Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - how do you replace the bar bolts on a Poulan Pro 295 chainsaw?

One of the bolts that hold the bar on my chainsaw sheared off when I was tightening the nut. I ordered two bolts to replace both of them but I'm having trouble removing the old ones. They appear to be pressed into a steel bushing that is mounted in the plastic saw housing. If they are pressed in, I don't know how to press them out without breaking the housing! The bolts have square heads that lock into a groove (to keep them from turning) on the inside of the oil tank when the bar is tightened. This is the first time I've ever attempted to replace bar bolts on a chainsaw. I don't know if they are all the same or not.

The old bar bolts are just pressed into the oil tank, use a hammer and a flat punch and knock the broken bolt into your oil tank and then fish it out.

The tricky part is getting the new bolt in, I usually use tag wire and feed it through the bolt hole and out the oil filler cap, then I wrap it around the threaded portion of the new bolt. I then pull the wire with bolt attached to it up through the bolt hole opening and as soon as enough of the bolt is sticking through I grab it and pull it through until it just gets tight. Now take the wire off of the bolt and screw a nut onto the bolt so it won't fall back into the oil tank. Make sure the bolt is lined up in the oil tank so it will draw up into the indention in the tank that holds the bolt head. I now use a pair of pliers and simply grab the nut and pull as much of the bolt as I can through the opening. Then I place spacers underneath the nut and tighten down the nut until the bolt is seated properly in the tank.

Good Luck