quality issue with husqvarna 440?

[Esmiralda_Fashion]

I've got a Husqvarna 440 that's only 18 months old and already acting up. Hardly use it, a few times a year, and the chain stopped moving mid-job. Opened it up, full of crud, cleaned it out, reset the brake, put it back together… and nothing changed. Chain drags, clutch even started smoking. Pulled it apart again... spins free by hand, nothing binding. But once it's reassembled, the chain still won't run smooth. Chain is tensioned right, bar is clean, sprocket looks fine. So what gives? Is the clutch shot already on a lightly used saw, or is Husky just cranking out parts that don't last? Anyone run into this same mess with the 440?

 

[8'sgivin]

Looks like a clutch assembly itself, not just the chain or bar. Even if a clutch looks okay, the springs inside can lose their tension or the shoes can wear in a way that prevents them from engaging the drum properly. When this happens, the clutch slips instead of spinning the chain, which creates a lot of heat and causes the smoking you saw.

It's also possible that a part of the clutch or the drum itself is not seating correctly when you reassemble it, causing binding. If the chain, bar, and sprocket are clean and free, the clutch assembly is a good place to focus your troubleshooting.

 

[Saw.yer]

A bit of crud or oil gumming up the clutch can make it drag when it heats up, so pull the clutch and inspect the springs and drum and by the way its definitely not normal for 18 months with minimal use