Stihl 044 Oiler Performance?

[SteveSr]

Hello,

I have a late production 044 with a 25" bar that has the quarter turn adjustment oil pump on it. I was out cutting a HUGE dried out white oak that had been dead for about a year but was off the ground. Even though the olier was turned up all the way it had definite issues oiling the bar when the bar was buried in the tree.

Is this typical performance for this oiler or is there likely crud in the pump? If this is the expected performance is there any recommended modifications to increase the pump output?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[bwalker]

Point the bar at a stump or something similar and piss rev it. If you see oil being thrown down the oiler is pumping.

 

[Jasent]

Mine spits oil like it thinks it’s free or something 28” bar

 

[bwalker]

Mine spits oil like it thinks it’s free or something 28” bar

Dry oak is pretty tough stuff. Especially with a 28" bar burried.
You might look to see if a 460R oiler will work on it. That would provide more oil.

 

[Jasent]

I don’t have much oak here in Washington. I have no oiling issues with my saw

 

[windthrown]

Dry oak is pretty tough stuff. Especially with a 28" bar burried.
You might look to see if a 460R oiler will work on it. That would provide more oil.

The 460 oil pumps do not fit the 044/440 saws. They will only fit and interchange with the 360/361/362 saws. One issue with the 044/440 saws is the lower output oil pump. Thus the 28 inch B&C is the max recommended. There is no HO 440R oil pump either. The 044 should keep a 25 (really a 24) inch bar oiled up just fine though. So check the oil lines, the oil filter in the oil tank and the bar oil holes and make sure they are not clogged up with crud. Sawdust gets everywhere.

You can also flip to a thinner oil. Regular bar oil is 30 wt. Winter bar oil is 10 wt and thinner. You can also use soy (vegetable) oil which is thinner. I switched to veg oil years ago and no issues using it. It is a bit thinner than 30 wt, but so what? I crank the oil pumps on my saws wide open and let them gush the soybean oil. It is totally biodegradable and 1,000 times less toxic than petroleum based oil. And if it spills over from overfilling, the dog will lick it up! Its also cheaper than bar oil. $4.99 a gallon at WalMart. You can also pretend that you are green and protecting the environment to keep the liberals off your back. Of course they do not like us cutting down trees or cutting up and burning windthrow, but just explain that letting trees rot instead of burning them will cause 1.5x the greenhouse gas emissions (methane vs CO2).

 

[SteveSr]

The 460 oil pumps do not fit the 044/440 saws. They will only fit and interchange with the 360/361/362 saws. One issue with the 044/440 saws is the lower output oil pump. Thus the 28 inch B&C is the max recommended. There is no HO 440R oil pump either. The 044 should keep a 25 (really a 24) inch bar oiled up just fine though. So check the oil lines, the oil filter in the oil tank and the bar oil holes and make sure they are not clogged up with crud. Sawdust gets everywhere.

Thanks for the info. Sounds like the pump may have crud in it. It uses about half a tank of oil per tank of gas with the oiler turned all the way up. This doesn't sound right.

The saw originally did light clearing for a construction company. It came with a hard nose bar but a standard RS chain. I do remember that the guy selling it for the absentee owner put regular vegetable oil in the saw to demo. When I rebuilt the saw I flushed the oil tank and replaced the oil hose and cleaned the screen. I don't remember if I bothered to disassemble the pump and clean it out or not.

I did take a look at the newer MediaCat IPLs and didn't see any other oil pump (or parts) listed for the 044. The pump piston, however, is replaceable but don't know if it can be modified for more output or if there is a drop-in replacement from another saw.

Now the 034S with the multi-turn oil pump screw just gushes oil everywhere. I don't know if the early 044s had a version of that pump on it. I know that it is not interchangeable as it has a rubber output hose and the 044 a metal pipe.

 

[grizz55chev]

Thanks for the info. Sounds like the pump may have crud in it. It uses about half a tank of oil per tank of gas with the oiler turned all the way up. This doesn't sound right.

The saw originally did light clearing for a construction company. It came with a hard nose bar but a standard RS chain. I do remember that the guy selling it for the absentee owner put regular vegetable oil in the saw to demo. When I rebuilt the saw I flushed the oil tank and replaced the oil hose and cleaned the screen. I don't remember if I bothered to disassemble the pump and clean it out or not.

I did take a look at the newer MediaCat IPLs and didn't see any other oil pump (or parts) listed for the 044. The pump piston, however, is replaceable but don't know if it can be modified for more output or if there is a drop-in replacement from another saw.

Now the 034S with the multi-turn oil pump screw just gushes oil everywhere. I don't know if the early 044s had a version of that pump on it. I know that it is not interchangeable as it has a rubber output hose and the 044 a metal pipe.

1/2 a tank of oil to a tank of gas is about right.

 

[drf255]

You can mod the pump Steve. Directions on the forbidden site which I cannot link here. @huskihl did a thread on it.

As said above, 1/2 tank of oil to 1 tank of fuel is about right turned up. Thinner oil now may help, and dry wood with a buried bar is no joke.

They didn’t offer an HO oiler which is annoying. The pump is totally different on the 046, though I am not sure if the HO 046 control bolt and piston would drop into the 044 pump, I’ve never tried it.