Thread: Husqvarna 350 - bar bolts pulling through the case? What the?!

Looks more like someone dropped the saw and the bolt has been moved sideways, breaking the molding too

...reckon you might be right about the saw being dropped at one point; probably contributed to the crack, etc...

I managed to get the flat-head bar bolts out of the oil tank. And yes - there is the c-channel section with the recess for the bolt heads.

The bolt heads were actually snapped half off (two pieces of metal floating around in the tank), and the c-channel bracket was bent. Man, the previous owner must've REALLY been yanking on those bar nuts!!

The c-channel had been pulled into the casing, and in doing so had bent/warped its shape. Reckon I can just 'panel-beat' it back to nearly straight. Where the casing has been pulled-in by the c-channel in the oil tank (and subsequently pulled out on the exterior of the case), I reckon I might use a small spacer the same size and shape as the ends of the c-channel bracket, to go between the c-channel bracket and the case. Might also use some silicone sealant to help plug any tiny gaps.


Using a soldering iron, I've also started 'heating' the exterior of the case where the front bar-bolt comes out. I've managed to fix the crack a bit, and have reshaped the hole to look as it should.


Geez, I should've taken some photos coz this all might not make much sense! Will do tomorrow and post them tomorrow arvo.

So here's some pics of the bar bolts and the c-channel referred to my post above.

You can clearly see that the square bolt heads have snapped, and the holes in the c-channel bracket have been 'pulled inwards' by the force of the bar tensioning. The screwdriver is pointing to a slight stress-fracture in the bracket, but I don't think this will be a serious issue.

Turns out the c-channel bracket isn't available as a part on its own. It comes as part of the whole case!

So I'll need to do some slight panel-beating. I've ordered two new bar-bolts from the local dudes.

Another question: what type of silicone sealant would be appropriate to assist in helping to plug any gaps around the bar bolts and the c-channel bracket?

The final pic is my rough handiwork trying to reshape the bolt holes. Worked , just doesn't look great.

Oh my, someone has been a little clueless before you, I assume you have removed the metal cover plate that the bar sits against and covers the adjustment screw? I hope it has one

Yep, still have the metal plate. It also needs a little bit of TLC, but should come up pretty well.

Any thoughts on silicone sealant for around the bar-bolt holes??...

As I start to put the saw back together, I'll try to take some more photos and post how I've done things (hopefully it all comes together well!)

Thankyou again for your interest in my thread.

I would be inclined to try a thin fiber washer or the like as silicon might make thing hard down the track

Well, the saw is now back together and SO FAR SO GOOD!

I ordered two new bar- bolts ($11), and did some meatball panel-beating to the metal c-channel bracket that houses the bar-bolt heads inside the case.

On shining a torch inside the oil tank, I noticed that the area of plastic casing around the front bar-bolt was pulled in slightly more than the the rear bar-bolt.
To try and rectify this, I made a small spacer/washer that is roughly the same thickness as the section of casing that has been pulled in. This sits between the plastic casing and the metal bracket. So once the metal bracket and bolts were re-inserted into the case, this little spacer effectively allowed the bar-bolt to only protrude out of the case as far as it is supposed to.

As the photos below hopefully show, I also took the advice of Shedbound (thanks mate! ) and used two thin fibre washers that are pressed into the inside of the casing at the bar-bolt holes.

I used a thin piece of wire and some cotton thread to pull the bolts through the holes (see pic).

One photo shows the parts I've used, and another photo shows how the parts will sit once inside the case (note the small spacer and fibre washers). The third photos shows the bar-bolts reinserted. They protrude nearly the same distance from the case.

Finally, I succumbed to using the smallest amount of silicone inside the case near the holes and the fibre washers, and also the tiniest amount of silicone on the outside of the case where the bolts protrude.

Thus far the bar has remained tight, the chain runs smoothly, and the oil leak has improved considerably.

Thanks to all for their thoughts and advice! This forum is the ducks-guts!

glad you got things sorted, hope the fiber washer hang in there for you