How do I release the brake spring with the cover off?

If it has a chain brake it might have gone off(released)when taken off or put down. It would be a circular spring or other device which stops the chain when released. Pull back on the handle while holding the cover and it will hold back allowing you to put it back on.

Hi, hold the cover in a vice where the bar nuts normally tighten up to, then pull the chainbrake lever back in the direction the handle bar would be. You will feel a click and the lever will stay back and the brake band will be released. Then refitted cover to the saw. Regards Phil.

The brake on this machine is a knee link design, this is an over centre catch, if there is excessive dirt under the over centre mechanism it will not lock properly and so come on prematurley, you need to remove the brake from the machine, activate the brake to release most of the spring tention,remove the hand guard fixing screw and collers, remove the hand guard carefully remove the screws securing the spring cover, be aware there is a compression spring under here, inspect the internal components, clean out any accumulated dirt and debris, replace the cover and hand guard, load the brake by pulling the hand guard fully back, the other option is to just replace the complete brake assembly part no. 530054740

Hi
I have seen something similar on my own saw some time ago. Probably two things have gone wrong. First there is something wrong with the transfer mechanism between the clutch handle and the brake spring. I do not remeber the exact detailsy, but there is a plastic part engaging a metal part in the transfer mechanism between handle and spring, that tends to wear out so that it will not release the spring when moving the brake handle. (look at the engaging mechanism where the handle is turning on its axle/bolt) If you take off the chain guard / cover you should be able to follow or see this mechanism and use a screwdriver and a pair og pliers and try to move the transfer mechanism so that the brake can be set to the released position. Once this is done the brake mechanism/cover can be taken off and you can clearly see what part that needs to be changed (I think it was the handle itself, due to worn out enganging plastic lugs). The brake spring obviously needs to be disengaged when assembling and disassembling.

Whent it comes to chain lubing, you can try to clean out the oil tank, blow through the hoses and look for dirt and particles clogging the lube circuit. As a test, when the lubing is working correctly, the chain should throw off visible amounts of small drops of oil from the tip of the blade, when you let the chain run at working speed just in front of a piece of paper or cardboard. If no oil stains appear, the lubrication is failing and overheating and excessive wear will occur. Use the correct oil too. The wrong type of oil can potentially ruin the lube circuit. There is a small plunger-type oil pump that is driven by an excenter located near the inside of the chain sprocket drive shaft. You can easily test its function by pressing the plunger carefully and see whether oil comes out on the lube oil opening. It should be cheap to replace if broken.

I hope this can help you.

you should be able to release it with a flat screwdriver. you should see something that looks like a wheel where the chain brake locks to the brake handle when you put the cover back on. you should be able to twist that wheel and unlock it that way.

I guarantee you are not the first to experience this. In the future if the clutch cover is difficult to remove please do not!
Reset Chain Brake
Immobilize the clutch cover (blocks of wood on a flat surface to protect the finish) in a vise or with a large C-clamp to a work surface.




Use pliers or a crescent wrench and rotate it clockwise until it latches open. This will require some force. A slight modification reported in a testimonial to the above method follows;
" Thanks for the help. I took your answer and modified the fix a little. I placed the cover on loosely and then moved the bar handle into the right position in order to engage the spoked wheel, then rotated the handle back until the cover fit right. Thanks, SG " – NameRemoved

If you have more questions or need additional help please reply below and I will get back to you. HTH & Good Luck.
Lou
Thank You for using FixYa.

Immobilize the clutch cover (blocks of wood on a flat surface to protect the finish) in a vise or to a work surface,



Use pliers or a crescent wrench and rotate it clockwise until it latches open. This will require some force.

If you have more questions or need additional help please reply below and I will get back to you. HTH & Good Luck.
Lou
Thank You for using FixYa.

What he said. You may need to clamp it something to pull it back. Next time ensure the chain brake isn't tripped before removing the cover. HTH
Lou

hate to say this,but,there is no way to adjust the tension on the brake band.either the spring is weak or the brake band is broken.either can be changed but it's not easy.spring is under a lot of tension and can fly out when taking it apart or installing,you can get the entire cover as a unit if so desired...hope this helps,let me know

I used applman08's solution. A few pointers:
0. This problem occurs when you take off the side cover while the brake is set. So after you fix this, don't do that again.
1. When removing the clutch, place the screwdriver in the notch next to where it says "off" and tilt the screwdriver down so that when you strike it you are applying a clockwise shock force that is almost horizontal (assuming your 455 is on its side).
2. DO NOT remove the spring! There is a plastic housing that basically holds the brake mechanism in place (secured by 4 screws). If you take that apart, and then take out the spring, you will be learning how the brake works and spending some time compressing that spring and getting it back in. You'll have to come up with something clever to get the spring in depending on tools available.
3. Going back to 1. - get that clutch off, put the side cover back on, getting that brake lever lined up with the very-difficult-to-grab three-toothed mechanism for engaging the spring. Tighten down the side cover, or hold it snug with one hand while you lever the brake handle with the other. You will hear a satisfying snap as the braking mechanism (with the spring I told you not to mess with) resets.
Note: You can probably reset the braking mechanism by manually turning that three toothed gizmo but it's really hard to grab and the brake handle fits it perfectly. The key is you've got to turn that about 60 degrees.
Good luck, this was an annoying problem.