Huski 450 problems

farmtrac360 · Apr 12, 2012

I have a one year old huski 450 that seems to have a bar oil problem. I have seized two bars on it so far and the dealer is saying that there is nothing wrong with the saw. It throws oil when I check it between cuts (which I've never done before while sawing) but then starts smoking or seizes. Didn't do it on branches or other small cuts but when I hit anything 8-10 inches or bigger I had problems. Anyone heard about problems with this saw.

BTW, today I bought a Stihl 290, gotta have a saw. Cut all day no problems. Any one wanna buy a Huski 450?

namesray · Apr 13, 2012

never had that problem. what bars were on the saw (husqvarna?) did it do it ever since you got it, or maybe got a wrong replacement chain on the saw or chain too tight? i usually squirt some oil into the hole at the tip of the bars on my saw about every other day. i use mine heavilly and never had this issue. i have 2 455 ranchers and a 350. it might only smoke on the bigger stuff because it would be running longer, heating up more. interesting issue. let us know what you find out.

Treemonkey1000 · Apr 13, 2012

First thing is make sure the oil hole in the bars are clear. There should be a small oil hole on the bar near the bar holding holes. Use a piece of wire to clear it out. Use a bar guide cleaning tool or screw driver for the slot in the bar.
Does the chain spin easily when the saw is OFF by hand when you pull it by hand. That is just in case they gave you the wrong gauge of chain. Also do not over tighten the chain on the bar it should have a little droop on the bottom side of the bar when you pull it down.
Are you using good clean bar oil? Next thing is remove the bar and run the saw at about 1/4 to 1/2 throttle and watch for a steady stream of oil coming out of the oiler port. If your oiler pump is faulty for what ever reason it could be failing under higher RPM's and not oiling properly.

farmtrac360 · Apr 13, 2012

This saw was/is brand new, only at most 5 tanks thru it. Dealer blew it out and said it was fixed, the problem was "fine sawdust" clogging the oiler and that it was the type of wood I was cutting. I asked what type of wood I should cut but didn't really get an answer. They also said that I should only use a sharp chain, the chain was brand new but they insisted that they don't always come from the factory sharp. The replacement bar was factory Huski. They refused to even entertain that it might be the saw and insisted that it was operator error. I was never able to cut for more than ten minutes with out having a problem, lost allot of valuable time. Ran two tanks of gas thru my Stihl yesterday with no issues, cutting the same wood that I tried to cut with the 450.

It's the oiler, cheap plastic one that two other dealers told me that Husqvarna is having problems with. Had Husqvarna provided a level of customer service that I would expect from a company like them I would have taken another saw or even upgraded. After two calls and several trips to the dealer the only help offered from the Husqvarna customer service rep was "good luck" at the end of the call. In the end I did what I should have done in the first place and bought a Stihl. The saw is available for sale, two chains but will need another new bar.

Treemonkey1000 · Apr 13, 2012

Holy cow that is odd. I have Husky saws that run circles around most any saw. Sure there are problem childs now and then but Husky usually is right on the ball with helping out. Fine sawdust is an indication of dull chains most of the time. Try hitting rocks and nails like I have done and you find out in a hurry. :confused2:
I would have gone up the food chain a bit with the dealer about that. But for me Husky is a far better price/ quality over Stihl. And I own 7 saws of Husky and Stihl mix. I even bought a Solo top handle saw from Bailey's. That has been a problem from the start. Recently the plastic pull starter pawl has been breaking so Solo has sent me a new side cover this is 2 years after I bought the saw. So they have been good about taking care of it.
Heck I would buy the saw if you were close.

namesray · Apr 13, 2012

i am having a hard time understanding that if the oiler is bad, but you said it does sling oil as you have checked it while cutting (something you have never had to do before). if it is slinging oil, then the oiler would seem to operate properly. have you tried a different chain. i am leaning towards having a incorrect chain on the saw. and if it is the orginal chain, maybe dealer got it wrong from the start. it would be interesting to see, if with a fixed bar, to try a different dealer and get a different chain or atleast check with someone different if the chain on the 450 now is the right one. as far as being dull, i don't think that is too much harder on the bar, only the operator and maybe the saw having to work harder to cut. if the chain was too tight, then that might be it, but you state your stilh works fine when you use it, so i am sure you understand proper chain tension.

xyz123 · Apr 13, 2012

450 is a plastic clamshell homeowner saw. Does it have a adjustable oiler I wonder?

The dura lube on my husky aka oregon bars always get drilled out to flow bar oil better like old school.

RandyT · Apr 13, 2012

this may be a dumb thought but is the oil hole in the bar lining up with the oil slot on the saw. Have seen 3 bars in the last three years that the oil hole was miss drilled by oregon to the wrong height and will cause problems like you are having. the oil hole may be off about 1/2 a hole and is subject to more plugging, due to the fact the oil can't keep it cleaned out.

The first bar that I saw was on a new Dolmar saw that I sold to a customer. Called my distributor about the oil hole misalignment and found out that every 20" 3/8 bar in the warehouse was wrong, over 8000 bars. Shut down all Dolmar saw deliveries with that bar/chain combo from that distributor covering over half the U.S. and 4 warehouses for 3 weeks

Treemonkey1000 · Apr 13, 2012

RANDYT said:
this may be a dumb thought but is the oil hole in the bar lining up with the oil slot on the saw. Have seen 3 bars in the last three years that the oil hole was miss drilled by oregon to the wrong height and will cause problems like you are having. the oil hole may be off about 1/2 a hole and is subject to more plugging, due to the fact the oil can't keep it cleaned out.

The first bar that I saw was on a new Dolmar saw that I sold to a customer. Called my distributor about the oil hole misalignment and found out that every 20" 3/8 bar in the warehouse was wrong, over 8000 bars. Shut down all Dolmar saw deliveries with that bar/chain combo from that distributor covering over half the U.S. and 4 warehouses for 3 weeks

Good to know and good thought. I had to drill an oil hole for the Oregon Powersharp bar for my Husky. Took me longer to measure where the hole went than to actually drill it.

namesray · Apr 13, 2012

RANDYT said:
this may be a dumb thought but is the oil hole in the bar lining up with the oil slot on the saw. Have seen 3 bars in the last three years that the oil hole was miss drilled by oregon to the wrong height and will cause problems like you are having. the oil hole may be off about 1/2 a hole and is subject to more plugging, due to the fact the oil can't keep it cleaned out.

The first bar that I saw was on a new Dolmar saw that I sold to a customer. Called my distributor about the oil hole misalignment and found out that every 20" 3/8 bar in the warehouse was wrong, over 8000 bars. Shut down all Dolmar saw deliveries with that bar/chain combo from that distributor covering over half the U.S. and 4 warehouses for 3 weeks

i must still not be understanding something. the op first post stated that he saw the chainsaw throwing oil when he checked it between cuts.

part of orginal post: "I have a one year old huski 450 that seems to have a bar oil problem. I have seized two bars on it so far and the dealer is saying that there is nothing wrong with the saw. It throws oil when I check it between cuts (which I've never done before while sawing) but then starts smoking or seizes. Didn't do it on branches or other small cuts but when I hit anything 8-10 inches or bigger I had problems. Anyone heard about problems with this saw."

if it is "throwing" oil, wouldn't the oiler be working and the hole be drilled in the right spot for it to catch the oil and "throw" it???. that should mean the bar was also getting some oil.