Homeowner Grade Saw - Bar Oil Leak

I've had a MS210 for the last ten or so years, I use the saw mostly for limbing, cutting grapevines and honeysuckle. A few years ago I noticed that when I set the saw down there was always a tiny bit of bar oil that would be left on the surface it was sitting on. Was at the local Stihl shop a few years ago and I asked about it and the gentlemen there basically told me the cost to repair the saw would cost about the same as buying a new one since it's a homeowner grade saw. He said more than likely the leak is coming from where the two pieces of plastic are welded together. He inferred somewhat that I should just buy a new saw and move on.

Yesterday I was cutting grapevines and honey suckle and noticed a rather big pool of oil in the bed of my SXS from the saw. It was definitely bigger than I'd see in the past. Anybody know of any remedies on how to possibly slow the leak down or stop it ?

 

I'm not a chainsaw doctor, but that guy sounds like a dummy lol. That's about as accurate an assessment as "Your truck is running rough, the motor is shot" when it could be anything including bad fuel in the truck example.

AFAIK, there's always a little check valve in oil caps to equalize pressures. Maybe the valve is shot, or the line between the pump and the channel where it feeds the bar. I'd look there before assuming his worst case scenario. Also, just leave the saw on its side for now, that may prevent it from slobbering oil while not in use.

Are you hard on equipment, has it went for a tumble off the SXS repeatedly?

 

Could be a bar oil tank feed valve is stuck open from debris in the tank. Remove the bar, drain the bar oil. Rinse the tank out with a little gas and dump. Locate the the feed valve. The little silver button looking thing that is on the side of the tank and aligns with the hole in the bar the oil flows through. With the bar oil tank cap removed, blow compressed air through that valve into the tank. Refill the oil. Leave the bar off and watch for a leak through the valve.

 

Just trying to sell a new saw probably? Then take the trade in and fix the easy issue and resell. Really good dealers are hard to find around me.

 

I don't know Stihl like I do Husky but after a bunch of years, the rubber lines that carry oil to the pump and then to the bar get hard and loose the ability to seal well. After replacement, this typically fixes the issue when I get it. Maybe this is all yours needs. The oil tank vent issue is easier to try, so I'd start there. Clean the saw up and figure out exactly where the weep is coming from.

 

They don't call them "stealerships" for nothing!

 

Got an off-brand 2000w generator in the basement that needs a pull cord for that very reason. Cost me $175 for it. The part to fix it is like $5. The labor to fix it? Cheaper to replace the generator. My time is money too.

 

I'm going to side with the dealer on this one.
He's probably been down the road of something like "you fixed the oil leak but now it (fill in any totally unrelated problem) what did you do to it ? or you charged me this much already and now you want what??? That's adding up to more than a new saw!

 

As far as I know the saw hasn't been dropped from any significant distance that would cause the case to prematurely crack. My SXS is only a year old, the saw started leaking long before I had it. I have a 18 year old 290, and that saw doesn't leak oil, and until recently it went where ever the 210 or 170 went. I bought new caps for the saw a few years after I got it because the original ones were garbage ( wouldn't stay on ) at best. When I bought the new ones the guy at the Stihl store even said that they redesigned how they work because they were having some many problems with them. Laying the saw on the side just creates a mess on the side you laid the saw on, I've been down that road. Now I've just resorted to laying it on the gravel normal side up in my barn and calling it good.

I will give it a good clean out tonight and try the suggestions above. Thanks

This particular shop started off as a little shop in the town south of me and has grown into a pretty decent size operation. I liked it better when it was a small shop because the guy who manages the big store now really knew his stuff and I trusted his opinion. The guy that I talked to a few years ago seemed knowledgeable from talking to him in the past. I didn't think he was leading me in the wrong direction at all. I'm sure they've "been burned" by this in the past, and like me, they learned their lesson. The lesson that I learned is, don't buy a homeowner grade saw. If this one really chits the bed I'll pick up a 261 or a 555.

 

Could be something as simple as the caps, Stihl has changed the o-rings on the newer flippy caps. Pretty sure the new style is blue because the old ones would get hard and leak.

 

I don't think it's the cap. If I flip the saw so the caps are facing straight up, there's still a pool of oil under the saw after I let it sit.

Good info to know about the o-rings in case I do ever see gas or oil coming out.

 

I'm sure someone here can get you the IPL and using that we can talk you through the diagnosis and repair.

 

I like my homeowner husq 350 it has done everything. I'm sure some homeowner saws are worst than others but this saw has treated me well as a 1st saw and has been giving years of service. It has puked oil out on me before, I fixed it. I just leave a rag in the case to soak anything up if it wants to puke some more.
I liked it so much I bought a 2ND one and now have a backup/parts saw.
It doesn't hurt to have a nice saw in the arsenal and that is where my 288 can step up when needed.
my 210 hasn't seen daylight in 5 years? It was given to me from my mom when her husband passed on. Carb was messed up on it, never ran right and I never bothered fixing it because I have a 350.

 

Well mine does! I call it my Stihl MS290 Harley Edition

 

I used Holland Dell trick and cleaned the oil tank out a few times with gasoline. I noticed every time I’d go to open the cap a little bit of gas would run down off the saw handle and onto the bench.

As always thanks for everyone’s help. Think I got my problem figured out. YouTube video below shows gas dripping through the oil grommet on the saw housing.

Before:



Video:

https://youtube.com/shorts/7e4klSEvmVI?feature=share