Locking Hex Nut 671079001

Remove old parts and reassemble with new. Replace bar and sharpen chain.

Went to remove old screw on muffler and it snapped off. So I ordered replacement parts. I installed the new muffler gasket and new muffler screw and reinstalled the muffler. And torqued all three screws to specks.

1. Removed top cover and side cove to expose muffler.

replaced broken bolts replaced missing screws

The heads on the 3 bolts were too large to fit into the bracket on the Homelite 46cc chainsaw - ground down the sides and they fit fine.

The chain tensioner is built into the cover for the chain bar and chain sprocket. The bar Tension Knob Assembly is a weak spot in these units and after a few season of light use the nut within the tension knob will strip out making it useless. To replace the knob do the following..
1. With a torx screwdriver, remove the 3 threaded bolts from the cover and lift off of the motor/chain housing. The bar will more than likely dislodge leaving you with the bar and chain separated from the motor. No problem just remember that when you put them back on you need to make sure the bar in not upside down or the oil feed to the chain will not be in the right place and you will therefore not be lubricating the chain..
2. With the cover removed, flip it on its back so you see the inside surface and locate the two screws that hold on the cover to the tension knob. There are 3 screws located there. One is the center screw to hold the thumb know that you use to tighten or loosen the chain and the other 2 are the ones you want to take off. If you accidentally remove the one for the thumb knob, replace it and move on with removal of the other 2..
3. With the covers screws to the tension knob cover removed, you will be able to lift up the cover for the tension knob located on the outside surface of the assembly. One edge will lift up while the opposite edge and a lip that catches under the cover. Figure out which side lifts the easiest and lift that up and remove the cover which is actually a retaining ring for the tensioner locking knob.
4. With the tensioner locking knob cover removed you need to pull the tensioner handle directly out of the cover. If you can't get it to pull out go to the inside and with a proper sized screwdriver push it out by applying pressure to the nut on the underside of the cover.
5. With the old tensioner knob & nut removed place a new one over the hole in the cover and gently press it into the opening.
6. Replace the tensioner knob securing ring in place and put the 2 screw back into the tensioner ring cover from the back side.
7 With 3 hands, you will now put the chain and bar back in place (correctly and not upside down) on the motor and align the cover with its mounting holes on the side of the motor. It is important that the tensioner finger or rod that sticks out the back of the cover is aligned with the hole in the chain bar. If it is not properly aligned, the cover will not seat properly on the motor. You may need to loosen or tighten the bar adjuster using the thumb knob to get the finger/rod to align with the bar.
8. With the bar, chain, cover and tensioner finger in place, you can now secure the 3 cover bolts using the torx screwdriver and your ready to go.

Removed chain and bar
Removed shrouds etc to expose muffler
Removed muffler and broken bolts and gasket
Tapped one damaged hole
Reassembled with new parts

Remove 3 nuts holding muffler on, slide old muffler off, slide new muffler on.Tighten nuts evenly. [I double nutted mine, as the vibration tends to work the nuts loose]. Also, check muffler gasket for serviceability, replace if necessary.