Husqvarna 326E X-series, Workshop Manual, Page: 55 / 72

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Cylinder and piston
Foreign objects
Everything other than clean air and pure fuel that enters the engine’s inlet port causes
some type of abnormal wear or damage to the cylinder and piston.
This type of increased wear shows on the piston’s inlet side starting at the lower edge of
the piston skirt.
The damage is caused by badly fi ltered air that passes through the carburettor and into
the engine.
Small score marks and a matt, grey surface on the
piston’s inlet side caused by fi ne dust particles.
The guide pin for the piston ring has been pushed up
through the top of piston. Irregular grooves on the piston’s inlet side caused by
a broken roller retainer. Deep, irregular grooves caused by a loose circlip.
Shown here on the piston’s inlet side.
Piston ring guide pin vibrated
loose
A too high engine speed can cause the
ends of the piston ring to hammer against
the guide pin when the piston ring moves
in its groove. The intensive hammering
can drive out the pin through the top of the
piston causing serious damage also to the
cylinder.
Damage caused by gudgeon pin
circlips
A too high engine speed can cause
the gudgeon pin circlips to vibrate. The
circlips are drawn out of their grooves due
to the vibrations, which in turn reduces
the circlips’ tensioning power. The rings
can then become loose and damage the
piston.
Bearing failure
Failure of the crankshaft bearing or on the
connecting rod bearing is usually caused
by a too high engine speed, resulting in the
bearing being overloaded or overheating.
This in turn can cause the bearing rollers
or ball to glide instead of rotate, which can
cause the roller or ball retainer to break.
The broken debris can be trapped between
the piston and cylinder wall, damaging the
piston skirt.
Debris can also pass up through the
cylinder’s transfer channels and cause
damage to the top and sides of the piston
as well as to the cylinder’s combustion
chamber.