Thread: husqy 55 rancher quit working and will not restart

a little more detail on the” husqv 55 rancher saw problem”.
the saw was working fine consistently for years till this last quit. the blade was dulling and the bar chain was hot although i believe was still oiling when the saw just died off as if out of gas. refueled and reoiled and tried to restart. never started again. no tough pulling or siezing. changed the plug, cleaned the air filter, and took off muffler. magnito gap was at business card span. tried to start with a little gas mixture both in the carb directly, and very little in the plug chamber. no coughing or start attempt noise . just normal pull start with no firing. what happened from one minute to the next? i have not tried the carb screws or adjustments yet but will try on the weekend. one more thing, the chamber is definitely getting good spark as i verified that both with the old and new plug outside the chamber i appreciate all your comments and help.
thanks

Best guess......check for scoring or scuffing on exhaust side of piston.. Sounds like piston and ring are now "one"

Have you pulled the muffler and confirmed the piston and cylinder are in good condition?

I was thinking the same as the previous 2 comments. Your saw may have overheated causing the piston to score. When this happens, the engine doesn't have enough compression to fire up. This can be caused from running as saw that doesn't have the muffler screwed on tight. You can find cheap pistons on ebay sometimes and get that saw running again. That is if the scoring in the cylinder itself is not to extreme. Good luck.

guys,
jaya, ramrod48 and defensiblespace, you guys were all right on! upon closer examination of the piston with the muffler completely off, sure enough, the piston is pretty scored. the muffler had been tight. could it be bad fuel mixture? i use the husqv recommended 50:1. is that too light ? should i reduce that mixture in the future with my other saws? i will look on ebay for an inexpensive piston. is that a difficult repair or perhaps not worth doing?
thanks for all your quick response help.
jim

Moved to chainsaw forum.

Gary

If the saw is in good physical condition it is worth fixing and no, it is not difficult on this model. Pull the cylinder off first and see if you can get it cleaned up. If so, I would put an aftermarket piston and ring in it. They're pretty cheap and work ok.

If you had the bar and chain hot from cutting with a dull chain, that could be what roached your piston too. (overheating). Don't do that again.

Originally Posted by jim r

guys,
jaya, ramrod48 and defensiblespace, you guys were all right on! upon closer examination of the piston with the muffler completely off, sure enough, the piston is pretty scored. the muffler had been tight. could it be bad fuel mixture? i use the husqv recommended 50:1. is that too light ? should i reduce that mixture in the future with my other saws? i will look on ebay for an inexpensive piston. is that a difficult repair or perhaps not worth doing?
thanks for all your quick response help.
jim

I think you're mixture is fine. I use and have been using the same thing for years without any problems. Like another member mentioned, keep your chain sharp and make sure it stays well lubricated. That is the one problem I've run into repeatedly on some husky models, is that the oil pump stops working after a while. Run a dry chain for too long and you're bound to have all kinds of problems. Changing that piston is fairly simple. Take the cover off the top and then the engine head should come off with 4 Allen bolts. Your piston head will now be exposed and should be simple to replace. Make sure you clean the area really well before you take anything apart. If you get dirt in the cylinder, you will score it again. Good luck.

defensiblespace, fearofpavement,
thanks much for all your help. i will try to replace the piston. i may yet need your help through that.
jim r

dont foget the manifold boot sleeve and the impulse pipe...those models are known to have air leaks in those locations....

Do a vacuum/pressure test before you lift the jug. Had a 55R on the bench the other day that had a lean seizure due to leaking intake boot. You wouldn't want to put money into a new piston only to ruin it again from the same problem.

Jim r -- I think you're getting some good advice on checking for the cause of the problem. If it is the very common condition on these saws of an intake leak, this may help your repair.


Husqvarna 55 Intake Repair

ramrod, sreamin, and winn r,

thanks, haven't got the cylinder apart yet, but i will be sure to check for intake leaks. the saw has an impulse pipe, but does not have any intake boot, as far as i can tell. i hope to get a look at it completely apart over the weekend. i will keep you posted.
jim r

The intake boot on the 55's is more of a rubber sleeve than a boot...

to my past knowledgeable helpers,
i finally replaced the cylinder, piston and ring on my55 rancher. all went pretty good, but upon repeated start ups can't really get engine to hold idle very well, and/or consistently give me power without repeated stalls on the way up or on backoff. i can always get it started back up with a couple of tugs, but when i adjust idle screw to prevent chain travel when i squeeze throttle for power, i get a short burst then inevitable stall. i have both the "l" and "h" screws adjusted midway and have tried adjusting the l screw back from "all clockwise position" and forward clockwise, from half way position. still no consistent performance. not sure what exactly is going on. did i miss something before the first start up that maybe is causing this problem?
thanks much,
jim r