Chain comes off my Husky455

[David061]

I bought a new Husqvarna 455 with a 20 inch bar about a year and a half ago. Since then I have had problems keeping the chain on and the chain is tight. It seems that every time I turn the saw on its side to fall a tree or to limb the tree the chain comes off. The saw I used before this was a Poulan which I used for cutting firewood for 30 years, 5-10 cord a year plus cleaning up around the 5 acres we live on. The chain NEVER came off the Poulan. I am thinking of throwing this new saw in the bush and going back to the Poulan. I will never by a Husqvarna again but they are getting a lot of free advertising from me. Any suggestions? Thank-you in advance.

 

[byronlj]

There must be something wrong or wrong parts installed. I have the same saw and love it. I cut all kinds of wood in all diameters and never have a problem with the chain coming off.
Dave

 

[Egon]

Are the chain, sprocket and bar compatible?

 

[eddie48]

Is the chain oiler working properly? Oil holes in bar clean? Or is the chain dry. If it gets dry and heats up, it will expand and get loose on the bar. You should use about 1 tank of oil per tank of fuel.

 

[Johnny g]

My experience is the exact opposite, if oiling stops, chain seizes up on bar & I have to oil manually & force chain manually to get it going. I have never had a chain fall off . Also Husqvarna.

 

[The Suburban Farmer]

I've been using / fixing / buying chainsaws for years, and while I'm not a professional, I do consider myself slightly more knowledgeable than the average guy when it comes to saws. I am a die-hard Stihl guy, but I've had a couple of Husqvarna's over the years. A couple of questions for you:

1) Don't take offense at this first question, but are you SURE that you are tightening the bar appropriately using the 2 lock down bolts AFTER you adjust the chain adjuster screw?

2) Are you SURE that they gave you the right sized chain? A neighbor of mine bought a brand-name saw from one of the big box stores and it came with the wrong size chain. The LENGTH of the chain was right, but the pitch wasn't. When people buy replacement chains, that's a common error, and almost always leads to chains that come off or slips even when they appear to be properly tightened. Your chain for that particular Husky should be 3/8" pitch and .050" gauge, with 72 links, I think.

3) But more relevant to your situation, I think is this: If the chain has come off more than 1-2 times already, have you checked the drive links? It is NOT AT ALL UNCOMMON to ruin the drive links if a chain comes off even once. It may not be easily noticeable, but if one of the drive links is even SLIGHTLY bent out of alignment, the chain will come off easily.

4) Less likely, but still possible, is the sprocket on the end of the bar. Does it move freely when you try to rotate it by hand, or does it bind? The sprocket tip might be damaged.

5) The bar itself might be bent ever-so-slightly. Put your chain on and move it by hand and listen to see if there is any "scratching" sound as the chain runs through the grooves. There shouldn't be a sound -- if there is, it might mean the bar is slightly off-kilter or there is a pinch point that is causing the chain to bind and jump.

 

[s219]

I bought a new Husqvarna 455 with a 20 inch bar about a year and a half ago. Since then I have had problems keeping the chain on and the chain is tight. It seems that every time I turn the saw on its side to fall a tree or to limb the tree the chain comes off. The saw I used before this was a Poulan which I used for cutting firewood for 30 years, 5-10 cord a year plus cleaning up around the 5 acres we live on. The chain NEVER came off the Poulan. I am thinking of throwing this new saw in the bush and going back to the Poulan. I will never by a Husqvarna again but they are getting a lot of free advertising from me. Any suggestions? Thank-you in advance.

If the irony will help ease your pain, Poulan is now one of the brands under the same company as Husqvarna, and the low end homeowner Huskys have quite a few things in common with modern Poulans (which are only available as low end homeowner saws now -- any former "pro" reputation of Poulan is long gone).

I guess I'd check the basics first, to make sure the bar, chain, and sprocket are all the right size for each other. You have three independent things, and if any one of them is wrong you will have problems. If you can think of any event that could have potentially damaged the bar, chain, or sprocket, look them all over carefully (and check the bar's tip sprocket too). You may need to replace a part if any of them shows damage. Famous problem I see is that Joe Homeowner uses wrong chain, then cuts with it causing damage to the drive sprocket and/or tip sprocket, and then suddenly no chain will stay on the saw.

If they are all correct and in good shape, then the only other factor in your control is how the chain is tensioned. Make sure that is being done right, with a cool bar/chain (never snug up a hot bar/chain). Over tight can be just as bad as too loose, so it has to be done right. The chain should move freely by hand with no odd jumps or tight sections.

Finally, check to see if the oiler is operating properly, though that would be last on my list for the problem you describe.

 

[David061]

No offense taken, I usually look for the easy fixes first. The saw, bar and chain are all original, I don't think I would have more than 20 hours on the saw but I will be checking for bent links. When the chain comes off I have to file the part of the chain that slides in the bar as there are burrs on these parts and will not fit in the bar. The sprocket does occasionally get jammed up with saw dust and will not turn until I clean it out (never had that problem with the Poulan either). The oiler does work because it leaves a small pool of oil when it sits for an hour or more. A lot of good suggestions and I thank all of you for your help.
Dave

 

[The Suburban Farmer]

You're welcome! From what you just said, I would take a VERY VERY close look at the drive links -- I would bet money that one of them is bent ever-so-slightly out of alignment. If it is, buy a new drive -- getting it back to "factory perfect" alignment will be next to impossible.

 

[The Suburban Farmer]

BTW -- that Rancher SHOULD be a great saw. It's historically been one of the best sellers for Husky with 5 star reviews, and it should be on par with the Stihl Farm Boss in terms of "you can't break it" quality, unless they've changed things in the last few years and de-engineered the Rancher down to Poulan standards now that they're the same company. If you bought it at Lowes, that MAY be the case -- there is some rumor that they have de-engineered those saws versus the Ranchers they sell through the dealer network, but I don't know if that's truth or rumor.

You shouldn't have that much oil pooling either. My Farm Boss doesn't leak a drop when it's not running, and neither do my pro-quality Huskys. The inside of the cases for all of those saws is oil-free, even after setting for the off season with bar oil in the tank.