Husky 55 died suddenly.

[AngelofDarkness]

I was out cutting today and I was blocking up some big 24-28" hunjs of sugar maple with my husky 55. The saw was running great and cutting good for over an hour, I was making my 4th cut in this big log, had the 18" bar buried in the wood and it just dies. So I thought I had ran out of gas. Check the tank, it's still over 1/4 full. So I'm thinking, okay what would make the saw stop so suddenly without running out of gas? I tried to restart it and got it to sputter but it won't idle. The fuel filter looks allright, could be a bit of crud in it. Checked the air filter and it also looks okay. I am hoping I didnt do any serious damage to the saw!

 

[PES+]

Pull the muffler

The 55s don't like heavy blocking too much.

They can and do overheat and leak at the base gasket or at the plastic intake bulkhead.

 

[pioneerman]

Pull your muffler off and check the condition of the piston. You may have got it too hot.

 

[Bowtie]

Check the usual, cracked fuel line, impulse line crack, clogged filter. One other simple thing to check is that your plug wire is not losing connection or broke. I had one come loose and got cut by the flywheel. Kind of a freak deal, but it happened to me, and I pulled my hair out trying to figure it out. If that dont work, it could be bigger problems... good luck, and keep us posted.

 

[AngelofDarkness]

I'll check the carb. and lines first. Overheating was my first diagnosis, I was running it pretty hard and was on my 4th or 5th big cut, I don't think I have ever ran that saw that hard. But for it to be going full blast fine for over 10 minutes and then just die and not want to restart makes me keep thinking something like fuel or ignition problems, if I had done more major damage, wouldn't it have been more of a gradual decrease in performance?

 

[RED-85-Z51]

I'll check the carb. and lines first. Overheating was my first diagnosis, I was running it pretty hard and was on my 4th or 5th big cut, I don't think I have ever ran that saw that hard. But for it to be going full blast fine for over 10 minutes and then just die and not want to restart makes me keep thinking something like fuel or ignition problems, if I had done more major damage, wouldn't it have been more of a gradual decrease in performance?

If it still has snappy compression, the jug and slug are probably fine...

Could have melted the coil, if it mounts to the block directly, could have just had the coil break down...

Running a 55 for 10 minutes at full blast...jeez may very well have melted the piston down, and stuck the ring, or torn up the ports or something terrible...

Wont know till you take a look. Good luck!

 

[HiOctane]

I would remove the muffler first,looks like a seized piston,sadly.

 

[nikocker]

I had the same thing happen to my 261 while rip-splitting some oak blocks. Ran great for an hour or so, no problems and then all of a sudden - Just quit. Not really much warning!

Turns out I cooked it. New aftermarket jug and piston solved that problem along with a great deal of input from the guys on this site. It's running great again. I believe aftermarket cylinder kits are readily available for the 55 so if it is that it shouldn't cost too much to get you back in business.

I did learn from this site that I was running the wrong octane and probably a bit too lean on the gas /oil ratio. But that what's great about this site . . . lots of info!

Check with Baileys or Manufacturers Supply. Good luck.

Al

 

[buck futter]

your flywheel key may have sheared, somewhat unlikely but check your piston first.

If its your jug and slug I have a great solution for you!

Also we can give some advice on how to make sure it never happens again.

good luck


Buck

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Also we can give some advice on how to make sure it never happens again.

Lets hear the advice, so it never happens to mine. lol

I really like my 55 and i'd like it to last a looooong time... Best part is, i bought the powerhead for 50 bucks and it looks and runs like new...

Rob

 

[buck futter]

Fresh high octane gas,
run it a little rich
sharp chain
let the saw cut don't ride it
open up the muffler a little it is a piece of cake on these. take out or open up the box that is around the muffler outlet. open up the muffler outlet.
If you want more bore a 3/4 inch hole through the front bracket and the muffler and sandwich a screen in there.

Beyond that you would need to go in the motor and this is not the place for it.

 

[pioneerman]

Don't keep us in suspense. Did you find out what your problem is?

 

[AngelofDarkness]

My bad, sorry for not writing back sooner.

I looked at it the other day, I pulled it out of the shed and attempted to start it. It started right up like it always did and then just won't idle nicely. I pulled the carb. and checked it, it looks okay, I should blow out all the passages with compressed air. I'll put it back together tomorrow and give it another shot. A new plug might help a lot too.

 

[Urbicide]

If the saw starts and seems to run ok and then suddenly stops when thoroughly warmed up check for spark. You might have a bad ignition module. My 359 started this after being woods ported and it was aggravating to say the least. The saw will start when cool and then die when hot. It was as if I switched the saw off. The ignition module might have a lifetime warranty on it through Husqvarna.