To both previous posters:
Although my chainsaw is an Echo, the oiling systems on most brands are similar in function. There is an oil inlet (suction) hose with a strainer at the pick-up end inside the tank, and there is a discharge (pressure) hose outside the tank going from the oil pump to the bar. In the bar itself, there are two small oil inlet holes, each leading to a long oil passage inside the bar which goes all the way to the nose of the bar. Since the bar is reversible, depending on which side of the bar is in use, only the hole and passage on the upper side of the bar will be in use for chain oiling. To start with, check the strainer in the tank and the oiling holes in the bar for debris and clean as necessary. Next, with the bar and chain STILL REMOVED, start the engine and run it at mid to high throttle for a minute or so. In far less than a minute, you should see a small but steady trickle of oil coming from the discharge hose. If not, then one of three things: 1. A clog still exists in the strainer and/or suction hose. 2. The breather plug in the tank's oil cap is clogged, resulting in a "vacuum" inside the tank. 3. The oil pump has gone Borneo. But if all's gone well up to this point,
then re-install the bar and sprocket cover WITHOUT the chain and tighten the two hex nuts as you normally would with the chain installed. Again, run the engine at full throttle 'til you see evidence of oil coming from the nose of the bar. When this is done, stop the engine, remove hex nuts, sprocket cover, and bar. Flip the bar 180 degrees and re-install everything as you did for the first side and repeat the engine run as you did for the first side. (A clogged oil passage inside the bar can be rather stubborn, so it could take several minutes before the oil pressure clears it out).
Hope this helps!
Chip, January 2006
