The Brake stays on when handle lifted, have to pull it up slightly more manually in order for the chain to rotate. How do I repair this?

phil burden, November 2007

Thanks, just cut a coil of my ryobi chainsaw brake, works great no more sticking brake.

pablo, January 2016

worked a treat been in shed years can use again thanks and easy

joe, January 2016

Had brake problem with my Ryobi ,so I did the shortening of the spring method,and it works.first take the top cover off,remove the circlip on brake drum,pull the brake back to release the drum and remove,remove the plastic cover to expose the end of spring,pull out the spring,remove the brake handle,push the brake spring up to reveal a coil spring,take the spring out and shorten it by 10mm and reassemble.good luck.

Tony d, July 2015

I have a 4040 which had the same problem.
Thanks to Phil's post i have stopped the chain break from binding and it's now perfect.

Jon., June 2015

I have had my 18" chainsaw for at least 10 years, and its had this same problem of the brake band binding almost from new. Like others, I have pulled the chain brake handle further back and often thought of tying it with a tyrap or similar. However, I have followed the approach of Kiwi Paul (May 2012) above and it has worked a treat. A bit of a fiddly job, but not beyond most DIT-ers. It works perfectly now. I cut 2 rings off the spring which I think was more than enough (could have cut a little less off). So, before you rant and write-off the whole saw as rubbish, mine has given excellent service for over a decade, you can still get parts and replacement blades/chains, and it still starts every time.

Phil, Esher, May 2015

same problem with mine, all so i have a strimmer with constant vibration i lost a cylinder head bolt which has got speceil ryobi thread phoned ryobi i could not buy a new bolt they sugested i bey a new enjine so both went in skip and i got new still instead had no trouble since

dave the rave, December 2014

Guys, try looking on a parts breakdown of your machine and you will find like I did that there is a small flat leaf spring inside the handle of the brake handle. Mine had snapped so I ordered a new one for £2.11 +vat, cheap enough. Problem fixed properly without the risk of a dangerous saw.
Chainsaws are dangerous enough dont risk it for £3.00.

Craig Sheppard, May 2013

had mine one year minimal use, break trouble already i am going to cable tie it tomorrow and see if that works.

bob, July 2012

As luck would gave it I saved my PCN4040 from a rubbish skip, sitting there looking in good condition.
Took it home and to my surprise started easy but discovered the brake band locked on. My fix was simple, shorten the spring by one loop by cutting off and only took 20mins.
Remove the brake handle, 1x allen head screw holds two step bushes that act as hinge, 1x split washer enables removal of engage pin, removing the silencer makes this easier. Release the other end of the brake band, release band from brake drum with a small screw driver is allows the band to be pushed up
exposing the coil spring, shorten, refit all.
Brake still works correctly, now the neighbors over hanging tree is nicely trimmed

Kiwi Paul, May 2012

I have used husqvarna saws for forty years in the forestry never had a brake cause any trouble.

paul fish, May 2012

my 4040 has just died after a few months, the pull string
spring has gone, andit never started properly in the first place [up to 25 pulls to start the damn thing :( ] now after reading all the terrible reviews of ryobi chansaws i truly wish I hadn't bought this one.
total ripoff, terribly made, and cuts badly. AVOID!

kieran, March 2012

Well I can only add to the mounting list of owners who's brake band binds on. Yes the saw is cheap BUT as these are potentially dangerous tools surly the brake mechanism should work for more than a few hours without failing ?

Steve, October 2011

I've owned two of these saws. The first suffered the siezed chain-brake and melting casing problem and was replaced by the supplier. The second lasted until just out of warrenty and played the same trick though being fore warned I turned it off before anything melted . A replacement brake band was ordered but failed to turn-up which was very embarrasing for the dealer and annoying for me . A friend also had the same problem. It is a shame because it would be a handy little saw if it was not for this stupid design fault . It tempts people into taking risks by manually holding the brake back ,bodging it by pushing spacers into the mechanism or just ripping the offending part out . It is a very serious fault and I'm surprised that Ryobi have not issued a recall. Addmittedly it is a budget tool that can't be compared with even the cheapest Huskies and Stihls but it too easily becomes a dangerous piece of junk !.

