more power

[weekly]

Hi all I just picked up a husqvarna 55 with an 18” bar. I would have liked a pro saw but it just wasn’t in the budget. My main use for the saw is fire wood hopefully I made a good choice. I am fairly happy with the power but could use a little more. I cut a lot of dead red oak around 16” diameter and it seems to be the limit for this saw. My question is can I get more power from this saw. I have read on a few sits about opening up the muffler on pro saws is there any reason I can’t do it to the 55? Is there a site that shows how to polish the ports and other performance mods?


off topic but probably not worth starting a new thead for. my old saw is a homelit xl 76 none of the dealers in my area can tell me what cc this saw is anybody know?

Thanks
Mark

 

[Urbicide]

Welcome to ArboristSite. Here is a link for some information on your homelite.

http://www.acresinternet.com/cscc.n...10b075e11d3e155188256c26004e98d3?OpenDocument

 

[Freakingstang]

Opening up the muffler will make tremendous gains in that saw.

I have one that I haven't had in over a year. I cut wood down at my buddies place and he used to run one of my 365's. After I got the 55 and modded the muffler, he prefered the 55 with the 16" bar because it weighed less and the power wasn't that much lower than the bigger heavier saw.

I wouldn't go burying that thing in 20" oak on a regualr basis, but it is a good saw for what it is. Too bad the new 455 rancher doesn't live up to the rancher name.

There are gains to be made in that saw with port work, but I wouldn't advise it to a total noob to modding. Start with the muffler first. If you screw up the piston or cylinder, the cost of the replacement parts is almost the cost of a new saw.

but if you have to dig in and mod it like most of us have done, start small and make tiny improvements and try it out before totally hogging the cylinder out.

These saws like the ports to be widened, and the exhaust to be raised a tad. You really need to use a degree wheel to get a basline of where the port timing is at to start with. Lower the squish clearance will also help out, but you have to at least get the port timing back to where it was before lowering the cylinder.

Good luck, hope I didn't confuse you. Feel free to ask more questions if I was unclear on anything, or if you just want some more information.

There is another guy that has had really good gains on here with that family of saws (50,51,55). Buck Futter is his name on here. Give him a pm if you want to mod your own saw, or just have questions. Most of the guys on this site are a good group of guys and willing to help everyone out. Don't let anyone tell you that 55 is a bad saw. It is not in any way, shape or form. It will last a long time if you take care of it.

 

[Former Saw Builder]

Hi all I just picked up a husqvarna 55 with an 18” bar. I would have liked a pro saw but it just wasn’t in the budget. My main use for the saw is fire wood hopefully I made a good choice. I am fairly happy with the power but could use a little more. I cut a lot of dead red oak around 16” diameter and it seems to be the limit for this saw. My question is can I get more power from this saw. I have read on a few sits about opening up the muffler on pro saws is there any reason I can’t do it to the 55? Is there a site that shows how to polish the ports and other performance mods?


off topic but probably not worth starting a new thead for. my old saw is a homelit xl 76 none of the dealers in my area can tell me what cc this saw is anybody know?

Thanks
Mark

The 55 Rancher is a great saw for what your using it for... We still have a few of them around here somewhere....

 

[SawTroll]

Hi all I just picked up a husqvarna 55 with an 18” bar. I would have liked a pro saw but it just wasn’t in the budget. ...

Funny, here the 55 (not Rancher) are about the same as the Dolmar PS-5000, and the MS361.......

Chainsaw priceing isn't allways logical....:greenchainsaw:

 

[weekly]

Thanks for the replies

That is great info on the XL 76. 58cc… and I thought I was buying a bigger saw

I just couldn’t resist. I put a 1/2“ hole in the muffler and am now much happier with the power of this saw. I wouldn’t have thought half an hour of my time could make such a difference.



Maybe ill do some port work on the XL 76 and see how that goes. When you say widen the ports how much are we talking? Something like 1mm,2mm….? Same with raising the exhaust I assume you mean grinding the top of the port so it starts higher on the cylinder. As far as timing, squish clearance, and lowering the cylinder goes you lost me.

