Chainsaw Repair

Pulled this from the 268 thread. 

This 86 266 is silver tag SE with SE on recoil with XP on top cover. Transition years is what I am told.

Get better pics them above after few days. Got kart racing to do.

Wow, I've got to run downstairs and check all of my 266's and 268's!!!!

This is getting interesting, isn't it. 

Here's what I found. I have two 268XP's, one a 1988 and one a 1990. The ID tags  have neither SE or XP written on them; they just say 268. The decals both say XP.

I have three 266's One from 1985 has SE on both the ID tag, (silver),  and the starter decal. The other two are both from 1987 and have SE on the ID tag but XP on the starter decal. Those latter two saws, despite the SE on the ID tag, would be considered 266XP's by everyone, including Husky. That's the way it would have been listed in the catelog, on the box, the owner's manual and the receipt when you bought it.

One other thing I'll check tomorrow are a few IPLs and owners manuals. If as I suspect, the cover pages and such refer to these saws as XP's, then that's how they should be defined. At least here in the US, I think that the transition from SE to XP was pretty much like I said earlier. Other markets may be different, as it's really nothing more than a marketing term to begin with.

However............. let me add more mystery here regarding 254's. I have a 254SE and a later 254XP, and there are a few differences. There is a slight difference in the flywheel side of the case as the later saw was altered to accomodate Air Injection. Different muffler deflector and corresponding contour at the front of the case, different flywheel shroud, and the ability to accept the air injection snorkle are the changes I've noticed....so far.