Husqvarna 460 rancher mods

[The Shooters Apprentice]

Yeah I know, I know. The 460 rancher isn't a "real" saw. However I got a good deal on one this spring that had been returned to the store with the chain on backwards.I was in need of a 60cc class saw, and I actually really like the saw and it works great for what I need. Ive already fell and bucked 6 cord of wood with it this year.

last week while digging around my shop I found a outer dawg for a 372 and decided to modify it to fit the 460. Pretty happy with the way it turned out.



Anyway, It got me curious about what other mods people have done to make these saws work a little better. I am planning on opening the muffler up soon, and may port it down the road, but it won't be my first port job since I want to do a non clam shell first to get the hang of it.

 

[The Shooters Apprentice]

How about a open coil to get rid of the rev limiter? Any coils from a different saw fit on these?

 

[The Shooters Apprentice]

Well, I decided the next step was to open the muffler up a bit. I popped the muffler off, and cut a hole in the front and welded in a piece of 3/4" conduit. Then I welded a plate over the top and closed off the existing post.

Yeah, yeah I know, my welds look like crap. Wire feed is down and all I had was 1/8" 7018 rod. Texas TIG for the win lol.

I ha to fatten it up a bit, but it runs much better. Better throttle response, and more power in the cut.

I've run about 50 tanks of gas through this saw now, so part of the reason to pull the muffler off was to do a inspection. Piston looked flawless through the exhaust port.

 

[FlyingDutchman]

Our early 460 has been acting up, I think its due for fuel lines if the air filter/muffler is plugged. 10+ years of hard use hundreds of tanks of fuel. I've been leaving it behind due to having a 576xp and a 359. Definitely would like to hop it up if I tear it down. Like your muffler mod.

 

[Michigan_Maniac]

Hey Shooter's Apprentice,
Nice work on the muffler mod! I picked up a 460 as I was in need of a larger saw for property maintenance, primarily for one Silver Maple 5 ft in Dia. Ended up helping a neighbor with fallen locust across their driveway. Handled the log fairly well, but I wasn't impressed by the performance of the 460 out of the box.

I'm a newbie with saws in general, But no newbie to 2 cycles. Throttle response is lack luster. And hot restarts are horrible on my unit as it sits. Small adjustments to make on the carb yet to fine tune, but again ... fine tuning. I want better throttle reponse and higher rpms as well. I know the general concensus on the forum is: "Sell it and get a pro saw." That's just not in my budget. Besides, most of us enjoy a rebellious nature and making performance improvements to oem is fun anyway! I can't much on improvements to the 460, reasons probably being for the forum consensus ... but husqvarna is what the family (father and uncle) drive, so a little bit of brand loyalty was promoted in the decision. (My fathers rancher 61 still running strong ... bought in 1983. I just replaced the chain break on that).

Sounds like you, too, couldn't find existing mods to the 460, and took matters into your own hands! I'm inspired! Did you mod/remove any of the internal baffling?
I plan on picking up a spare muffler to tinker with. Plus, future desire to machine a couple different exhaust spacer/extensions after removing some/most of the baffling. Similar to the ones I see for the 372xp's. With the idea that the added "initail" exhaust port pressure, should, increase the exit speed out of the muffler. We'll how it goes.

Keep this post going as you make updates!!!!

Happy cutting!
M_M