55 died

[Kennesm]

My 55 died and needs to have the piston and cylinder replaced. To have someone fix it will be around $300.00. I have already bought a replacement but I would like to keep my 55 and get it going again I'm pretty handy but have never made those kind of repairs before. How complicated is this project?

 

[AOD]

Shouldn't be too bad, the piston will need to be replaced, the cyl. might be allright after a bit of honing.

I have a 55, its a great saw.

 

[willsaw4beer]

You can get a brand new aftermarket cyl/piston from bailey's for like $100. Or like the last poster brought up, you may be able to clean up the cyl/piston, and a new ring is $15 tops if that's the case. I just cleaned up and re-ringed a 55 myself actually, it's not all that difficult.

 

[Stihl051master]

It's really not difficult once you get the covers all off. Check and see if you can find an illustrated parts list or manual online, or ask on here. The 55 is very popular and I'm sure someone can set you up. It will show you how everything goes together.

Re-installing the cylinder once you replace the piston is a bit tricky at times. A ring compressor (or just a hose clamp) to hold the ring in place makes it MUCH easier. Just make sure everything is very clean when you're putting it back together and go for it!

 

[Griffbm3]

All right, I'll say it

How did it seize? Are you confident that you know why it seized? Did it get straight gassed?

The last 55 I worked on had a bad carb that was acutally leaning the air to fuel mixture, and hitting the limiting end of the coil and it was diving down in rpms under load.

The owner said it was "running like never before" just before this ritual death spiral. If you know that it was simply a straight gas event, then you have a pretty easy saw to work on.

Make sure you get a new base gasket, and just spend the $15 on a carb block for that saw. It is what the carb sits on. It goes, filter, carb, carb block, rubber boot with a VERY small impulse line under it, all of this attaches to the cylinder.

The reason for the new block? It has the carb attached with self tapping long screws that don't really re-tighten too well, and for the $15, it's just easy to get a new one and not worry about an air leak on a new top end.

Keep us up to date and ask more questions if you run into trouble. But above all, make sure you know why the top end is gone...

Jason

 

[lawnmowertech37]

is it a husky 55 rancher ?

would a parts saw work ? happen to have one sitting on my bench n the shop

i can do a comp test on it if you want

 

[Chris J.]

My 55 died and needs to have the piston and cylinder replaced. To have someone fix it will be around $300.00. I have already bought a replacement but I would like to keep my 55 and get it going again I'm pretty handy but have never made those kind of repairs before. How complicated is this project?

A lot of good advice has been posted, all I can offer is a service manual.

 

[outdoortype]

That family of saws 50/51/55 is a very simple and easy saw to replace the top end. I replaced the top end on one and it's not bad at all.

 

[Cliff R]

Replacing the P/C on a 55 is relatively easy. We bought ours off of E-Bay for $76, the piston had smeared some aluminum over the ring and onto a small place on the liner.

A couple of minutes with a pocket knife and the liner was cleaned and the ring free'd up. I took a piece of fine automotive sandpaper and cleaned up the piston, ring and liner surface. Put it back together and it has ran flawlessly now for quite a while.

It is NOT always necessary to buy new parts, we've cleaned up quite a few P/C's and pistons. Sometimes you can get away with just replacing the ring, or the piston/ring(s). The liner must be free of deep scratches and gouges and it will usually be fine. In a high percentage of cases where the saw was ran a bit lean, it quits running simply because the ring gets seized in the piston and can no longer stay in full contact with the bore.

In any case, the worst you would be out is around $100 for an aftermarket P/C. We prefer to use the factory P/C's when they require replacment, which can be found for about $180-220 for most models.

Don't rule out getting one from a parts saw, quite a few shops selling used P/C's on E-Bay from donor saws they are parting out. I'd take a nice used factory P/C over a new aftermarket one without hesitation.......Cliff

 

[lawnmowertech37]

Replacing the P/C on a 55 is relatively easy. We bought ours off of E-Bay for $76, the piston had smeared some aluminum over the ring and onto a small place on the liner.

A couple of minutes with a pocket knife and the liner was cleaned and the ring free'd up. I took a piece of fine automotive sandpaper and cleaned up the piston, ring and liner surface. Put it back together and it has ran flawlessly now for quite a while.

