# Running chainsaw with out bar



## Slime (Sep 2, 2008)

Pretty basic question......Is it ok to run a chainsaw without the bar and chain when servicing it? Is it hard on the sprocket bearing?


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## superfire (Sep 2, 2008)

*saw ??????????*

NOOOOOO. running a saw without the bar and chain could possibley cause the clutch and drive sproket to go flying off.
opcorn:


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## ray benson (Sep 2, 2008)

There is no reason to run without bar and chain.


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## blsnelling (Sep 2, 2008)

I don't see how it could hurt a thing as long as you aren't going WOT without a load on it. There's nothing spinning that doesn't spin during normal operation. I do it regularly. What could it hurt?


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## Edge & Engine (Sep 2, 2008)

I do it all the time for various reasons...but usually for less than a minute and never WOT.


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## blackoak (Sep 2, 2008)

Slime said:


> Pretty basic question......Is it ok to run a chainsaw without the bar and chain when servicing it? Is it hard on the sprocket bearing?


Unless you forget to put the E clip, or nut on and tighten the clutch down proper. ( a very bad experience usually requiring you to dispose of your underwear) I don't see what it would hurt. It is one way I check oil flow output.


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## Lakeside53 (Sep 2, 2008)

It's fine.... I do it every day. Sure as heck not going to mount a bar and chain until I know the saw runs fine.. 

I can even tell if the clutch springs are shot by pushing a screw driver onto the drum..


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## stihl sawing (Sep 2, 2008)

I run mine without a bar and chain when i clean it up. Usually to run the gas out of the carb.never hurt anything, Now i wouldn't go wot or anywhere near it. Mostly just idle and a little throttle.


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## Fish (Sep 3, 2008)

ray benson said:


> There is no reason to run without bar and chain.



Actually, I can think of one.........It will be time in about a month........

Well bar, but no chain....
.....................

....... Too tired to say why, 3:30 a.m. 

Interesting things on the topic, maybe...

OK, anybody? What is the reason???


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## Darkness77 (Sep 3, 2008)

eve of hallows?


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## Fish (Sep 3, 2008)

Well, that didn't take long. I don't know to what extent "Halloween"
is celebrated down there, but here, most towns have a local
haunted house, with most held so the proceeds go to a charity or group,
and the chainsaw guy is popular.

Last year, when I worked in Louisville, at a large Stihl dealer, the local
haunted house in Louisville brought in their "fleet" of MS170s to have
serviced, about 17 or 18 of them, bought the summer before.
Most were getting very hard to start, some would not even run at all.

Luckily the other Stihl mechanic got the project, he took a quick look at
them all, and found that 12 of them had the choke totally worn out
of the zama carbs, 2 or 3 had major bearing failure, and assorted other
physical damage. So he ordered 12 carbs and called the Stihl rep.

Over the next month or two, I watched the procedures, disscussions,
etc. Since these guys bought 18 saws in one lick, probably at a discount,
the kneejerk reaction was to bend over backwards, etc.
The supposition was somehow they might have gotten a bad batch of saws, which was silly.

Anyway, after he started putting on the carbs, aand air filters and plugs, etc.

He found that the most of them had more engine damage than he first thought, and after a few more rounds with the reps, Stihl rep decides to
replace 12 of those saws.
Since I am friends with the dist. and their reps, they usually hook me up
with job openings and such, or at least they used to, I pulled the
rep aside and asked him if he knew the full story.

When our shop set up these saws, they took off the chains, then they got to worry about the clutch springs not holding the constant starting
and stopping, and the intense high speed revving, so they removed the sprocket and clutch as well.

The bar tips were worn flat from constant dragging, the engines were
constantly started, revved at full speed for a few seconds, then turned off,
hundreds of times a day, for a full month.

They warrantied them anyway, giving them a bunch of new saws, and a bunch of new carbs, and with me being an e-bayer, I saw a huge pile of leftovers.

