As the title says, the bar oiler is not working on my brother’s Rancher 61. Any ideas what might be going on? I filled the reservoir so that isn’t the problem. Thanks!
Remove the bar, start the saw and blip the throttle a few times and see if you have oil coming out the oiler port on the case of the saw. If you do then the problem is likely a plugged oiler hole on your bar. These can be cleaned with anything thin enough to get in your bar groove then use a pick or very small screwdriver to clean the hole on the bar.
If it's not coming out of the oiler hole, remove the clutch/drum and check the oil pump and drive gear (the gear that rotates on the crankshaft is plastic, the gear on the pump itself is steel) Make sure the pump and gear area isn't packed with crusted gunk and sawdust. The plastic gears are readily available OEM or aftermarket if it needs one. I like to clean and grease those gears (along with the clutch drum bearing) at least once a year. If all that looks good, you can check behind the oil pump where the rubber pickup hose goes through the case into the oil reservoir. You can unseat it and pry it out with a small flathead. It has very small holes in the pickup end (which is brass) that could easily get clogged if there's a lot of fine debris inside the reservoir. Ensure the hose looks fine, not clogged or cracked. If you do end up removing the oil pump, there's a rubber o-ring on the inside that should be changed if it was never changed before. I have an entire bag of them and can put one in an envelope and mail it to you at no cost. Hopefully it's just a clogged passage in the bar though, like Ronaldo mentioned.
No oil out of the oil hole when run with no bar. Looks like we have to start digging . . . Never had an oiler problem with a Husqvarna till now.
Plastic gear behind the clutch is junk . . . But I’m not getting any oil working the steel gear by hand so it looks like more digging will be in order.
I never really tried to get oil pumping by spinning the gear by hand. Since it runs off the crank, I’d imagine you’d have to get it spinning pretty good before seeing anything come out. It’s a good sign that the pump is spinning freely though. Still, something caused the plastic gear to get fried in the first place.
If there is supposed to be a screw in the hole indicated by the 90* pick then we are missing a screw . . .
I'm almost certain I have an entire spare pump for that saw kicking around. I can confirm tomorrow. If you want it, it's yours for the price of shipping. It's a good idea to change that crank seal while it's apart though. I might have one of those too...
I see pump kits on Amazon for $20 give or take. Body and pumping elements, suction line and screen, and the nylon gear. I need the gear anyway . . . Are these kits ok or just another way for the Chinese to disappoint us? Old age and debris probably. This is an old saw. My brother has had it for a good 20 years and in that time no one has ever gotten into the oiler.
Personally I wouldn’t mess with the Chinese pumps. I’d rather not have to fix it again if it fails, and would trust a 40 year old OEM over a brand new Chinese knockoff. Here’s what I have if you’re at all interested. A spare pump, a spare plastic gear, and a brand new o-ring for behind the pump. All you would need to buy is a crank seal (a set of 2 if you feel like changing the one on the flywheel side too)
I would have never guessed that the crank seal would have to be changed with the oiler. Thanks for learnin me something today!
