Bar oil leak from 361

[RCR 3 EVER]

No this is not a question about what oil to use!
I have noticed that there are puddles of bar oil in the grooves on the bottom of the Stihl plastic chainsaw case. Is this oil coming from the screw adjustment area? Is it backed out to far?
Unless I open the adjustment all the way as it is now I do not use a tank of bar oil per a tank of gas as my dad's saw have all used. Even then the oil is just in the bar groove and coating the bottom of the chain barely.
My dad's saw have been shop adjusted, Jonsered and husky, and they both spray oil off the end of the bar when running, unlike my 361.
What is the correct amount of oil on bar, flying off the tip or just staying in the groove? What is causing the leak? The saw is less than a year old.

 

[COLD_IRON]

Leaking is not uncommon, my 361 leaks a little oil and I've had it leak gas as well. I have noticed if you run the saw without putting it to any serious work and then store it, it will leak.

 

[SawTroll]

It usually helps to open the tank to let pressure out, and than close it again before storage.

Halv a tank of oil (or just a tad more) to one tank of gas is normal on the 361. With the Oiliomatic system you usually don't need it to oil more.

There has been threads here on how to get it to oil more, but I have no such plans.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

My Stihl saws have always been pretty tidy and didn't leak - until I bought an almost new MS660. This saw would leak continually and eventually I found out that it was the vent for the oil tank. There is a check valve behind the bar mount and it was easy to fix the problem once I new what it was. Here is the link to that thread:

http://www.arboristsite.com/showthread.php?t=61345

Hopefully your MS361 repair will be the same - it mostly involves taking the bar off, removing the little cover over the chain adjuster, cleaning out the sawdust from under the cover and blowing compressed air through the tank vent to allow the valve to seat properly.

 

[nikocker]

Oh No!

No this is not a question about what oil to use!
I have noticed that there are puddles of bar oil in the grooves on the bottom of the Stihl plastic chainsaw case. Is this oil coming from the screw adjustment area? Is it backed out to far?
Unless I open the adjustment all the way as it is now I do not use a tank of bar oil per a tank of gas as my dad's saw have all used. Even then the oil is just in the bar groove and coating the bottom of the chain barely.
My dad's saw have been shop adjusted, Jonsered and husky, and they both spray oil off the end of the bar when running, unlike my 361.
What is the correct amount of oil on bar, flying off the tip or just staying in the groove? What is causing the leak? The saw is less than a year old.

Quick - - - send it to Thall so he can park it with the 372XP he likes to make so much fun about!!
Al

 

[geocom]

could be the oil you are using too

neither My MS250 or the MS460 leak unless I use the wally world oil then
it just oozes out. went back to stihl oil and no more leaking

 

[sdaly]

My 361 leaks bar oil too, using the Stihl bar oil. It doesn't bother me too much, but if there's an easy fix I'd like to know.

 

[oneoldbanjo]

I looked at the MS361 parts diagram and it is built the same as the MS660. Take the bar off, and clean the bar mount area off. Then remove the small screw and remove the thin sheet metal guide to expose the adjuster and it will look similar to this picture of my MS660):

You can see the little plug with the small hole and the oil running out - that is the vent. It is a little plug with a hole, spring and ball inside which allows air to flow in the oil tank - but is supposed to seat and keep oil from flowing out. If some sawdust gets sucked into the valve it can prevent the ball from seating properly. If the oil runs out of this hole on your 361 - it is a problem with the vent.

To repair my saw I dumped the oil out, blew compressed air into the little vent hole, then sloshed some mineral spirits in the oil tank, blew some more compressed air into the vent and the oil tank - then put it back together and added oil. It has never leaked again.

 

[Evanrude]

You shouldn't have as much oil throwing off the bar like the old saws. The new Stihl's dont use as much oil. What size bar are you running? I've got my oiler turned all the way up on my 20" bar, it throws just a very light mist off the tip of the bar, you've really gotta look to see it. Are you running the saw out of the wood, then storing it in the case? If so, that could be it. Residual oil in the bar and under the clutch cover will ooze into the case. Thats the simple answer. If those dont solve your problem, then like others stated above, it could be your vent or even an oiler issue. Good luck!

 

[RCR 3 EVER]

Thanks for all the suggestions, the oil I am using is whatever is available up North or at home. Mostly use cheaper stuff in Black bottle from Lowe's not sure the name or I use Stihl oil, they both leak.
The bar on saw is 18" and after cool down after use I put the saw into the case. The next morning oil is in the case. I will have to check the vent I guess.

With the oiler wide open I can barely make out spray mist off the end of the bar under throttle and not cutting wood. My dad's older saws will liberally coat the surface of whatever you hold the saw in front of and open the throttle a bit with so much oil coming off the end of the bar.

 

[GASoline71]

With the oiler wide open I can barely make out spray mist off the end of the bar under throttle and not cutting wood. My dad's older saws will liberally coat the surface of whatever you hold the saw in front of and open the throttle a bit with so much oil coming off the end of the bar.

Get used to it... new saws just don't oil like the old monsters used too... But trust me, it's pumpin' enuff oil.

Gary