Interesting stuff really


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## BloodOnTheIce (Sep 3, 2008)

I do this daily, I make sure the saw runs and oils properly then I sharpen the chain, put the bar and chain back on and adjust the carb.


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## jlh26oo (Sep 3, 2008)

Fish said:


> Well, that didn't take long. I don't know to what extent "Halloween"
> is celebrated down there, but here, most towns have a local
> haunted house, with most held so the proceeds go to a charity or group,
> and the chainsaw guy is popular.
> ...



Note to self: Don't buy chainsaws off ebay!

(just joking Fish L.O.L.)


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## Fish (Sep 3, 2008)

No, I am talking about the pile of new starters, top covers, bar, chains,
clutches, sprockets. 

You obviously don't know me too well.....


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## jlh26oo (Sep 3, 2008)

Fish said:


> No, I am talking about the pile of new starters, top covers, bar, chains,
> clutches, sprockets.
> 
> You obviously don't know me too well.....



You seem like a great guy that would never sell burned out and abused C.S.'s on ebay (I.E. I was just joking)!


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## Fish (Sep 3, 2008)

If the part/parts were good/useable, I would and do sell on e-bay.

In this instance though, the huge pile of parts I was talking about were brand new, as they swapped out the old good parts and put them on the new warrantied saws, and like I described earlier, they removed the chains, sprockets, clutches, etc, so there was a huge box of brand new parts,
and due to the difficulties involved in putting all of this stuff into their
inventory, that stuff is probably still in that box.
This was a large scale dealership, and they wouldn't waste the man
hours trying to figure how to put them in their inventory. 
It was a shame I left there, I was making a pretty good living off of what
they were putting in the dumpster....


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## Grande Dog (Sep 3, 2008)

If you've had the clutch off while you were working on the saw, your rolling the dice on it coming off if you snap the throttle at all.


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## Lakeside53 (Sep 3, 2008)

??? not on Stihl's (an many others).. that why a torque wrench is used.


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## romeo (Sep 3, 2008)

I fired up a saw once with the bar cover off, sent a clutch to the promised land when I shut it down. Not a good idea IMO. I would bolt on a shot bar and a rocked out chain at very least.

There is no purpose in starting a saw with out a B/C anyway, if you adjusted it like that you will be way too lean.


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## Lakeside53 (Sep 3, 2008)

Lean? surely it will be too rich... you'll richen it up to keep the rpm down... then it will be too rich when the bar is put on. Like tuning with too short a bar then putting on a long bar.


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## romeo (Sep 3, 2008)

Lakeside53 said:


> Lean? surely it will be too rich... you'll richen it up to keep the rpm down... then it will be too rich when the bar is put on. Like tuning with too short a bar then putting on a long bar.



RIGHT, well,,, it will be too something anyway


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## Grande Dog (Sep 3, 2008)

Lakeside53 said:


> ??? not on Stihl's (an many others).. that why a torque wrench is used.



Oh yeah, that's right. Stihl never made a saw with an outboard clutch.


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## RiverRat2 (Sep 3, 2008)

Slime said:


> Pretty basic question......Is it ok to run a chainsaw without the bar and chain when servicing it? Is it hard on the sprocket bearing?



yes it is done all the time when servicing,,,, checking oil pump volume/operation and as Andy said checking clutch springs,,,, 

as long as the clutch drum and rim sprocket are installed properly :agree2:
with the E clip,,,, no problemo!!!!!!!!


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## Lakeside53 (Sep 3, 2008)

Grande Dog said:


> Oh yeah, that's right. Stihl never made a saw with an outboard clutch.



Makes no difference; they are still torqued down.... that's why there is a torque spec.


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## tree_beard (Sep 3, 2008)

Grande Dog said:


> Oh yeah, that's right. Stihl never made a saw with an outboard clutch.



i can think of more than a couple of (quite popular) outboard clutch stihls... surely youve come across them


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## Lakeside53 (Sep 3, 2008)

heck, they still make one or two! Doesn't matter though...


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