Viper21
Super OPE Member
- Local time
- 9:06 PM
- User ID
- 527
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2016
- Messages
- 160
- Reaction score
- 710
- Location
- Virginia
I've been a member here for awhile. I'm just as addicted to chainsaws as some of y'all are. I've had the pleasure of having a couple Mastermind saws. Sometimes I just hover in the background, as this site can be unfriendly to one's wallet..lol.
I've never really been into working on saws. I've only done routine maintenance so to speak, & cleaning. I may have to change that. So, my beloved 353, a saw I've had since new in spring of 2005, had a pretty obvious oil leak. I assumed the oil hose had dry rotted, or something to that effect. So, I did what I've always done with my small engines, I took it to a licensed dealer/service shop. Boom, it quit leaking. Problem solved.....
Well, since then, I've noticed I'm not oiling properly. Bar been getting hot, not using any oil. I've always been reluctant to dive deep into a saw. The idea of taking the clutch off held me back. Well, some good snow had me spending some time in my garage, & I got the nerve up to take the clutch off, & investigate myself.
Clearly this was the problem:
Well, keep in mind, this is the first time I've ever opened a saw to this point. While, I had to wait a couple weeks to get the right part mailed, I finally got it, put everything back together, was confident i had solved the issue, & was excited to put er back in action.
Nope. Still not oiling. So I take it apart again, & I started playing with the parts, & really looking at how this whole oiling set up works. Then it hit me. It was right in front of my face, & I didn't realize it because I was a rookie, & had never looked at this before. As you can see in the original picture from when I first broke it down:
What's missing..? You guessed it... no screw holding the oil pump in place. I could see by playing with it that, without being secured, there was enough play in the oil pump, to cause the plastic gear to strip out. Really pissed me off, when I got to thinking about it. Some jack@ss at the shop I took it to, left a screw out of my oil pump, causing my lots of grief.
As I'm sure most know, this ain't a screw you can just go to Lowe's, or HomeDepot & buy either. Well, long story short, I have one coming in the mail (and an extra), & am pretty happy to have figured it out myself.
While I'm still no saw mechanic, I do feel confident enough to be able to handle oiling issues in the future. I probably wouldn't have if it weren't for this forum. Thanks for sharing all the tips, & info y'all do, & hopefully my experience might help someone else.
I've never really been into working on saws. I've only done routine maintenance so to speak, & cleaning. I may have to change that. So, my beloved 353, a saw I've had since new in spring of 2005, had a pretty obvious oil leak. I assumed the oil hose had dry rotted, or something to that effect. So, I did what I've always done with my small engines, I took it to a licensed dealer/service shop. Boom, it quit leaking. Problem solved.....
Well, since then, I've noticed I'm not oiling properly. Bar been getting hot, not using any oil. I've always been reluctant to dive deep into a saw. The idea of taking the clutch off held me back. Well, some good snow had me spending some time in my garage, & I got the nerve up to take the clutch off, & investigate myself.
Clearly this was the problem:
Well, keep in mind, this is the first time I've ever opened a saw to this point. While, I had to wait a couple weeks to get the right part mailed, I finally got it, put everything back together, was confident i had solved the issue, & was excited to put er back in action.
Nope. Still not oiling. So I take it apart again, & I started playing with the parts, & really looking at how this whole oiling set up works. Then it hit me. It was right in front of my face, & I didn't realize it because I was a rookie, & had never looked at this before. As you can see in the original picture from when I first broke it down:
What's missing..? You guessed it... no screw holding the oil pump in place. I could see by playing with it that, without being secured, there was enough play in the oil pump, to cause the plastic gear to strip out. Really pissed me off, when I got to thinking about it. Some jack@ss at the shop I took it to, left a screw out of my oil pump, causing my lots of grief.
As I'm sure most know, this ain't a screw you can just go to Lowe's, or HomeDepot & buy either. Well, long story short, I have one coming in the mail (and an extra), & am pretty happy to have figured it out myself.
While I'm still no saw mechanic, I do feel confident enough to be able to handle oiling issues in the future. I probably wouldn't have if it weren't for this forum. Thanks for sharing all the tips, & info y'all do, & hopefully my experience might help someone else.