Mark

 

[spacemule]

Be sure to time your cuts before and after mods so you'll be able to tell how much you've slowed it down. :hmm3grin2orange:

 

[buck futter]

first I would like to thank steve for the glowing endorsement. Nice job with the muffler mod I'm glad you threw a trash rack in there to keep the junk out of it. also what I normally do is open up the box inside near the outlet. but that is probably close to optimum of what you need to open it up to.
I will also extend this offer to you, if you ship me the power head I will port it for free. this assumes a couple of things the saw runs well now and is fairly clean which it looks like it is. also you will pay for the actual shipping and possibly a ring if it is getting down there.
on my 55r I have a 3/8 chain with the rakers at .025 and I can push as hard as I want and she just keeps chugging it won't take a modded 357 but they are strong. If you are unhappy with the mod I will send you a stock jug. How is that for a deal?

pm me if you are interested.

buck

 

[donnyman]

xl76.

Hay weekly whats wrong with the 76.For a saw thats almost 30 years old it still takes a pritty big pro saw to out perform them even with all this new tech crap.What was the reason for buying the 55.Its a small engine saw.If your 76 is tune up right you dont need to mod it.You cant do many mods on that saw anyways as they were getting everything out of the saw at time of prduction.Open up the muffler or just remove the baffle in side and then richin up the carb about 1/4 turn more on the hi speed jet.That saws got lots of speed power and lug.I have a few and wouldnot trade any of them for one of these new saw there makeing now days.A friend of mine has a 371 husky 20' bar.Brought it in for service the other day and wanted to use one of mine just till I had has serviced.When he came back in for his saw he said,man can you get me one of these.Ill sell mine and buy one like this.Man does that saw ever cut.I wish my husky would perform like that.What can I say.The xl76 just performs.They sure were a eye opener back then and even today they can hold there own.Donnyman.

 

[buck futter]

I'm not buying

some saws may run better but I don't believe a modded 55 will be duped by an old saw that only has a 5cc displacement advantage in stock form. I may be wrong but there is good chance I am not. I would take that challenge.

buck

 

[weekly]

The 76 is a great saw. I guess I took it for granted. It was my first and I have only used a few others, most recently was a 034. I really liked the balance of the newer saws plus the safety features and that they started a lot easier. On top of that the 76 has no spark after sitting most of the summer. So I decided to buy a new saw thinking the 76 was probably not worth fixing. I was looking for a 345 but the dealer has the 55 for less. Am I ever glad I didn’t get the 345 I imagine It would have been a real drop in power from the 76. I wasn’t very happy with the power of the 55 at first I thought it would be more powerful than the 76. The hole in the muffler helped a lot. I haven’t had a chance to try them side by side yet but I think they would be similar. So for now I am happy. The 55 has all the modern safety features, vibration dampening, automatic oilier (if my 76 has auto it doesn’t work), it starts good, and is lighter. Ill probably fix the 76 and use it for cutting stumps.

Buck futter that’s as strange a name as weekl.

That is a generous offer but I think I will leave the 55 as it is for now. I do most of my cutting between now and spring so it’s going to be busy. And its only 4 days old, still has a 2 year warranty. If anything goes wrong ill have to buy a new muffler and brace from another dealer before I take it in.

I think I am catching the chainsaw bug though. Buck futter do you have any pictures of a 55 head that is ported?

 

[buck futter]

well this is a picture of a 55r jug that I ported, some things on this I have learned to do different but will give you a general idea. I am not going to state publically every I have learned, know and do because of the potential of public ridicule. I will say these saws are really choked up as far as port time area, moving the width to 50% on the intake and 63% on the exhaust is mild but will provide a huge increase. The durations are also very mild from the factory and can stand some increases. Going down on the intake .5mm and up on the exhaust .5-.75mm is very very conservative but will increase power with a muffler mod.

here you go, and remember this one isn't quite finished.

http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=37319&d=1156593256

What comes around goes around I figure, if your nice it always comes back to you.

nice looking saw, is that a 55 or 55 rancher? what did you pay out the door if you don't mind me asking?

buck

 

[weekly]

I am not sure if it’s a rancher or not. It just says 55 on the side but the manual says 55 rancher. I paid $456 cnd plus I got a hat seemed like a good deal in my area its closest competition was a 290 for a little more than $500.

