346XP leaking bar oil

[SawTroll]

Good post, accurate on all points. I too run into the saw in the case and the case bottom covered in oil. Seems to happen alot more in the summer as well. I think those plastic saw cases build up heat just like a car with the windows up in. Heat builds up pressure in the oil tank and out comes oil. I tell my customers if your going to store it in a case make sure you keep it in a cool place. Far as leaks in general about the only saws I've seen that do not leak a single drop are the ones with a empty oil tank.

Good post Spike!!

Good post by you as well! :msp_biggrin:

I simply don't like those cases, and usually store the saws with an old newspaper under them.

 

[jus2fat]

My Stihl 036 leaks "some" bar oil...more than I like.

If I'm NOT gonna use it for a week or so...I drain the oil.

If I AM gonna use it in a day or two...I just lean it toward the recoil at a 45 degree angle.

Works for me..and simple as well...!!

J2F

 

[THALL10326]

Good post by you as well! :msp_biggrin:

I simply don't like those cases, and usually store the saws with an old newspaper under them.

I don't like em either, most saw users don't fool with cases. However ole Harry the homeowner wants to store his saw in his two car garage and he doesn't want it sitting around where the kids may walk into the chain and cut themselves. So for Harry the case makes alot of sense, makes me some pennies too. As for me I don't own a saw case, never have...

 

[SawTroll]

I don't like em either, most saw users don't fool with cases. However ole Harry the homeowner wants to store his saw in his two car garage and he doesn't want it sitting around where the kids may walk into the chain and cut themselves. So for Harry the case makes alot of sense, makes me some pennies too. As for me I don't own a saw case, never have...

I don't either, and don't want one!

However, I got a saw bag with the 560xpg, and will at least "test" it out......

 

[North Star]

My saws are stored on the bench - not in cases. But the cases are very useful for travelling to & from jobs. Myself and other line cutters in this area like them for protection. Our saws are constantly being toted around in trucks, boats, atv's, snowmobile sleighs, float planes and choppers - that is where those cases come in handy. JMHO

 

[belgian]

I don't like em either, most saw users don't fool with cases. However ole Harry the homeowner wants to store his saw in his two car garage and he doesn't want it sitting around where the kids may walk into the chain and cut themselves. So for Harry the case makes alot of sense, makes me some pennies too. As for me I don't own a saw case, never have...

I donated a Partner 5000 to my brother in law when he turned 50, together with a nice plastic case from a chinese knock off saw that sometime was left in my shop. He loves the saw but he loves that case even more ; no oil in the trunk of his shiny BMW car. In fact, that case is a life saver, so he says , and knowing his wife, I got the picture....LOL.

But like Spike said, that small puddle of oil in the case was starting to worry him after a while. I told him, next time you use the saw, put some wood chips in there, let ik soak the oil, take chips out, and problem solved. If I were a dealer over here, I'd probably sell more cases than saws

 

[SawTroll]

I donated a Partner 5000 to my brother in law when he turned 50, together with a nice plastic case from a chinese knock off saw that sometime was left in my shop. He loves the saw but he loves that case even more ; no oil in the trunk of his shiny BMW car. In fact, that case is a life saver, so he says , and knowing his wife, I got the picture....LOL.

But like Spike said, that small puddle of oil in the case was starting to worry him after a while. I told him, next time you use the saw, put some wood chips in there, let ik soak the oil, take chips out, and problem solved. If I were a dealer over here, I'd probably sell more cases than saws

The carpet in the back of my Volvo surely is stained with bar oil, but Witchy never complained about it! :msp_biggrin:

Veg oil is easily washable anyway, if you care. :msp_smile:

 

[c5rulz]

OK, here are some pictures of the leak I am talking about. This piece of cardboard was placed under the saw after the saw was completely cleaned. (i.e. the bar/chain were off, the clutch cover and body of the saw were blown off with compressed air). The saw sat 18 hours to accumulate this leak. My garage was warm, 75ish since the wood stove was going. In the morning the temp was down to 49 degrees.

The offending saw. Even if it leaks I still like it.

 

[c5rulz]

Good post by you as well! :msp_biggrin:

I simply don't like those cases, and usually store the saws with an old newspaper under them.

Yah, but everyone knows 346's roll around in the trunk like a BB in a boxcar.

 

[SawTroll]

Yah, but everyone knows 346's roll around in the trunk like a BB in a boxcar.

Not the way I have it sitting! :msp_biggrin:

 

[c5rulz]

Not the way I have it sitting! :msp_biggrin:

From the way you talk about the 346XP, that must mean you have it sitting between your legs.:msp_thumbsup:

 

[dsell]

Let me start by saying I am not some kind of neat freak, a little anal retentive maybe but not compulsive nuerotic.:msp_unsure:


I bought a 346XP in about Febuary. The saw hasn't been used much and have about 10 tanks of fuel through it. The saw starts and runs great. After it had sat probably 3 months in a Husky power box I picked it up and discovered that not only had it leaked a bunch of bar oil into the case, it even ran out of the case onto shelving. After cleaning that up, I placed two layers of cardboard under the saw in the case. In about 3 weeks the cardboard was so saturated the cardboard would not absorb anymore. After that I placed two shop rags under it and in 2 weeks they were saturated.

I called the saw shop and the owner who I bought it from was not in, (this guy treated me excellent in the past and gave me what I considered a good price). A minion who answered the phone said, "sometimes they just do that". I am going to call back and speak with the owner.

I understand a saw will leak some bar oil. But my 20 year old Stihl 028 Doesn't make a mess nor does my Makita 6401.


What say all knowing chainsaw aficionados?


