Advice on a new chainsaw

[kelLOGg]

My Husqvarna 55 rancher became very hard to pull so I took it to a dealer who said the piston was scored making it hard to pull when hot. He could not repair it. I have never put pure gas in it; he said an air leak could cause it and said running the mixture rich could help alleviate the problem for a short time. I am looking to replace it and am considering a Sthil. What are the plus and minuses of each brand? I will be getting a small one probably ~20 to 24 inch cut. I don't do felling - just trimming logs and cutting firewood.
Bob

[Greyhound]

Talk about a "can of worms" you just opened up.  My very humble opinion is that there are plenty of really good choices of saws in the same price and performance range of your Husq 55 Rancher.  Yes, there are a few dollars and a few ounces and a few h.p. differences "on paper" but in the end these are really irrelevant (except maybe price for some of the non-Stihl/Husq brands).  Everybody makes a very good 50-60 h.p. clam shell saw that will last 10+ years for anyone but a professional arborist, if reasonably cared for. 

So, my strong suggestion is, go with the best dealer-support in the neighborhood.  That will be real value-added over the lifetime of the saw.

O.K., if I personally had to chose an economical single saw in the 60cc class, I would definitely go with the Echo CS590.  It has a "pro" mag case vs. the clam shells in the Stihl, Husq, Jred, etc. in the same price range.  It also has a very good warrantee for the average user and I have a great local small engine shop that carries and services Echo.  But, this may not be the best for you if you don't have good local dealer support.

[dougand3]

So, the 55 is hard to start when hot? Or rope is hard to pull when hot? Your dealer didn't want to fix it - the 55 is the easiest saw to replace the whole topend (Piston, Ring & Cylinder). Biggest air leak trouble (if it exists) is the impulse grommet = easy fix.

[DDW_OR]

...... took it to a dealer who said the piston was scored making it hard to pull when hot. He could not repair it......... I will be getting a small one probably ~20 to 24 inch cut. I don't do felling - just trimming logs and cutting firewood.
Bob

first, take it to another dealer. DO NOT tell the second dealer about the first dealer.

sounds like you use the saw occasionally, so think light weight, powerful and reliable.
I LOVE my Echo 310, 14 inch bar = 28 inch cut. can handle a 16 bar, 18 maybe.

that is my 2 cents

[Gearbox]

My 55 Rancher was hard to pull the rope . Turned out I had to take apart the rewind and clean and lube it . pulls like new and starts like it always did .

[kelLOGg]

My hardness-to-pull comes and goes. Shop said the piston wall was galled in 2 places. ??? I'm taking it to a 2nd shop today.

[dougand3]

Piston scoring is not going to cause "harder to pull rope handle" condition. Just the opposite - will be easier pulling with lower compression. Gearbox hit on it - you have some starter recoil dysfunction - probably gunk or goo compressing things.

[RIDE-RED 350r]

I agree, that dealer wasn't interested in repairing your saw...

Most any saw is worth fixing and in many cases is always more economical than buying new when you are talking a basic crank bearing, seal, and top end overhaul, and you have the ability to do the work yourself. If you are not able to do it yourself, then paying labor fees always brings the price up.

[kelLOGg]

I took the rewind out and it pulled normally - no binding or overlapping lays of the rope. I reassembled and it cranked easily - for now. The problem comes and goes so I am not claiming it is fixed. We'll see tomorrow. The trip to the 2nd shop is on hold.

[Ox]

I had an old Echo that did the same thing.  I couldn't replicate the problem with the recoil off the saw and on the bench.  It was something in the recoil that was worn out and would slip around and cause the hard pulling half the time.  No amount of cleaning or lubing fixed it.  I just used it as it was and lived with it cause I didn't want to spend any more money on it.  A new recoil will likely fix your problem.

[Greyhound]

Oops.  Thought you had a 455 Rancher with the clam shell rather than the 55 Rancher which is of course a "pro" mag case.  As above, absolutely fix it yourself!  That's a great saw and easy to work on.  Sounds like you have a good start cleaning up the recoil. 

[kelLOGg]

I'm resurrecting this thread because I am still using the same saw and it still behaves the same as reported earlier but I have more info. The 2nd shop I referred to earlier removed the muffler and inspected the piston with a small light and saw no scoring. After handling it during inspection it started easily so he thought he "fixed" it. But he didn't. Here's my new info: after the saw has not been used for several hours (winter or summer) the pull handle is very hard to pull, more so in winter. It will abruptly stop usually painfully to my arm and can pull the grip out of my hand if I am not alert to it. So I have learned to give it multiple short hard pulls and after 5 or 6 such pulls it begins to pull normally and 1 or 2 more pulls it starts. It has been doing this for 4 years. I thought poor lubrication so I removed the spark plug and poured a little bit of oil in the cylinder but it was still hard to pull - no difference. When running, the saw cuts well and is all I need so I don't want to replace it - just getting tired of starting it.
Help...again.