It is NOT always necessary to buy new parts, we've cleaned up quite a few P/C's and pistons. Sometimes you can get away with just replacing the ring, or the piston/ring(s). The liner must be free of deep scratches and gouges and it will usually be fine. In a high percentage of cases where the saw was ran a bit lean, it quits running simply because the ring gets seized in the piston and can no longer stay in full contact with the bore.

In any case, the worst you would be out is around $100 for an aftermarket P/C. We prefer to use the factory P/C's when they require replacment, which can be found for about $180-220 for most models.

Don't rule out getting one from a parts saw, quite a few shops selling used P/C's on E-Bay from donor saws they are parting out. I'd take a nice used factory P/C over a new aftermarket one without hesitation.......Cliff

cliff how much you think i could get out of the 55 i have on the bench ?

 

[Cliff R]

I've been trying to snag 55's off of E-Bay that don't run, most of which will have damaged P/C's. I set my limit around $80, and have only won one auction!

The 55 is an excellent saw, very light, and fast cutting, well made, etc. This website hasn't helped the prices out on used ones. Most of the auctions we follow bring $125-150 or so for non running ones, and sometimes twice that much for running units......Cliff

 

[kgb007stb]

I snatched a 55 with a rebuild top/bottom ends, not sure about the bottom end as I cannot see into the engine without disassembly, but the top end is very fresh. I could not believe that I got the saw for 175 including shipping. I have another 55 that has been cutting 60+ cords of wood since 2003 and its compression tops out at 165PSI, 2000 feet seal level.

This one had no carbon deposits so who ever rebuild it only started it for a brief time, I had to redial the carb, and it is my backup saw if anything were to happen to the original 55.

Glad to note that from the threads here posted, the 51/55 families were some of the best mid range saws build. I can attest to that quality ever since making a blind purchase of my original 55 in 2003.

 

[willsaw4beer]

So I guess I did pretty well gettin' mine for $40 and paying <$14 for a new ring. Of course none of the nearby Husky dealers had the ring so I ended up getting a ring for an 029 that was the same 46mm by 1.5mm.

 

[Kennesm]

How did it seize? Are you confident that you know why it seized? Did it get straight gassed?

The last 55 I worked on had a bad carb that was acutally leaning the air to fuel mixture, and hitting the limiting end of the coil and it was diving down in rpms under load.

The owner said it was "running like never before" just before this ritual death spiral. If you know that it was simply a straight gas event, then you have a pretty easy saw to work on.

Make sure you get a new base gasket, and just spend the $15 on a carb block for that saw. It is what the carb sits on. It goes, filter, carb, carb block, rubber boot with a VERY small impulse line under it, all of this attaches to the cylinder.

The reason for the new block? It has the carb attached with self tapping long screws that don't really re-tighten too well, and for the $15, it's just easy to get a new one and not worry about an air leak on a new top end.

Keep us up to date and ask more questions if you run into trouble. But above all, make sure you know why the top end is gone...

Jason

I was helping a friend cut down a tree in his backyard about 1 ½ years ago, I had forgotten my gas at home so I had to use his which apparently was too lean. The saw got hot and died so I stopped using it that night. After that it was always a little harder to start but ran fine after it did and I used it quite a bit until just a few weeks ago I was cutting down a huge oak that had been struck by lightning and it just died and I could not start it again. I took it to a shop and they said that the cylinder was scalded. I will try to take it apart tonight and have a look at it.

 

[Evin]

Make sure if you get a replacement piston that you make sure it is the same that is in the saw. The 55 as mine was actually a closed port cylinder with a 45mm piston, which I could not find a replacement. I had to convert the cylinder as well as the piston to the 46mm piston setup. If anyone has a 45mm piston with windows let me know.

 

[Urbicide]

Workshop manual:

http://www.gardening-tools-direct.co.uk/content/husqwm276_hwen1992_5310300-76.pdf

"This workshop manual is mainly intended for Husqvarna
50, 50 Special, 51, and 55 models, but certain chapters
can also be used for other models. The manual gives
information about how to repair the saw and how to use
special tools. In order to make sure that the saw will
function properly, always use Husqvarna original spare
parts and accessories.
The information, specifications and illustrations in this
manual are based on the information in effect at time of
printing. Any improvements or changes on these models
will be included in future manual revisions."

 

[ouachita]

i think the 55 rancher is why i didnt find this site before this. i bought one new in 98 and probablly still dont know anything about chainsaw maintanence because the dang thing wont stop running.