Ryobi P541 - Manual (Page 23)

17 - English
REPLAcING BAR AND cHAIN
See Figures 24 - 28.
WARNING:
Remove the battery pack from the chain saw
and make sure the chain has stopped before
you do any work on the saw. Failure to do so
may result in accidental starting and possible
serious injury.
WARNING:
The safety instructions in this section are to
protect the user from serious personal injury.
cAUTION:
Always wear gloves when handling the bar and
chain; these components are sharp and may
contain burrs.
WARNING:
Never touch or adjust the chain while the motor
is running. The saw chain is very sharp; always
wear protective gloves when performing main-
tenance to the chain to avoid possible serious
lacerations.
 Remove the battery pack before you do any
work on the chain saw.
 Remove the hex key from the storage area and
use it to remove the chain cover screw, washer
and chain cover from the chain saw.
 Remove the bar and chain from the mounting
surface.
 Remove the old chain from the bar.
 Lay out the new saw chain in a loop and
straighten any kinks. The cutters should face in
the direction of chain rotation. If they face the
opposite direction, turn the loop over.
 Place the chain drive links into the bar groove.
Position the chain so there is a loop at the back
of the bar. Hold the chain in position on the bar
and place the loop around the sprocket of the
chain saw.
Fit the bar flush against the mounting
MAINTENANcE
surface so that the bar stud is in the long slot of
the bar.
NOTE: When placing the bar on the bar stud,
assure that the adjusting pin is in the chain ten-
sion pin hole.
REcOMMENDED BAR AND cHAIN
cOMBINATIONS
Bar Part Number - 10 in.
671256002 or 671834007
chain Part Number
6958301 or 690583002

Replace the chain cover, washer and chain
cover screw. Tighten the chain cover screw
finger tight only. The bar must be free to move
for tension adjustment.
 Remove all the slack from the chain by turning
the chain tensioning screw clockwise until the
chain seats snugly against the bar with the drive
links in the bar groove.
 Lift the tip of the guide bar up to check for
sag. Release the tip of the guide bar and turn
the chain tensioning screw 1/2 turn clockwise.
Repeat this process until sag does not exist.
 Hold the tip of the guide bar up and tighten the
bar mounting screw securely.
 Chain is correctly tensioned when there is no
sag on the underside of the guide bar, the chain
is snug, but it can be turned by hand without
binding.
NOTE: If chain is too tight, it will not rotate.
Loosen the chain cover screw slightly and turn
tension adjuster 1/4 turn counterclockwise. Lift
the tip of the guide bar up and retighten chain
cover screw securely. Assure that the chain will
rotate without binding.
 Place the hex key back into the storage area.
cHAIN TENSION
See Figures 29 - 30.

Stop the engine before setting the chain tension.
Make sure the guide bar screw is loosened to
finger tight, turn the chain tensioner clockwise
to tension the chain. Refer to
Replacing Bar
and chain earlier in this manual for additional
information.