 

[buck futter]

Does it have a decomp button?
if so it is a 51 cc closed port 55.

also you have a pm

Buck

 

[weekly]

It doesn’t have a decomp button but I think there is a spot for it. So does this make it a rancher?

 

[curdy]

Alright, I'm no engine or machine guy...but a guy I am. And what guy doesn't like more power? I've tried to read all the posts on muffler mods I can, and I'm not so sure I understand it all!

I saw this guy post info on his 455 Rancher mod on another site. I emailed him to find out what he did. Here's what he wrote back:

"Yes, the saw is still running better then perfect! I don't have a way to send you any pictures, but I can tell you exactly what I did. I just took a 3/8 inch drill bit and drilled 8 holes in the face of the muffler in 4 rows. The muffler is hollow inside, so you are just drilling through sheet metal. I started with 4 holes and found that 8 holes worked the best. If noise bothers you, you may want to start with 2 holes and work your way up. I have to wear hearing protection now that I have 8 holes. It is LOUD! I am also producing about twice as much exaust smoke then I did before I drilled the holes. That is actually a good sign, because the engine is able to breath now."

How do you guys feel about this? Can someone please dumb it down some and tell me #1, is modding it worth it to me for just speeding up cutting a crap load of firewood, #2 Is it as easy as just taking a 3/8 bit and drilling a couple of holes?

Thanks!

 

[Freakingstang]

Does it have a decomp button?
if so it is a 51 cc closed port 55.

also you have a pm

Buck

Don't assume that.

I have bought and sold a lot of 55's and 55 Ranchers on ebay in the past. Just because it has a decomp, doesn't mean it is a closed port 45mm cylinder.

In fact, most of the regular 55's I ran into made after 93 or so had decomps with some being 45mm and some being 46mm, both open port. I have not found a 55 labeled saw with a 45mm closed port jug on it yet.

The main difference I have found between the regular 55 air injection and the 55 rancher was that the 55 had the decomp and .325 chain, while the rancher did not have the decomp and came with 3/8 chain.

Of coarse, there could have been a 55 rancher sold at a dealer and the customer wanted .325 chain or vise versa.

The only 45mm closed port jugs i have found info on is the earliest EPA versions of the Husky 51, only made for a couple years. And of coarse the 50 special. After that they were open port and still labeled as EPA. Funny, as the non epa early models were open port. Maybe Saw Troll can search some IPLS for the 51 and find a difference in the first year or two 51 models....

 

[Mr.]

How do you guys feel about this? Can someone please dumb it down some and tell me #1, is modding it worth it to me for just speeding up cutting a crap load of firewood, #2 Is it as easy as just taking a 3/8 bit and drilling a couple of holes?

Thanks!

don't just drill holes in the muffler. What lots of people do is drill a hole in the bracket and the muffler behind the bracket. You can now sandwich a screen between them.

It is real easy to drill the holes. 1. Do it OFF the saw. 2. Be meticulous about having the muffler clean.

Happy sawing

Fred

 

[curdy]

don't just drill holes in the muffler. What lots of people do is drill a hole in the bracket and the muffler behind the bracket. You can now sandwich a screen between them.

It is real easy to drill the holes. 1. Do it OFF the saw. 2. Be meticulous about having the muffler clean.

Happy sawing

Fred

OK, thanks. Can you post a picture of where you're talking about? Also, should I use any special kind of screen?

You mentioned 'hole' not 'holes'. What size? Its a 455 Rancher.

Good to go on the clean part and having the muffler off. I'm pretty savvy with handiness and common sense...just never worked on engines, so I don't feel comfortable knowing what will damage it or help it. I'm inclined just to leave it alone, but if there's a simple solution for some more power...well, I can't help myself!

 

[blis]

i think someone did 1/2" or 3/4" hole in rancher and it worked well...