# How to unsieze a chainsaw



## Kwdog75 (Feb 15, 2009)

Anyone know how to unsieze a chainsaw? And if it is siezed, what parts should be replaced to get it going again? Will i need to replace to bottom end also? Thanks


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## mattmc2003 (Feb 15, 2009)

Is it seized from running lean, or siezed from sitting up for several years?


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## Kwdog75 (Feb 15, 2009)

Not sure, my buddy dropped it off and said... here, fix this! He did tell me it's siezed but doesn't remember how it happened.


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## mattmc2003 (Feb 15, 2009)

If it is just stuck from not geting used, you can pour some oil in the plug hole and let it sit a couple days and try to free it up. But if it is stuck from a burnt piston, you might as well get ready to take it apart. But either way, pour some oil in it and let it sit. Then pull the muffler off and see what the piston looks like before you waste any more time on it. If it is scored up, see how much he wants to spend on it.


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## jburlingham (Feb 15, 2009)

Marvel mystery oil, fill the cylinder with it, and let it sit for a couple of days. After that you can take it apart and see what pieces are damaged.


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## Kwdog75 (Feb 15, 2009)

The saw itself is a Husqvarna 394XP, last time i spoke to him he said as long as it would cost around $300 or less to rebuild it, to just fix it and he'll pay me later.


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## jburlingham (Feb 15, 2009)

You can get a fair opinion of piston condition by pulling the muffler and looking in the port. I would say that if its stuck, regardless why, I would be inclined to replace the ring either way. 
If piston is burnt, then Id get a P&C kit.


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## Kwdog75 (Feb 15, 2009)

How much would a new piston/cylinder kit cost?


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## jburlingham (Feb 15, 2009)

I can't tell you how much with Husky parts, however, from baileys the after market piston is 35 bucks. If you need a cylinder also it adds 250 bucks. The 250 is an OEM cylinder from Baileys. 

In many cases you don't need the cylinder, but you won't know till you have pull it apart to evaluate the bore. A new piston in a seized motor, is just a plain good idea.


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## Kwdog75 (Feb 15, 2009)

Well i spoke to him a few minutes ago and he said he doesn't want to spend that much, so he gave me the saw and told me to do whatever i wanted to it. So the next qustion is.... how crazy of a saw should i build?? Any ideas for a mild build?


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## valekbrothers (Feb 15, 2009)

KW,

If you decide not to rebuild it, let me know. I am looking for some parts for a 394xp. I need a muffler and the support bracket on the front of the muffler, also the outside felling spike. (the one mounted on the clutch cover)
Let me know.
Thanks,
Chuck


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## Kwdog75 (Feb 15, 2009)

I think i'll rebuild it but if i change my mind i'll tell you.


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## bigbadbob (Feb 15, 2009)

Post some pictures, easier to help out that way.


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## Dadatwins (Feb 15, 2009)

You need to figure out why it siezed before starting the rebuild. If it was straight gased the bottom end might still be good and just changing the piston and head will probably be ok. If it had an air leak from a blown seal then the bearings are bad and a complete rebuild will be needed.


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## ericjeeper (Feb 15, 2009)

*Make sure it is seized*

Heck the flywheel might be jammed against a loose piece under the starter cover. Ha ha.. That would just be tooooooooo nice.. My luck is like this.. cylinder is toast, piston is toast and the crank is bent. Both bearing journals are gouged up. You get my drift? Good luck. Hope it is just a broken ring stuck in a port.


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## RED-85-Z51 (Feb 15, 2009)

You might get lucky.

I had a like new Echo PE-200 power edger dropped off at my house by a guy I do work for, it had "frozen" in marker on the cover, and trying to pull it over was futile.

I pulled the starter and bumped the crank/nut with a 3/8" impact on low, and it wouldnt budge. I let it sit with MMIO in it for a week, and bumped it, nothing.

The plug was pasty white and gritty....

I took the carb and muffler off, and removed the cylinder bolts, set the thing in a vice and using a punch and hammer managed to beat the cylinder off the piston without damaging anything...it only took 45 minutes to get it off...lol

Both rings were stuck, and everythign was corroded, it had clearly spent time under water at some point. I polished the piston, and managed to get both rings out intact. I cleaned up the cylinder with some 800 grit, and then 1000 grit and some oil, then cleaned it all up. Put the rings back in, slid the cylinder back on, put the muffler and carb on, and damn...145 psi.

I added some mix and boom, 4 pulls and it was running. Took a minute to burn off the crap, but it idles, revs up, and makes great power. Compression is high, no odd noises or bearing problems. I ran it throug a blade and 3 tanks of gas yesterday and compression is steady at 150 cold and dry. Plug is light caramel colored.


Never assume the worst until the piston is sitting in the palm of your hand..2 shops said the edger was "cooked"...riiiiggghhhtttt


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## Kwdog75 (Feb 15, 2009)

Can't post pics, i ran over my digital camera with my 4 wheeler, so it's kinda dead/flat. I'm going to take it apart next weekend, by that time i should of had bought another camera.


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## litefoot (Feb 15, 2009)

ericjeeper said:


> Heck the flywheel might be jammed against a loose piece under the starter cover. Ha ha.. That would just be tooooooooo nice.. My luck is like this.. cylinder is toast, piston is toast and the crank is bent. Both bearing journals are gouged up. You get my drift? Good luck. Hope it is just a broken ring stuck in a port.



