Husky 55 Rancher troubles

[itsmyitch]

Three years ago I bought a new Husqvarna 55 Rancher chainsaw, to clean up after hurricane Juan. Only used it a few times. Stored it away and now it won't start. When I pull the starter cord I am met with great resistance and can't pull a full stroke. When spark plug is removed, it pulls easily, the full stroke. Any ideas? Fred

[Elaine]

Don't know if this will help or not. Hope so...Found this on:

I would suggest takeing off the starter housing and turning the flywheel in reverse and see if the saw unlocks. look for aluminum dust while you have the cover off. I have had screws behind the flywheel back out and grind into in back of the flywheel causing the saw to lock up. Normally it happens when the saw are idling, because at high speeds the screw is shaving the aluminum off the flywheel. The combination of working the saw hard and the vibrations from the saw could cause this to happen. Let me know, Jonathan

Elaine in Ga Zone 7b

[itsmyitch]

Thanks, but that wasn't the problem. The saw seems to have seized up while in storage. The starter cord pulls quite freely with the sparkplug removed, when compression is not involved. What effect does bad fuel (gummed up) have on a motor. What are the symptoms? Thanks. Fred

[Elaine]

Beats me Fred! I really know nothing about chain saws...sorry, I just did a google search trying to help you out. Maybe if you went to arboristsite.com and post your question someone there could help you more. There seems to be allot of knowledgeable people on the chainsaw forum. :) Good luck Elaine in Ga Zone 7b

[M.Paul]

Have you pressed in the compression release before attempting to start? It's supposed to make starting easier and might explain why it pulls easily when the spark plug is removed.

[itsmyitch]

Thanks to M. Paul and Elaine.

Thank you, M. Paul, I appreciate you offering advice. The Husky Rancher

55 that I own (bought new in Oct.03) has no compression release. But it was a good idea. Thanks also to Elaine. I never found anything to solve my problem on the website you suggested. I did, however find that website useful in other ways and have added it to my favourites list. Yesterday, I went out and refilled my saw with clean mixed fuel and pulled it over(with difficulty) a couple of times. I let it sit overnight and tried it again this morning. It pulled a lot easier and started on the third pull. I shut it off and started it a few more times. It seems to work well now. In the future,I won't let it sit, unused for any length of time and I think I will have no further problems. Again, thanks to you both. Fred