Poulan quick adjust bar

tractormiallis · May 14, 2011

I have a poulan saw, 260, "quick adjust" bar on it. It has never been used by me until now, bought it used at a garage sale for practically nothing. So it needed a new chain on it, so I bought one. I put the new oregon chain on, adjusted it with the quick adjust screw and tightened it down, started the saw, rain it a few revs and the chain is loose. Repeated tightening after checking it over and making sure all was ok, and it goes loose again. Repeated and still the same result. Im not sure what is wrong, I bought the 18 inch chain for the 260 pro saw with 18 inch bar. It just wont hold tension, and the tightening screw is not the problem as it is still in the right spot, and the bar looks to be all ok. The saw is in good shape itself. Please offer some help.

Goose · May 14, 2011

Sometimes new chains will stretch, but I'm not sure one would stretch that much. Could be crud in the groove on the bar that the new chain cleaned out.

Anonymous-0 · May 14, 2011

I bought a new Poulan Pro with the 20 inch bar and it also has the tool-less chain adjust. Really the saw's only negative issue. It doesn't loosen just running it when not cutting, but it certainly seems to require more adjustment than the old mechanism which required a tool. I can control it by not making long cuts without a short pause, which indicates it isn't getting enough bar oil. But it certainly seems like the older Poulan with tool adjust still doesn't require as much fiddling even if pushed. If I could change it over without too many dollars it would have already been done. Might be OK for a casual user but certainly not ideal for more intensive use. Still a heck-of-alot of saw for less than $150. Can't offer much advice other than be sure the adjust tab is correctly inserted in the bar hole, which I assume you already have checked.

smallercrawler · May 14, 2011

I have a similar saw, bought new for very light homeowner use because of the low price, cannot keep bar tight. Trying to find a junker with conventional bar mount to try to crossbreed mine, no luck yet.

guido · May 14, 2011

Hello tractormiallis,
When the chain is new, it may yake 2 to 3 times fo thightening before it settles to the proper lenght.
My neighbor had the same problem, i adjusted the chain for hi and he cut that day with no problem. Make sure it is getting oil. Take the chain and bar off and make sure oil is coming out of the lubricating hole.
The bar has to be clean in the groove for the oil to get to the cutters.
Here is my neibor's saw on the bench.
Should be close to what you have.
Guido.

NCWayne · May 14, 2011

Neighbor had the same problem from a brand new saw. Only thing either he or I could figure out on the deal is the tool less adjusting mechanism is JUNK. Find the stuff to convert it to the old style that worked great for A LONG time and I think you'll have a decent saw.

Anonymous-0 · May 14, 2011

You certainly have the right idea. Hard to believe why they rigged such a rinky-dink mechanism on a very usable saw. Bought a refurbished slightly smaller and apparently older Poulan model for $90 and have run the heck out of it. It has the tool adjust and it is simple and works great. Apparently they think this new wizardry/feature will attract more casual users/buyers, but how many are really interested in a 20 inch saw? More likely most are interested in a 14-16 inch and perhaps an 18 inch saw. Probably marketing did a survey which lauded the tool-less adjustment benefit; would attract more buyers and therefore it was required in any new/updated designs. But the engineers weren't allowed enough money to design it correctly. Would agree tool-less is a desirable feature if it worked. This design doesn't work.

Poulan quick adjust bar

tractormiallis

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Goose

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Anonymous-0

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smallercrawler

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guido

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NCWayne

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Anonymous-0

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