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Service & Maintenance Question

    Nick Dordai
    My Dad (age 90) has a Husqvarna 445 chainsaw.I went...
    Service & Maintenance Question posted August 3, 2015 by Nick Dordai 
    150 Views, 4 Comments
    Question:
    My Dad (age 90) has a Husqvarna 445 chainsaw.I went to use it after he had done some cutting and when pouring in bar oil, it just poured out the other end. The bar stud was pushed into the bar oil reservoir. I tried to put it back and found it was fairly easy to push through, and the bar bolt just falls into the oil reservoir when the saw it tipped on it's side. Does this mean that I need to replace the entire case which holds the stud and bolt or is there a way to fix this? Thanks for any input.
    Nick

    Answer

     

    • Eugene Rounds

      The best fix would be to replace the crankcase. I have seen several attempts at fixing this problem none of which held to long term use. In a repair shop it sometimes cost more to try a fix than simply replacing a part.

      These studs are of a press fit and provide a seal against oil leakage in that area. Someone else maybe able suggest a solution that would work.

    • Karla

      Nick,

      Thinking about you problem, I think that I would try a "Pushnut bolt retainer". You can google that name and I know you will find it, The fastener looks like a flat washer but has a retainer in the ID, which will lock the bolt from pushing out. I have not tried it on a chainsaw, but  I have used them on other bolts. Also your second part of the problem is sealing the oil from leaking around the bolt, and I would suggest some Oil resistant RTV silicone (like RTV Ultra Black) available at automotive stores, they may have the retainers too!

      Of course the very best fix would be to replace the crankcase as suggested by Eugene. But then you will have to totally rebuild the chainsaw onto the new crankcase, which If your Not doing the work yourself will be very pricey, actually more than the cost of a New chainsaw.

      Oh, I have tried many different epoxy's and glues to try and fix cracks and breaks in chainsaw plastics ( again I have not been successful at glueing or epoxying a bolt back into the plastic), and have never been very successful in getting something to glue to the "Thermo set plastics", However there is a New epoxy out which is a "UV cure epoxy" and I have not tried it yet but it has promise that it will work with thermo set plastics, and will bond metal to plastic. I don't know the price of the new epoxy but you may want to google "UV cure epoxy". The epoxy comes in a pen like dispenser which also has a UV light on it, and is cured with the UV light, and also has promise to work with "Thermo Set Plastics".

      I hope this helps. Oh if you do try the "Pushnut bolt retainer" and it works, please post it here that it worked, so It may help someone else.

      Karla

      PS. I am not a Husqvarna Representative or a Repair Service, just an experimental chainsaw person.

    • Karla

      Nick,

      Just one more thought, I assume you probably knew this but thought I would mention it anyhow. You do realize that the bar bolt can only be installed one way, when you put it inside the oil tank. If you look at the head of the bolt you will notice that the shank of the bolt is offset on the square head of the bolt, and this is done on purpose. When you fit the bolt into the tank, you can turn the bolt to a 90, 180, 270 &360 position, but only one of them will be correct, this is because there is a plastic relief which is built into the plastic crankcase housing inside the oil reservoir. If your Not putting the bolt in the correct position, then the bolt will not be fully seated into that relief area, and it may be the cause of your problem. The relief is made so the square head of the bolt sits down into and keeps the bolt from turning. This could be why you said you bolt is coming out so easily, so make sure when you put the bolt back in that if fits into that relief correctly, then put the bar, and clutch cover on, and the bar bolt nut. Tighten the bolt down, and that will pull the bolt tightenly into the relief. Sorry - I didn't think of having you try that first, but If it works then there really is nothing wrong with your crankcase. Also the Bar bolt shank has a slight taper to it, so if your not getting it to fit into the relief, and pulling it up tight with the bar nut, then that is why. I hope this make sense, and that I'm not too wordy.

      Karla

    • Nick Dordai

      Thanks for the great replies, I think that the bolt was in the proper orientation, but I will check. The pushnut bolt retainer and epoxy seems to be the best chance to get the bolts to stay in place, and I will try that method when I can get the materials and time. Will let you know how this works out.

      Nick