That's kind of what I was thinking...the flywheel part, that is. I'd take the starter cover off and inspect. Try to turn the FW by hand w/o the rope. Look at clutch side too.


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## mowoodchopper (Feb 15, 2009)

How about dynamite!

Sorry I couldn't resist.:hmm3grin2orange:


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## Dan_IN_MN (Feb 15, 2009)

*I hate when that happens!*



Kwdog75 said:


> Can't post pics, i ran over my digital camera with my 4 wheeler, so it's kinda dead/flat. I'm going to take it apart next weekend, by that time i should of had bought another camera.



I hate when that happens!


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## Old Goat (Feb 15, 2009)

Kwdog75 said:


> I think i'll rebuild it but if i change my mind i'll tell you.



This saw is definitely worth a rebuild. New O.E.M P/C combos are on ebay for $140 to $160 plus a used cylinder pops up on there every now and then. Almost all of the other parts are on there also.

If you act fast you might get this one for a parts saw. It looks as if it is in the same condition as yours. It is in Canada. It closes in 45 minutes.

http://cgi.ebay.com/394-HUSQVARNA-C...5|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50


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## mrpotatohead (Feb 15, 2009)

litefoot said:


> That's kind of what I was thinking...the flywheel part, that is. I'd take the starter cover off and inspect. Try to turn the FW by hand w/o the rope. Look at clutch side too.




I suggest the same. Rule out all the simplest things before you go dissecting something. Does the engine move at all in either direction? If so, it could very well be the flywheel or clutch jamming. Those saws are not prone to snapping con-rods, so there's a good chance of saving it without too much money spent.


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## William Balaska (Feb 15, 2009)

Oxygen and acetyline if all else fails, just don't get to close to the magnesium or it will be like the fourth of july!


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## Kwdog75 (Feb 22, 2009)

Well, i took it apart today, turns out it wasn't siezed at all! The starter was extra rusty, i guess he left it outside for quite a while, so i took it off, cleaned it up and now it turns over!  But, now that i have played with it a bit, it seems to me that the bottom end bearings are gone. How hard of a job is it to fix? Should i still rebuild it?


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## William Balaska (Feb 22, 2009)

Spray the bottom end down with liquid wrench after pulling the topend down, let it sit for a few days and flush with fuel oil mix and reassemble and see how it goes


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## slinger (Feb 22, 2009)

How to unsieze a chainsaw


You can un-seez a chainsaw once you see one you pretty much half to have it (or more).


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## Kwdog75 (Feb 22, 2009)

It seems like it has some end play on the clutch side. I am assuming that the crank bearing is shot. Am i correctly diagnosing the problem?


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## thomas72 (Feb 22, 2009)

If the piston and cylinder are in good shape I would put new bearings,seals, and rings in the saw. They seem to be good saws, but I have never used one.


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## AOD (Feb 22, 2009)

My old Mac 1-42 is locked up tight as a drum, I'll have to try Marvel Mystery Oil and see if it helps any. It has sat for many, many years and I think it's just stuck. I got on the clutch side with an impact gun and couldn't get it to budge, not even a fraction of an inch.


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## bigbadbob (Feb 22, 2009)

Kwdog75 said:


> Well, i took it apart today, turns out it wasn't siezed at all! The starter was extra rusty, i guess he left it outside for quite a while, so i took it off, cleaned it up and now it turns over!  But, now that i have played with it a bit, it seems to me that the bottom end bearings are gone. How hard of a job is it to fix? Should i still rebuild it?



Be sure its not the magnets on the igniton making it feel 'rough' when you spin it.


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## excess650 (Feb 22, 2009)

AOD said:


> My old Mac 1-42 is locked up tight as a drum, I'll have to try Marvel Mystery Oil and see if it helps any. It has sat for many, many years and I think it's just stuck. I got on the clutch side with an impact gun and couldn't get it to budge, not even a fraction of an inch.



MMO, penetrating oil, diesel, whatever to try and free the rings from the piston and bore, but the impact gun wasn't a good idea!

One trick is to fab an adaptor into the sparkplug hole with a grease zirk, and use a grease gun to force the piston down.


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## AOD (Feb 22, 2009)

excess650 said:


> MMO, penetrating oil, diesel, whatever to try and free the rings from the piston and bore, but the impact gun wasn't a good idea!
> 
> One trick is to fab an adaptor into the sparkplug hole with a grease zirk, and use a grease gun to force the piston down.



Oops, I guess thats what ya call brawn before brains. I really got on it too, I was determined to break her loose. 

I'll fill the plug hole with MMO and maybe pull the muffler and fill the crankcase with it too, if I can. Then I'll put it in my stove room so it can warm up and work its way into the nooks and crannies.


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## cjcocn (Feb 22, 2009)

AOD said:


> Oops, I guess thats what ya call brawn before brains. I really got on it too, I was determined to break her loose.
> 
> I'll fill the plug hole with MMO and maybe pull the muffler and fill the crankcase with it too, if I can. Then I'll put it in my stove room so it can warm up and work its way into the nooks and crannies.



After you get the piston and cylinder loose, disassemble it and make sure that there isn't any junk in the crankcase that will make your bearings NFG.

I had a seized Husqvarna 51 and after getting the piston loose and removing the P&C there was still some stiffness in the crank. I only moved the crank enough to determine that more disassembly was required and after splitting the case found a bunch of white, hardened junk inside that would have toasted the bearings in short order.


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