopper that sticks down in and you can put the pressure on the outside of the piston where it is stronger.

 

[FireFighterZero]

Yeah, makes good sense.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Easy enough yourself to make a wooden dowel that screws into the plug hole and jams the piston. Save a few pennies on not buying a plastic one.

 

[Magnus]

As I said... You know best.

But to answer your question: YES!

You're honestly sayin that piston damage you posted was not caused by an amateur tryin to bang the clutch off the wrong way?

Is that what you're sayin mate?

That the screw in piston stops I've used with no I'll affects for 30 years caused that damage when used properly?

Jomo