I bought a Husqvarna 550 XPG as a repair object and I dismantled it to check its condition. It turned out to have seized on the exhaust side, and the piston ring was stuck. There was a great deal of oil and soot, so it had likely been running with an overly rich oil mixture or the wrong type of oil. A new cylinder and piston have been ordered, so hopefully, it will be a working chainsaw again.
Husqvarna 550 XPG seized
- Thread starter V70tdi
- Start date
Nice project to have.
Wow! That pistons a mess. Equal gouging on the rings too.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
Back in the good old pre-synthetic days changing rings, pistons, and reed valves was common and parts were cheap. Today is a disposable mindset society. Don't fix things. Use it, throw it away and get a new one.
Kind of like "Why change the oil? It's a lease; I'll get another in 3 years."
Kind of like "Why change the oil? It's a lease; I'll get another in 3 years."
Did the intake side get scored too? That one is odd as I don't see the usual black/brown spot from oil breakdown. OE or aftermarket for the new parts? Looks like a fun resurrection.
Possible that it was cold seized. Or just run hard while set lean. The newer 550xp mkII is auto-tune. I don't know if that 550 was just a plain carb that was lean. I use a tachometer to set my high jets. The auto-tune doesn't need anything.
Exhaust side only. Aftermarket parts for this one with a promise from the shop that its good quality parts so I will se how it ends
This is a auto tune. Here in Sweden all 550XP has been delivered with auto tune.
