Help needed: Brand new Husqvarna 3120XP issue

[motomarco]

My name is Marco and I am new to the chainsaw milling world. I do a lot of hobby woodworking and with the high price of walnut I thought I would give saw milling a try, its been a dream of mine for a while.

So I pulled the trigger on a brand new Husqvarna 3120XP, Panther Saw Mill, 42" Cannon bar, and an Oregon ripping chain.

I just got the 3120XP last week, I opened the box and gassed/oiled it up to make sure the motor ran. The saw runs just fine, but I decided I wanted to mount the bar and take a test cut before throwing out the chainsaws box. When I mounted the bar and chain I noticed the chain was a bit snug with the correct tension. I went in for the the first cut and heard a really nasty screech along with lack of power.

I took the clutch cover off and did not notice anything to unusual. I kept investigating and seems that the white plastic chain guides are pinching the chain. To confirm this I placed washers on each side of the bar, the chain then spun freely.
I called Husqvarna and they simply told me to call up my nearest service center. So I did, I brought in the saw and bar. They believe the chain just needs to clearance the plastic bumpers. So I took the saw home and lightly filed them down and remounted the chain. The chain now spins more freely, but not what I feel it should. I tried to take a second cut and it just didn't sound right, I could tell the saw was really struggling to pull the chain. So I didn't even attempt to make the cut.

Has anyone had this issue? Really disappointed that I am having this issue with a brand new super saw.

I am thinking I am going to bring the saw into the service center assembled so they can hear it themselves.

Thanks,

Marco

 

[alexcagle]

Could the Cannon bar be the wrong application and not tall, (high and low),enough at the chain guides to clear?

 

[Full Chisel]

I would say it's a good bet you have the wrong bar on the saw...

 

[Jon1212]

A picture's worth a thousand words.

 

[motomarco]

Hi guys, I figured it out. The white plastic rubbers on the clutch cover needed to be ground down. That gave the chain the clearance it needed to move freely. Thanks!

 

[TreeswingerPerth]

If you are referring to the two white plastic washers that come on the bar studs , they are supposed to be discarded when you fit your bar .

 

[CR888]

[QUOTE tomarco, post: 5968775, member: 145698"]Hi guys, I figured it out. The white plastic rubbers on the clutch cover needed to be ground down. That gave the chain the clearance it needed to move freely. Thanks![/QUOTE]
This still don't sound normal. Post a pic of the saw with the bar/chain mounted with the clutch cover off. I think guys could assist you.

 

[CJ1]

If you are referring to the two white plastic washers that come on the bar studs , they are supposed to be discarded when you fit your bar .

THIS ^^^^

 

[motomarco]

Hi guys. So I was able to run the chainsaw trouble free for a bit, but when I replaced the chain with a new chain (same brand/model, Woodland Pro) the problem returned. I do not believe the white plastic chain guides are the issue at this point. I brought the unit back into the dealer, they installed a Stihl 123 drive link .063" x .404" drive chain and the problem disappeared instantly, no adjusting, just the sweet sound of 125CC's. We looked at the Woodland Pro chain and noticed that there seem to be wear on the rivets of the chain, as if it is rubbing. We measured the Woodland pro chain rivet width at .246", the Stihl chain came in at .240". I called Grandberg, the measured their ripping chain at .235". It seems unlikely that .006" would create this problem, but you never know.

Has anyone had issues with a Woodland Pro chain?

 

[SEAM]

I have had problems like this with several Husqvarna saws (mostly 2-series models)... Some of the chains are just too wide (thick) for their bars. The bar thickness determines the gap allowed for the chain to pass between the plastic guides... Additional guide plates may help.

 

[motomarco]

Hi guys, so it looks like the Woodland Pro Ripping chain is the culprit. I bought Stihl 46 RM chain and it worked great. The chain is just a much higher quality piece, the drag friction is noticeably lower on on the bar with the Stihl chain.

 

[stantonizm]

Sorry to resurrect such an old thread, but I'm having the exact same problem. I'm using a Tsumura 36" bar (not the lightweight one) that I replaced the sprocket with a .404 and Oregon Versacut chain. Did the chain/bar combo end up being the issue in the long run? I have a 60" Husqvarna/GB Titanium bar I'm going to try tonight after I get off work. Hopefully it fixes it.

View attachment IMG_0337.mov

 

[stantonizm]

I messed around with it a lot last night. Switching bars didn't help. I trimmed off some of the dust guard. It was hitting the chain and the clutch drum. This seemed to help it spin freer, but didn't help much with the noise. It still acts like something is rubbing the chain. The two possibilities I see are that the chain is running against the plastic chain guard, or the chain brake band make be on tight enough that its making a little contact. I don't know if its something that's going to go away after it breaks in a little. I may see if I can loosen the brake band a little and grind down the guide plates.

 

[stantonizm]

View attachment IMG_0360.MOV

 

[stantonizm]

Messed around again last night. Tried running with the bar and no chain and there was no noise, which ruled out the brake band. Put the chain back on and left it looser and the sound was gone, or at least so minimal to not be noticeable. I'll run it this way and break it in.

 

[huskihl]

Are you sure that your sprocket on the saw matches your chain pitch? Both are 3/8?

 

[stantonizm]

I haven't taken off the clutch to verify. It's supposed to have a .404 sprocket on it and its .404 chain. It spins smooth on the sprocket and cuts well. I tried running 3/8 chain on the sprocket by hand just to see and it didn't fit right. Here's video of a quick cut I did on a test log with some .404 semi-chisel.
View attachment IMG_0357 (1).MOV

 

[sean donato]

That rubber hitting the clutch drum had to making some sort of noise imo. May just be the video, but it looked kinda poochy cutting, should have ripped right through that log. (Again my opinion) I'd go run the crap out of it and make sure it's not a leamon before warranty runs out.

 

[stantonizm]

That's what I thought but the rubber didn't affect the noise. It did make it so the chain will free-spin a bit after I let off the clutch though.
That cut was one the first few cuts on its first tank of gas and I'm hoping it perks up a bit with more use. May be the 9000~ish RPM rev limiter though.
Bought new, but second-hand, so no warranty.

 

[goncalo alves]

Did this get resolved? I have an issue where when I'm full throttle cutting through a 30ish" log, the chains wants to come to a stop if the bar is perfectly 90 to the cut (this is on a granberg mill). If I let it have some lead at the nose, it seems to help. Not sure what is happening here. The chain spins freely when I'm not in a cut from what I can tell. I'll take a pic and possibly a video next time I'm with the saw.