Stihl Bar Oiling

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Scottnc

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I just did catch a no-bar oil problem on a brand new Oregon 25" bar and brand new Stihl chain on an 044. Very nearly cooked both the bar and the chain. Oil pump and all lines are only single digit hours from new. The oil hole in the bar was plugged solid so I cleared it. Short time later, same result, no oil and the hole was plugged again. Cleaned the saw behind the wear plate and ran the saw without the wear plate, bar etc. and confirmed oil was making its way to the space behind the wear plate. Confirmed the bar hole aligned with the saw supply slot. Put the bar (only) on and ran the saw, no to very little oil. Yanked the bar and found the bars groove had a lot of sawdust in it, it was full to the bottom of the chain. Could only guess the chain was pushing sawdust into the bars oil hole? Weird, never had that happen. So, with everybody clean of wood debris, chain off I fired up the saw and ran it watching down in the bar groove with a flashlight. It took longer than I liked but oil did appear, slowly, it was like watch for a pot to boil or waiting for the oil light to go off on some old piece of equipment. I feel like a dog chasing its tail. Is there a rule of thumb or procedure for verifying bar oiling before putting a saw to work?

Funny the things you take for granted until you experience an episode of "I've never seen that before".
 
Usually I'll warm the saw up and rev it up with the bar tip approximately 3 inches above a piece of cardboard or dry wood , if it begins to stripe the cardboard/wood with oil its good to go.
Fyi if using a small peice of wood be very careful not to hit it with the saw revving, it'll become a shin savaging projectile!
 
If you put on a clean the bar and chain it will be dry of oil. It will take more time for the drive links to get the oil around the bar enough to spray off extra on a test surface. On a clean chain before putting it into wood you'll start to see oil wetness on the chain side links.

For some reason having the oil adjustment up all the way seems to keep my bar grove cleaner of wood packing in, but it still is there and needs to be cleaned out.
 
Found the problem. The hooked wire snap-ring that is driven by the clutch drum failed. Stihl calls this part(s) the worm and spring. I gonna refer to part that broke as the 'hooked spring'. Only the very tip of the hooked spring broke off but that was all it took for the clutch drum to not turn the bar oiler. Have what's turning into a parts saw 044 that had one that's usable. Easy to change with a pair of duck-billed snap ring pliers. I've no idea if the hooked spring is available alone or if the worm and spring are offered as a unit.

Lesson - First, if the bars not oiling and the feed hole in the bar is pluged, and plugs again right after cleaning it . . . the oilers probably not pumping oil. Second, whenever the clutch is off inspect the inside of the hook where the drum makes contact. The hooked spring from my parts saw shows a good bit of wear but it'll put the saw back to work while I round up a new replacement.
 
I imagine that oiler arm just wears away, eventually. But, I know it is possible to damage it when installing the clutch drum without carefully aligning the drum notch with the arm.

I used to work for an outfit which didn't want random employees, who ran the saws, to remove the clutch drums. Now, you might wonder about someone who is able to run saws, but unable to exercise care in replacing the drum. Me, too.

Roy
 
Lesson - First, if the bars not oiling and the feed hole in the bar is pluged, and plugs again right after cleaning it . . . the oilers probably not pumping oil. Second, whenever the clutch is off inspect the inside of the hook where the drum makes contact.
Probably a good idea to also check the condition of the nylon threads on the worm gear. If those wear they wont engage the oil pump properly, even if the clutch drum turns the oiler arm.
 
individual parts are available for the worm gear, The brass bushing and nylon threads also wear out over time so its best to get a assembly sine its under 20 bucks and they tend to wear match to the pump and crankshaft over time. If you want to sell that 044 carcass let me know I am looking for a good project currently
 
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