[DDW_OR]

is there a Decompression Valve for the Husqvarna 55

[kelLOGg]

There is no decompression valve

[kelLOGg]

I removed the pull coil mechanism and with only my thumb and forefinger i could simulate the cranking action of the pull cord and the engine turned over quite easily. Likewise, the pull cord when removed from the saw pulls easily but when installed it is difficult to pull. Weird! Someone suggested replacing the pull Cord mechanism And I guess I will consider that option but I sure would like to understand what the problem is first.
 

[lxskllr]

I've only had the starter cover off of a saw once, and don't remember how it all goes together, but look for rocking on a central pivot. Perhaps it's moving out of alignment, and causing the system to jam up. However, I'm not sure why that would be time dependent.

[kelLOGg]

Here are pics of the engagement mechanisms of the pull coil and the flywheel. All looks intact to me. It baffles me why it works well when the apparently engine is warm but not when cold. Thermal expansion issue?



 

 

[kelLOGg]

I should have taken gearbox's advice 4 years ago. I must have tried all other possible solutions and decided to disassemble the pull mechanism and thoroughly clean with diesel and reassemble - took about Half hour. It pulls as easily as ever now. It amazes me that was the solution to the problem - a problem that would go away when the saw warmed up...go figure. Anyway I am a happy camper now thanks to gearbox

[homeheater]

I am just dumbfounded that a dealer or repair facility could do this.  How can they even stay in business?  Lie to customer to get them to buy a new saw and make profit.   Get customer to give them the saw since it is "junk".  Repair easily and resell for profit? 

[kelLOGg]

Yes,
That dealer is off my radar screen. I think I bought the saw from them decade or 2 ago. Not sure, though. It was an easy repair to someone familiar with the problem. 

[Bruno of NH]

I had that done to me once. 
It has always left me skeptical on the dealers.
That's just wrong in my book.
That's why I would like to learn how to work on these things.

[Real1shepherd]

Sorry I'm late to this.....I would have recommended cleaning the entire pull mechanism as well.

This is why people go on and on about picking up "broken" saws for dirt.....and then finding an easy fix.

Kevin

[kelLOGg]

The coil spring and housing has greasy sawdust on it and all I did was wipe them clean with diesel and reassemble. It still baffles me as to how such slick dirt could cause such a temporary hard pull which after 5 or 6 pulls behaved normally.

[Old Greenhorn]

The coil spring and housing has greasy sawdust on it and all I did was wipe them clean with diesel and reassemble. It still baffles me as to how such slick dirt could cause such a temporary hard pull which after 5 or 6 pulls behaved normally.

This reminded me of back about 20 years ago I was handling all the machine maintenance isn a 25 man CNC shop where I worked. A guy calls me over and says "my machine's broke", I ask "what happened, give me a clue". He says, "I dunno it just stopped for no reason and gave me an 'axis drive overload error'. Off he goes and I start troubleshooting. I got to the point of pulling the way covers and called him back over.  I pointed under the way cover and said "You are a f-----g SLOB! If I was the boss you would be out the door, clean this machine like you are going to eat off it, then I will come back and finish." Under the way cover the machine was packed solid with aluminum chips, so much so, that the table could no longer move. Because he never cleaned off the chips on the top of the covers they eventually piled up and got forced under the covers. He filled two barrels with the chips he pulled out of there, took him 2 hours. After that day, when he asked me for help, my first question was 'is the machine clean?' If it wasn't, I didn't go.
 Obviously, your issue was much smaller than this guys chronic problem and i am sure it didn't come from wanton neglect. But the point is that a little cleaning goes a long way. Just to make sure you know that I am not picking on you: For a while now my little 450 has been running poorly and I put up with it to keep working. Finally last week it was getting bad and I stopped to address it. When I pulled the cover I saw that the air filter was pretty much plugged solid. A new filter and the problem was gone. 5 minutes down time total, yet I put it off for weeks before I looked at it. I should follow my own advice. :D

[Real1shepherd]

The coil spring and housing has greasy sawdust on it and all I did was wipe them clean with diesel and reassemble. It still baffles me as to how such slick dirt could cause such a temporary hard pull which after 5 or 6 pulls behaved normally.

Basically, whenever your recoil starts getting hard to pull....tear it all apart clean and relube the spring. Pitch will get into everything eventually...recoils the worst because of the mechanism.

Sometimes I'll just tear into a recoil because it's been a long while and even though it was working, after cleaning/lubing there is no comparison. Don't forget to clean the flywheel pawls too and their posts.

Kevin

[samandothers]

Glad you got your issue fixed!  Good on ya to work through this!

[DDW_OR]

.....5 minutes down time total, yet I put it off for weeks before I looked at it. I should follow my own advice. :D

been there, done that, got the t-shirt.
had a table saw that would not start. opened the electrical control box, found it packed with sawdust. glad it did not start a fire.

[sablatnic]

One more thing, when stopping it, pull out the starter handle while switching off the ignition - I pull the handle over to the switch when switching off. The engine might make a slight kick backwards whwn stopping, yanking the cord tight. When pulling out the cord a few inches it'll have room for that kick