Yet Another Bar Oiler Problem

[Wood Doctor]

I ran into this issue with a Stihl MS290. Thousands of saws could be affected by it in addition to the 290, so I decided to post it. The oil hole on the Rollomatic ES bar does not line up with the housing slot and port fed by the oil pump. It's off by half the diameter of the hole. The slot in the saw's housing is positioned that much too low. That means that only half of the oil flow from the saw's pump is being allowed into the bar.

I checked the same bar against the slot on my MS361. It lines up much better, so I imagine the same bar could be used on the MS361, but not enough oil makes it to this bar when used on the MS290. This situation, of course, is worsened by cold weather when thicker oil has to be pumped.

To correct the problem I figure I have two options. First, drill out the holes larger on the bar on both sides so that more oil can be accepted from the pump. I figure about a 3/16" dia. hole might solve it. Second, I could carefully scrape the slot wider on the housing. However, that slot already has a very narrow upper shoulder and to widen it along it's entire length might be precarious.

What do you recommend?

 

[Jtheo]

Go with Husqvarna. No wait, did I just say that? I didn't mean it. Stay with Stihl.

Drill out the hole on the bar. I have done that in the past on holes that did not match up properly.

 

[Wood Doctor]

Go with Husqvarna. No wait, did I just say that? I didn't mean it. Stay with Stihl.

Drill out the hole on the bar. I have done that in the past on holes that did not match up properly.

That was my feeling also. I noticed something else. The holes on a vintage Stihl 041 Farm Boss bar are not only 3/16" dia. but they were drilled completely through the bar. Nowadays, it seems Stihl bars have oil holes drilled through the inside track only. If I can get through this bar's hardened steel, I'll stop halfway through. I guess I'll have to do this on any Stihl bar that I buy for this saw.

Seems like they could have made the bar's oil holes ovals rather than round to make up for potential alignment errors. One has to wonder how many thousands of bar oil holes do not line up with the pump exit slots. And, you also have to wonder how many useless repairs on oil pumps have occurred when the pump actually operates perfectly.

 

[Str8six]

Speaking of bars and oil holes, my 28 inch es bar for my 044 has tiny angle drilled holes but my 18 inch es for the same saw has at least 3/16 inch holes. Anyone who has an 044 knows the oil pump leaves a lot to be desired especially on longer bars do I drilled the holes out on the big bar. Now it oils way better! I even called the dealer to make sure the bar was right and they said it was. Just thought that was strange.

 

[cutforfun]

newer Stihl bars have smaller holes,, Thanks EPA drill it out or use a dremel to make the hole larger. There was some good threads about this a few years ago

 

[struggle]

I have taken to drilling out all my stihl bars just for the reason of restricted flow. Drill away or drill baby drill

 

[machinisttx]

If you're going to drill hardened steel, buy a carbide drill. You'll have to be pretty careful with it though or it will chip and/or break. Using a dremel would be preferable.

 

[struggle]

I haven't had any issues with drilling them out larger , but the hole is already there so maybe that helps as I have standard bits.

 

[Jtheo]

newer Stihl bars have smaller holes,, Thanks EPA drill it out or use a dremel to make the hole larger. There was some good threads about this a few years ago

That's so true, a lot of good information has been lost.

 

[SawTroll]

Sounds like sloppy toleranses on the saw + small oil holes on the bar - the fix has already been posted here!

.. but why an ES bar on a homeowner class saw?

 

[The Ripper]

Sounds like sloppy toleranses on the saw + small oil holes on the bar - the fix has already been posted here!

.. but why an ES bar on a homeowner class saw?

Turns into a "Semi Pro Saw" half way there

 

[Wood Doctor]

Here's the Pics a few of you have been waiting for to prove the error. Here's the saw wit the oil pump slot right above the bar studs:


And, here is the bar that's not being oiled enough:


Npte that the paint wear shows the error. I measured about 0.09" or 3/32" discrepancy. The center of the oil slot should be right on the center of the oil hole. In fact, it is allowing at most half the oil to be pumped to the bar. In cold weather, this really becomes a problem as the oil thickens up. Even at the wide open adjustment, it's just not enough to get the job done.

SawTroll, mentioned that a suggested fix has already been posted. Is that the same as mine? i.e., drill out the bar hole larger with a carbide bit ? Or is there another possible solution? Doing this with every Stihl bar that I buy for this saw seems a real PITA. So, I'm also considering widening the housing's oil slot by shaving the upper side, even if it means reducing the shoulder to almost the thickness of shirt board. I might be able to epoxy a laminate onto the top of the shoulder to beef it back up. WDYT?

