Clutch has no holding power

Remove the side casing. (bar side)
Take off bar and chain.
Remove E-clip holding the clutch drum on.
Remove clutch drum and needle cage bearing.
This should expose the clutch.
Remove spark plug.
Use a piston stop to stop the piston rising, Sometimes a knotted piece of pull cord fed into the cylinder is just as good.
Turn the clutch clockwise with a socket to unscrew.

To put clutch back on turn anticlockwise till piston cycles back and hits the piston stop again and tighten. Replace spark plug and clutch drum, bearing, bar and chain and side casing.

Its not hard! You need to purchase a tool that goes into your spark plug hole. You remove the spark plug, put this tool in the hole. This tool stops the piston from moving so you can remove the nut holding the clutch. The clutch is what the drive sprocket is attached to. The drive sprocket is where the chain fits on at the engine side. remive the bar and chain and you will see the clutch. Use the tool and then use a wrench that fits the nut on the clutch. be sure you know which way removes the nut. It could be opposite of what you think. some are left hand threads some are not. I think these are not. After you replace the clutch be sure to lube the clutch bearings. Most people don't know this! use a grease gun made for saws and insert it into the hole at the end of the shaft that holds the clutch. Also next time your saw cant saw through a piece of wood, do not give it gas to make the chain try and move.This is what burns up the clutch! If your saw stalls out, and you press the throttle and it still doesn't turn. Always allow the chain to move, pull back and lift up on the saw slightly to get the chain moving again.

1st Take the chain and bar off.
2nd Take the flywheel COVER off (pull cord side of your saw. )
3rd you will need strong needle nose pliers or the clutch tool that was made for this project.
You will also need a deep well 3/4" socket and 3/8" ratchet ( do not try this with a 1/4 rachet and socket)
Make sure your ratchet is set to turn right (or On POSITION) ( Your Clutch has left handed thread.)
4th Put your socket ( with ratchet attatched) on the flywheel nut. ( if the flywheel nut comes off. put it back on using blue locktight and use a rag to hold the flywheel )
5th Put your needle nose plyers in the grooves of the center clutch ( they will look like 1/2 moons on either side of the center piece.
6th turn the ratchet and hold the plyers still or if you have help( recommend a friends help)
7th. If the clutch does not come loose you may have to put an impacted in it.

Once the clutch is off, be sure to look at things carefully and pay attention to the positioning of everything (washers and oiler and oiler cover.
Make sure you clean your oiler ( I use starting fluid) so it flows easily.
Reasemble using steps 6 through 1 ( do not use an impact to reasemble)


I made a tool to fit on the clutch and used a impacted while holding the flywheel. ( take a wash rag or small towel and grab the flywheel. useing the tool you can easily remove the clutch

Remove the cover at the drive end and back off the chain adjustment several turns. Make sure the chain brake is released. Check the condition of the sprocket on the outer clutch drum looking for tooth damage--also check the outer clutch drum bearing for looseness. Lay the chain out on a table or board--look for lateral bending, broken or bent links/teeth, or other obvious damage. If ok, clean the bar oil passages including the two small holes that feed oil out to the chain groove from the larger holes on each side. Also, clean the entire chain groove and lube the end sprocket--check to see that it turns freely. If all ok, fit the bar in place, then thread the chain over the bar and sprockets. Pull the bar outwards and fit the cover back over the bar. Turn the clamp nuts finger tight, then adjust the chain tension until the chain pulls up to the lower edge of the bar so that it doesn't droop, but not so tight that you can't move the chain by hand. Make sure the teeth cut toward you on the bottom run and that the teeth are properly sharpened. Tighten the clamp nuts fully and recheck tension. If ok, start the engine and run the bar tip near a piece of cardboard for a few moments--it should throw off a thin line of oil onto the cardboard. When properly sharpened, the chain will readily cut quickly without undue effort and will make straight cuts. Forcing the cut will overheat the chain and cause it to come loose. Hope this helps!

weak wires are sometimes the cause of loss of power,if they have been really hot from trying to start and become higher in resistance. looking at the ends of wires where connection are sometimes can reveal bluing of the copper inside (signs of heat). loose cable ends look good but dont perform well.Test charging system for proper charge output to voltage reg. and battery.Short tolerance to load under start conditions could be due to not being charged at high enough volts from charging system. (too many chicken lites or other stuff drawing current)

Chain Adjustment

1. Make sure the chain brake is off (gloves will protest your fingers).
2. If necessary, loosen the bar nuts that are clamping the clutch cover in place (or whatever holds the clutch cover and bar on). They do not need these really loose - finger tight will do.
3. Ease the tension adjustment until the chain is obviously loose.
4. Using one hand, hold the nose of the bar up.
5. While holding the nose up, adjust the tensioner so that the center of the chain just touches the underside of the bar, add a touch more.
6. Continue holding the nose of the bar up & tighten up the bar nuts / bolts / quick-release system. HTH

Lou
Look carefully at the picture and your chain, it can be mounted backward; they do not cut when backward.

Chain adjustment

1. Make sure the chain brake is off (gloves will protest your fingers).
2. If necessary, loosen the bar nuts that are clamping the clutch cover in place (or whatever holds the clutch cover and bar on). They don't need these really loose - finger tight will do.
3. Ease the tension adjustment until the chain is obviously loose.
4. Using one hand, hold the nose of the bar up.
5. While holding the nose up, adjust the tensioner so that the center of the chain just touches the underside of the bar, add a touch more.
6. Continue holding the nose of the bar up & tighten up the bar nuts / bolts / quick-release system. HTH

Lou

Hi there
Sometimes that's not an easy job . I work for a Husqvarna dealer and I have that problem frequently . First try to get the clutch cover on place (do not use the bolts) and push in @ the top part of the clutch cover , then try to move the clutch lever backwards to release the band (better if done with two people) . If that does not work the only way is remove the clutch lever with the 2 bolts on each side and put the lever on the clutch cover (top metal piece that looks like a clover)to release the band (again with 2 people one holds the clutch cover and the other one the lever pulling the lever backwards) .
Hope this help
Hope this help

Most of the rancher models are easy to look at. Take the four screws off that hold the starter cover on.When off have a look to see if the pulley is ok or one of the starter dogs(pawls) is jamed . If dogs ok take the screw out of the centre of pulley and remove it ,check for spring tension. if there is just be carful to leave sring in housing. look at spring if broken or out of shape renew it and rope.check for cracks in pulley. When renewing spring and rope get correct rope length and diameter. don't over tension new spring. hop this helps

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.