I just hope the Saw Troll doesn't smite me for making disparaging comments about the 346XP.:sword::chainsawguy:

What was the fix? I just noticed my 346 has a huge puddle of oil under it. It sucked the tank dry just setting there. The front A/V spring is saturated with oil, and so is the chain catcher that screws to it. I don't see a trail from the oiler or from the oil cap. This is worse than a Homelite XL, and they're horrible!

 

[c5rulz]

What was the fix? I just noticed my 346 has a huge puddle of oil under it. It sucked the tank dry just setting there. The front A/V spring is saturated with oil, and so is the chain catcher that screws to it. I don't see a trail from the oiler or from the oil cap. This is worse than a Homelite XL, and they're horrible!

I am going to qualify what I am going to say with, "this is not fix".

The dealer who I have tremendous respect for and like a lot said the oiler problems on some 346's are severe. Rather than b!tch up a storm I have just dealt with it. When It's on the bench it will sit on cardboard and for longer term such as in the case, I put a rag under it. At first it irked me a bunch. But as long as it's on a rag and the spill is contained, it's not so bad. The dealer said opening the oil fill after it has been hot and burping it, may help before putting it away. I have not done that.

 

[dsell]

I am going to qualify what I am going to say with, "this is not fix".

The dealer who I have tremendous respect for and like a lot said the oiler problems on some 346's are severe. Rather than b!tch up a storm I have just dealt with it. When It's on the bench it will sit on cardboard and for longer term such as in the case, I put a rag under it. At first it irked me a bunch. But as long as it's on a rag and the spill is contained, it's not so bad. The dealer said opening the oil fill after it has been hot and burping it, may help before putting it away. I have not done that.

Thanks for the reply. If the oil pickup hose wasn't sealing properly, would the oil leak under the oil pump cover? If it's a burping issue, then they are saying the oil is coming out the normal oil hole on the bar. If that's the case, you should be able to advance the chain forward 6 inches and the chain should be very wet. Or, you should see oil dripping out the back of the bar and the return side of the chain would be wet. My chain is dry, (normal), so I don't think I need to burp my baby. If it's leaking under the oil pump cover, the oil will probably travel out the oil adjuster screw??? I still wonder why my A/V spring is saturated. The area around the bar mount is dry, no trails.

 

[mayhem100]

I picked up a brand new 359 from the dealer this past spring for $400 out the door because it oozed b&c oil and after the dealer allegedly went back and forth with Husqvarna to try and fix it a few times they opted to just blow it out on clearance for $150 off. Lucky me I'm the guy who go it.

I've only experienced the issue once, it was the one time I put the thing away with a significant amout of oil in the tank...took it a few weeks to leak out, soaked the newspapers it was sitting on.

My solution is I don't put it away with oil in the tank.

My 346OE does not seem to leak any oil out of the tank at all, but to be fair it hasn't sat with anywhere near a full tank so it could have the same problem and I just don't know it.

I usually top off both tanks and the run the saw till the fuel runs dry and the saw cuts out...this usually leaves not much more than a trace of oil in the tank and its never leaked when I've done this. The one time I had a leak was when I was in a hurry and put the saw away with more than a half tank of fuel (and b&c oil) in it.

Still under warranty though, so take it to the dealer and let them tinker with it. If they find an actual problem please let the rest of us know, we might have a commmon issue.

 

[MtnHermit]

I bought a 346XP in about Febuary. The saw hasn't been used much and have about 10 tanks of fuel through it. The saw starts and runs great. After it had sat probably 3 months in a Husky power box I picked it up and discovered that not only had it leaked a bunch of bar oil into the case, it even ran out of the case onto shelving. After cleaning that up, I placed two layers of cardboard under the saw in the case. In about 3 weeks the cardboard was so saturated the cardboard would not absorb anymore. After that I placed two shop rags under it and in 2 weeks they were saturated.

I understand a saw will leak some bar oil. But my 20 year old Stihl 028 Doesn't make a mess nor does my Makita 6401.

I own two saws: a 32cc Poulan and a 455 Rancher, both bought new. The Poulan behaves exactly as you describe with your 346, saturated cardboard and a mess in general. OTOH the 455 has never leaked a drop in spite of getting 10:1 usage over the Poulan and I never burp the oil tank.

From that I learned it is possible to have a leak free oil tank, your 346 should too. How I wish I could tell you why/how.

 

[rbrown]

Oil Leak Repair

My 346xp is fairly new and it leaked more than my other saws so I investigated the problem. When you remove the oil pump you will find a rubber block with a hole in it. Pull out the block and you will find that is connected to the oil pump pick up hose. I cleaned the block and the area it sits in with Mineral spirits and then coated the area on the rubber block where it plugs into the hole of the oil tank with ThreeBond 1104 (any good sealer will work) and pushed the block back in. I also put some sealer on the oil pump where it sits on the block and on top where the hose sits going to the bar (don't plug the oil holes). This stopped my oil leak!

 

[dsell]

My 346xp is fairly new and it leaked more than my other saws so I investigated the problem. When you remove the oil pump you will find a rubber block with a hole in it. Pull out the block and you will find that is connected to the oil pump pick up hose. I cleaned the block and the area it sits in with Mineral spirits and then coated the area on the rubber block where it plugs into the hole of the oil tank with ThreeBond 1104 (any good sealer will work) and pushed the block back in. I also put some sealer on the oil pump where it sits on the block and on top where the hose sits going to the bar (don't plug the oil holes). This stopped my oil leak!

This corresponds with spike60's comment. Thanks

 

[expy]

My 346 is in the shop right now for leaking. Ill post in this thread on the outcome.

 

[dsell]

I guess I should have said mine is a 346XP NE. The oil hose part number was 503854701 on the old saws and now two parts for the NE, 537101101 (tank line) and 537413201 (oil pressure).