Kev, July 2011

I have an old (2005) Ryobi Chain saw PCN3840(?) and it has never had a lot of use. Recently, I have need to cut up a lot of logs - but the chain overheated -oiled OK , but the chain needed sharpening - and as a consequence the brake automatically stopped the chain saw.
I have the same problem as most of you that i could'nt get the chain brake to release - but I discovered two screws that adjust both the handle and the brake band tension. These two screws are located behind the outer chain cover just to the left of the chain drum/band. You need to turn these to release the chain and adjust the handle. In my case I have also found that the brake handle needs to be pulled right back to get the chain to move freely - so I have added the idea below (suggested by another contributor) of adding a strip of metal to reduce the chain brake travel - hope you understand me . Chain moves freely - brake operates Ok - can start engine safely - and I have resharpen the chain - so I will use Ryobi again asap.

Regarding Ryobi products/ service - I buy my Ryobi from Screwfix - I have had a recent problem with a strimmer still in 2 yr guarantee - RYobi had the strimmer collected by courier/ repaired and returned by courier within 10 days - unfortunately the repair was not to my satisfaction and Ryobi sent a courier out to collect and returned within 7 days - but a cover was missing - I received 2 of the missing cover in the post 28 hrs later. It was inconvenient and a traumatic but the strimmer is working OK and the fix was at not cost to me .

David Faux, July 2011

how to replace piston rings as engine noise changed, would not tick over then now refuses to start

mark, April 2011

My father has the 4545 as well. I found stretching the brake worked. What i did was take one of the old safety razors, and snap of the actual blade, Leaves a peice of thin aluminum about 4 cms long, cut this in half so you have 2 pieces about 2cm's long. Pull back on the brake until it releases from the chain spool and feed the 2 pieces around the spool so they are equal distances apart between the brake and the spool. Push the brake back on, and leave overnight. refit when you are ready to use and then after use, when the brake and chain spool are still hot, apply the brake and leave on until next time.

fix it Roger, June 2010

Let me add to the ever ending list of people being frankly ripped-off, my unit is two years old been used three times, ( private)and yes I have the problem of the clutch band applying,I had my chain resharpend, and the Agrecultural repair shop chap said, ''not another Ryobi with the same problem' he was very good did as much as he could, and suggested in the main as described above, but his advice was, bin it. Another B&Q success, ripping us off!

Nigel Martin, April 2010

I had the same problem, but I fixed mine by reducing the length of the brake band spring from 55mm to 45mm with a gentle application of heat - works a treat, the brake now works properly and the saw runs free with the brake off.

Jimbo, April 2010

Yes same problem but I have fixed mine!
If you want to know the whole story read on or if you just want the fix skip to the last paragraph.

For those who have dismantled their saw you will know how the chain brake mechanism works. For those who haven't, and you don't need to (see FIX below) - the brake band is fixed at the lower end, goes around the brake drum and is pushed upward and hence tightened around the drum by a coil spring hidden in the chassis. This top end is also connected to a two piece mechanism which pushes back and down (due to the brake band casing being at an angle) when the brake is in the off position. The force required to do this is quite considerable and the distance between the two ends i.e. the brake band housing and the spire pin at the other end turns out to be very critical and as both these points are part of the PLASTIC chassis it is not that supprising that with a large force applied over time with heat and vibration there is some "creep" in the plastic and the two points move apart! I have spoken to a friend of mine who is a plastics injection moulding expert and he confirms that is exactly what you would expect to happen. The fix therefore (see below) is to return, using a shim, the distance to the correct value (it doesnt need much).

