I took one of my ms391 saw in to a local stihl dealer.Told the tech what the other dealer told me and that the crank bearings took a crap on me told them they said it would be over $300 bucks to do the rebuild.This guy said to me tell you what since the saw is only 3 years old I will call stihl and see if they will take a hit on the parts.Well guys the answer was no stihl said its out of warranty no big deal .Tech told me he could rebuild it for a little over $200 said I will do it told the tech I was in no big hurry for saw.Well a week later he gives me a call said the piston is missing a big junk out of it and the bearings look fine but will be replaced in rebuild said ok and price went to $260 not a big deal.Well guys got the saw back ran it once and put it away but I notice a little oil spit out of my foot so i said to my self i look at it when i get some time and then I will take it outand run it again and see what happens.Well got out and started to cut on a log and the bar oil just flys all over my carharts all over the top of my boots its to the point that you can not use the saw so I shut the saw off take it in and look to see what that deal is so I found out the case were the oil jug is seemed together is leaking out of there.Have to say this saw didnt leak any oil what so bit beforebthe piston took a crap on me and before having it rebuilt.So with that beening said got on the phone with the shop dealer told them the problem and they said bring it in.So I did the main tech that did rebuilt was on vacation and spoke to differnt guy that said will take a look at it and he did called me later and said he didnt see were it was coming from.I said to him on the phone did you start the saw????????? And run it he goes No ??????? I said run the saw and call me back thinkingvto myself what the hell.so he calls me back and says yesvit looks like its coming outvthe seem of the case and he goes i called the guy that did the rebuild and he said that he didnt do anything that would have cause this issue.. now at this point my blood is getting warm so i let this guy keep talking and he goes your looking about $300 bucks to fix this i said no man when i gave you this saw didnt have this issuie before.Do he talk me wait for the main tech to get back at this point my blood runing hotter then my woodstove
Sounds like a dealer I wouldn't like dealing with - unfortunately, looks like you'll need to fight with them to fix this, assuming it was their mistake on the rebuild. Bringing to another dealer to fix and the extra cost - you'd be near a new saw price. Ouch. Feel your pain brother - good luck. Cheers!
I said to him yes i will wait for him to come back. Not pointing fingers but man o man the did not have problem before and this guy telling me right off the start that its nothing that they did to it and saying maybe the cold weather got to it.At this point iam pizzy and can heat my house off my steem.Had them did this rebuild because i have never done one before and said the price seems right and to get some of the right tools for it i would spend more money on it then just having them do it.Iam a guy that likes do stuff myself and taking pride in it and learning from it I dont know what happen to the saw for this to take place a bad seem from the factory or something that took place in there shop or just taking it apart i know the saw did not leak before so i dont know . Watched some youtube videos them heating the case up and banging on it on the vise i dont know if this could cause it to do that or not but all i know is iam about had it with this saw a $600 new ran it for 3 years and almost $300 into rebuild
When the saw took a crap i bought a new one same one ms391 really like the saw for some reason.Its got the power to do what i do.Just hope i dont have the same problems as this one.I let the old one sit in the case for a good 6 months before talking to the dealer and to having it rebuilt..
I think I can see your steam from here....... I think this saw uses the rear bar stud to pull the case together - like the 290/310/390 - I'd assume so. Perhaps the case wasn't sealed well and you could try torque down the bar stud and see if it helps seal the case? Wait for some other folks to comment on this before you try it and I watch that you don't strip the bolt into the plastic. Cheers!
These are clamshell motors in these saws. Held together by four bolts from the bottom of the chassis. No case splitting/banging/heat required. Oil tank is one piece molded into the chassis. I would guess that if it leaks oil only when it's running that they forgot to hook up a hose or left out a sealing ring somewhere.
Funny, a buddy of mine was a Gold tech and couldn't tell the difference between the way a saw ran with an OEM top-end and a $35.00 ebay cylinder. Set the H with a tach (limiters in place) too.
Thanks for your comments guys makes me more mellow about this situation but still tick about it but hey thats life but iam not taking this saw back from unitl this problem fixed find out this friday thanks for the heads up on the seal or hose
I am wondering if the guide/oil plate is on the saw? These are pretty simple machines as stated above. Can you remove the clutch cover, bar, and chain and snap a few pics? Also, if you run it with the bar and chain off? You may be able to see where the oil is actually coming from?
The The dealer has the saw still waiting until friday for the guy that rebuilt the saw to see whats going on because the guy I spoke does not seem to know what he is talking about.I would be happy to take some pics but dont have the saw.
Next time, I'd suggest you find a member on here to send it to. I'm sure someone would do it for next to nothing. Good luck. I'm sure it's something simple as MasterMech has stated.
When you run these saws with the bar off, do you see the bar oil coming out? I would assume so, and probably a dumb question but after reading the above it got me thinking I've never run a saw with the bar off....
Every saw I buy several things are checked before I run it.Even if its a ''project'' that needs minor restoration or a couple small parts replaced.Remove bar/chain (if they were included with the saw),check to see if oiler works,pull muffler to check piston/cylinder for scoring,look at clutch,fuel/impulse lines/filter,air filter etc. Just cause a saw has great compression don't mean the piston don't have some mild scoring also.
In short. Yes. As thistle described. There are several things you should check on a saw (if used or worked on) Start the saw and blip the throttle (oiler will only turn when clutch is engaged/on newer Pro Saws) If you don't see oil coming from this location (screwdriver pointed at oil slot)? Then you have a problem elsewhere and it should be leaking out of an obvious place. Or not oiling at all..
You beat me to it. There is no splitting the case the bearings are in the motor which is sperate from the tank. Maybe the saw was dropped and cracked. Maybe get a plastic welder and weld the seam.
Yea if you run them bar of the oil comes out of the oil hole. This is how to check if your bar hole is plugged or if the oiler is working.