 

[zogger]

Drilling it out to the required oval seems the easiest, but man...they been hitting the schnapps a little heavy for breakfast over yonder in Schteel intergalactic design division.

 

[SawTroll]

Drilling it out to the required oval seems the easiest, but man...they been hitting the schnapps a little heavy for breakfast over yonder in Schteel intergalactic design division.

Yes, I believe that is the simplest way.....

.....but I am really starting to wonder if that bar really is a correctly made 3003 mount bar - or mayby it was made on a monday morning....

 

[Wood Doctor]

Drilling it out to the required oval seems the easiest, but man...they been hitting the schnapps a little heavy for breakfast over yonder in Schteel intergalactic design division.

No kidding. I was amazed at this error, especially for the saw model that they sold the most of in the last 10 years. I'm not sure about drilling being that much easier. A sharp hardwood chisel can shave that groove rather easily. It may not have to be exactly square going down but instead be V-shaped (flared) with the upper side angled. The idea is to open up the outer edge along its length to allow the oil to enter the hole.

 

[shootingarts]

Here's the Pics a few of you have been waiting for to prove the error. Here's the saw wit the oil pump slot right above the bar studs:


And, here is the bar that's not being oiled enough:


Npte that the paint wear shows the error. I measured about 0.09" or 3/32" discrepancy. The center of the oil slot should be right on the center of the oil hole. In fact, it is allowing at most half the oil to be pumped to the bar. In cold weather, this really becomes a problem as the oil thickens up. Even at the wide open adjustment, it's just not enough to get the job done.

SawTroll, mentioned that a suggested fix has already been posted. Is that the same as mine? i.e., drill out the bar hole larger with a carbide bit ? Or is there another possible solution? Doing this with every Stihl bar that I buy for this saw seems a real PITA. So, I'm also considering widening the housing's oil slot by shaving the upper side, even if it means reducing the shoulder to almost the thickness of shirt board. I might be able to epoxy a laminate onto the top of the shoulder to beef it back up. WDYT?

Something to think about is an old gunsmithing rule. If you have to whittle on parts to make them work always cut the cheapest one! I would cut bars. At that I wouldn't drill them out, I would egg shape the hole enough to get full flow. Any drilling or opening of the hole for more flow would be done after I moved it over.

Hu

 

[Wood Doctor]

Being a rather skilled woodworker, my sharp chisel on the saw's housing to flare it produced the following result:

I widened the bottom of the groove about 40% and the top almost double. To do this, I used a sharp 3/8" wood chisel and stuck a round toothpick into the port hole to keep the small plastic shavings out while I carved. You only have to shave a hair at a time at an angle to the side. Scrape or blow the tiny shavings out of the way every so often. I was careful to leave a hairline edge at the top of the groove for the bar to squeeze against.

Now the oil hole in the bar is surrounded by the groove opening. I also found a sacrificial 3/16" M2 steel drill bit and chamfered the opening to the two bar oil holes to help things out there. I did not try to drill all the way though the side, only a countersink. I'm really not sure if that was necessary, but I figure it couldn't hurt. The entire operation took me about a half hour.

I have a feeling this is going to solve the problem. Oil is making all over the top of the teeth when cutting nothing. That wasn't happening before. I'll report back after giving it a serious cutting workout. If it works, I'll call it Edwin's Modified 290 Oiler Port.

 

[Naked Arborist]

Speaking of bars and oil holes, my 28 inch es bar for my 044 has tiny angle drilled holes but my 18 inch es for the same saw has at least 3/16 inch holes. Anyone who has an 044 knows the oil pump leaves a lot to be desired especially on longer bars do I drilled the holes out on the big bar. Now it oils way better! I even called the dealer to make sure the bar was right and they said it was. Just thought that was strange.

I think they left the hole small on the 28"ES so they eat bars. Nice to have an EPA rule to back you up. Drill it or a carbide burr is my choice.

 

[Str8six]

Here is the 18" oil hole and the 28".

 

[Wood Doctor]

Hmmm... I believe the MS 310 is built on the same chassis as the MS290. I just checked an MS310 for comparison. The MS310's oil groove (channel) lines up perfectly with the same bar that I installed on the MS290 shown above. Perhaps Stihl moved it's bar oil channel up to correct the error made on the MS290.

I thought best to call this to the forum's attention.