Just a word to any RYOBI ENGINEERS who may be reading this - you are either very inept to not see this one coming OR very clever in designing a machine that is almost certain to become inoperative after 2 -3 years (assuming that was your marketing brief)! Either way SHAME ON YOU!

THE FIX. If you put the brake ON i.e. handle forward and look from behind (handle end) you can see the top of the brake band where it emerges from its housing (part ot the chassis) and joins to the linkage. Cut a piece of metal or stiff plastic about 3 or 4 cm long, the width of the brake band (approx 1cm) and about 1mm thick (I used a bit of old hacksaw blade with the teeth ground off - 0.8 mm thick) and push it down between the brake band and the housing. A small bend at the top will make sure it doesn't slip right down although I have found it rides up rather than down, but only when the brake is on which it normally isn't. It doesn't seem like much but the effect was dramatic.

Hope this works for you.

P.S. to anyone with one of these - WHEN NOT IN USE LEAVE THE CHAIN BRAKE ON as this reduces the pressure on the chassis and may reduse the rate of deformation!

Geoff, April 2010

Am Fuming!!!
Have exactly the same problem with my Ryobi 18" chainsaw and have just spent the past 3 hours replacing the brake band, assuming that was the culprit as there's FA else that could be causing the prob (no sign of melting on mine) and it's NO BETTER !!
What a poor design, why couldn't they fit an adjuster screw?
P.S. don't attempt replacing the brake band unless you're rather mechanically minded.
P.P.S. My Ryobi garden shredder has also broken recently !

Andy S, March 2010

chainsaw starts but chain wont go round

rob, February 2010

chain not moving when brake is off

david, October 2009

Had the same problem with my p4545. After dismantling it I discovered the plastic chasis had melted onto the steel brake band. I'm gonna try tying an elastic band around the brake and connect it to the handle. It only need to be held back about a quarter inch and at least with a laggy band it can return if chainsaw kicks back! - hope this helps!

Dan McGouran, February 2009

I have the same problem with my 4545. Local fix-it shop said it was uneconomical to repair it and laughed when I asked about Ryobi after-sales service... never touch one again... pants design

log one off, January 2009

Official cure is replacement if under warranty, or if outside warranty - in the skip. If a chassis were available this is what you need to fix it. Alternatively if you like living dangerously - run it with the brake handle pulled back to the main handle with a ty-rap. Unfortunately the brake won't ever work, but then this is no different to how chainsaws used to be.

Logonfire, October 2008

I've got exactly the same problem with mine as well. Ryobi should be doing something about this obvious design fault.

Gary H, October 2008

Thanks Dan, I'll try your modification. Earliar today I cleaned the brake band and clutch. Its only a fine pressure required on the brake band to make it fully release the drum. The surrounding plastic has melted where the band & drum's been heating up. Having just aquired this saw secondhand I have no-idea of its history but I can't see how anyone would run the saw with the brake on - so I assume this is a design fault? I notice this fault has a mention on some other mendit type sites. Thanks Bill

logonfire, October 2008

If you fix a piece of metal or plasic (approx;4mm thick) to the underside of the brake release lever just above the attachment point of the brake band, this will push the end of the brake band down when the handle is pulled back, this will slacken off the brake band.
Hope this helps Dan

Dan Harris, October 2008

I have a PCN-4040 which will only run with the chain brake handle drawn back with a tyrap. I'd be interested to know of anyone elses experience of this fault. I've seen the band for-sale on eBay but don't want to buy one until I understand more about the fault.

logonfire, October 2008

Sorry, not really answering your question - but I have the same problem - the machine is a couple of years old, but hasn't had much use. The overheating brake has caused the plastic body surrounding it to start to melt. I disassembled it and compressed the spring in a vice for an hour, that seemed to give some free play, trouble is the band is now distorted. It's a ridiculously bad design, the band brake cannot be adjusted. I was going to contact Ryobi, but after reading numerous bad reports aboiut their after sales service, I probably wont bother

ted harris, October 2008