# Stihl 310 oiling issue



## Stephen in SoKY (Jun 30, 2009)

My 1 owner MS 310 doesn't oil as much as I'd like. I have it turned all the way up, but it seems to clog the oil port on the bar very quickly. I only use Stihl bar oil. I'm running Stihl full chisel chain if that matters. Anything I can do at home? I sometimes feel my shop may be vey quick to replace rather than repair. Thanks for your help.


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## Highbeam (Jun 30, 2009)

The oilers on these 290/310/390 saws are slow. I also have my 290 on max and it still only puts out a meager supply of lube. I think its the tree huggers preventing the oil from being excessive. The saw should get 2 fuel tanks through for one oil tank if it's working right, are you using that much baer oil? I don't think it's clogging I think it is just slow.


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## smokinj (Jun 30, 2009)

Highbeam said:
			
		

> The oilers on these 290/310/390 saws are slow. I also have my 290 on max and it still only puts out a meager supply of lube. I think its the tree huggers preventing the oil from being excessive. The saw should get 2 fuel tanks through for one oil tank if it's working right, are you using that much baer oil? I don't think it's clogging I think it is just slow.


+1  my 460 runs just a little over half tank of oil to a tank of gas! (tree huggers)


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## LLigetfa (Jun 30, 2009)

A dull chain makes more dust than a sharp one.  Dust has a propensity to get sucked back in.  Noodling wood can result in some noodles getting sucked up around the sprocket and into the groove of the bar.


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## JustWood (Jun 30, 2009)

LLigetfa said:
			
		

> A dull chain makes more dust than a sharp one.  Dust has a propensity to get sucked back in.  Noodling wood can result in some noodles getting sucked up around the sprocket and into the groove of the bar.



Agreed. 
More dust and finer dust which acumulates faster.
 Keeping your chain tight might help.


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## Stephen in SoKY (Jun 30, 2009)

Thanks for the replies. I try to run sharp chains, to the point I sometimes think I'm switching them out too often. I guess I'm just old school & used to 1 tank oil every 1 tank gas. I was afraid something was going bad & I'd rather replace before I do any real damage if that's the case. I'm using about 1/2 tank of oil per tank of fuel so it sounds as though I'm okay.


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## smokinj (Jun 30, 2009)

Stephen in SoKY said:
			
		

> Thanks for the replies. I try to run sharp chains, to the point I sometimes think I'm switching them out too often. I guess I'm just old school & used to 1 tank oil every 1 tank gas. I was afraid something was going bad & I'd rather replace before I do any real damage if that's the case. I'm using about 1/2 tank of oil per tank of fuel so it sounds as though I'm okay.



thats about par


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## Highbeam (Jun 30, 2009)

Sounds good. The owner's manual recommends the middle setting "e" for the saw. I took the saw to the woods and discovered very quickly that the middle setting is sending almost no oil to the bar. I was pretty deperate to add more oil and I did not have the long thin screwdriver to adjust the oiler. I even tried the truck's engine oil dipstick before finally breaking the clip off of a ball point pen and using it to max out the oiler setting.


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## Bigg_Redd (Jul 1, 2009)

Highbeam said:
			
		

> The oilers on these 290/310/390 saws are slow. I also have my 290 on max and it still only puts out a meager supply of lube. I think its the tree huggers preventing the oil from being excessive. The saw should get 2 fuel tanks through for one oil tank if it's working right, are you using that much baer oil? I don't think it's clogging I think it is just slow.



x2

If you want more oil on your bar use thinner oil


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## burntime (Jul 2, 2009)

I periodically rap the throttle before going into the next piece to throw out some sawdust and get the oil going...not full bore, but enough to see oil slung.  Hope that helps???


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## stee6043 (Jul 2, 2009)

Perhaps I'm one of the few with a 310 that really likes to move the oil.  From the factory I'm running about 80% of a tank of oil to every tank of gas.  I kinda want to slow mine down...but haven't yet.

To the point of the post above I have had my oiler clog from time to time.  Less when running the full chisel chain, I will say....


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## Adam_MA (Jul 2, 2009)

One thing I noticed on my MS390 (same family saw) was that the oil hole on the bar while very small, didn't match up completely with the channel on the saw. What I did to correct this issue was to increase the size of the hole on the bar 2 drill bit sizes larger, then used a much larger drill bit to taper the hole. This dramatically increased the oiling of the chain, and I was left with much less oil wasted on the inside of the clutch cover. I liked the results so much, that I went ahead and altered the oil holes on my other bars even if the holes lined up perfectly. The results are well worth the 10 minutes of work.


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## Backroads (Jul 7, 2009)

I'm with Stee6043, my 310 and a guy I cut with's 310 are almost balanced perfect oil to gas ration.  When the gas goes dry there's just enough to cover the bottom of the resevior for the oil.  I do double check to make sure the chain is lubricated during my cutting and clean the hole as necessary.  The factory setting is definately NOT enough.


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## Stephen in SoKY (Jul 7, 2009)

Mine's wide open & still only puts out half a tank of oil per tank of fuel. I'm not happy, but t seems I'll have to be satisfied with it. Other than this issue, I've been VERY pleased with my 310.


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## LLigetfa (Jul 7, 2009)

Stephen in SoKY said:
			
		

> Mine's wide open & still only puts out half a tank of oil per tank of fuel. I'm not happy, but t seems I'll have to be satisfied with it. Other than this issue, I've been VERY pleased with my 310.


Why do you feel you need to use more oil?  Do you think the additional money you spend on oil would be less than the money you spend on a bar and sprocket?

Now if you are using old sump oil instead of buying quality chain oil, I might understand.


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## Highbeam (Jul 7, 2009)

I think that old sump oil will feed faster since it is thinner. Despite the slow oil (real bar oil) feed to my chain, I am not getting a hot bar and there is always an oily film on the drive links. Obviously, the setting to allow this "barely adequate" oiling should be in the middle of the adjsutment range vs. the max but I don't see it being a problem. Maybe in winter it will be.


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## Stephen in SoKY (Jul 7, 2009)

Perhaps I think I need more oil because that's how I was taught 35 years ago. I can testify that the bar is often hotter on this saw than any I've run in the past. Bar oil is like equipment grease, much cheaper than replacing parts. Likewise, I was taught bar oil is the appropriate thing to use on saw bars. I had considered a lighter weight oil, but haven't tried any because I assume Stihl bar oil ought to work the best in Stihl saws.  Yes, I also use Stihl 2 stroke oil as I assume it's the best suited item for the job. I value my equipment and try to take the best care possible to keep it running well. To this end, I'd prefer to sling more oil around. I may wind up taking it in for a new oil pump just for the piece of mind. I've never replaced one myself so I'm at a loss as to how to do it myself.


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## LLigetfa (Jul 8, 2009)

I don't know how much Stihl bar oil is selling for these days.  ISTR paying $15 a gallon 2 years ago.  I also bought a new bar at the time and ISTR paying around $35.  So, doing the math, if I used twice as much oil, I would be paying more for oil than what I might save in wear on the bar.  My bar lasts far longer than 4 gallons of oil does, so even if I used 8 gallons instead, it might cost me $60 in oil to double (or not) the life of the bar.


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## Gooserider (Jul 8, 2009)

I use the lowest cost bar oil I can find, either big box "house brand" or Pull-on brand from WalMart - I don't think it will do any worse than fancy brand oil - it isn't like it spends a long time on the bar or chain...  I generally don't cut in really cold weather, but I would say that if one needs to thin out some oil to get it to flow, that a small amount of diesel would do the job...

Gooserider


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