Saw has started pulling to the left more and oil chamber doesn't empty as quickly

cutter44752 · Oct 2, 2023

Over the past month it seems like the saw has started pulling down towards the left much more regardless of which sawchain I use or how tightly I tension it (I haven't tried flipping the guidebar yet though).

What could be the reason for this? Also the oil chamber doesn't empty very much anymore, I opened it up and knocked any debris out of the little oiler hole but it didn't seem to help much.

Any idears appreciated, Echo CS-400.

singinwoodwackr · Oct 2, 2023

cutter44752 said:
Over the past month it seems like the saw has started pulling down towards the left much more regardless of which sawchain I use or how tightly I tension it (I haven't tried flipping the guidebar yet though).

What could be the reason for this? Also the oil chamber doesn't empty very much anymore, I opened it up and knocked any debris out of the little oiler hole but it didn't seem to help much.

Any idears appreciated, Echo CS-400.

Cut drift is either dull chain in general but more dull on one side. Or, uneven bar rails, worn bar rails, worn out chain drivers or combination of all. From experience, out of true rails is the most common.
I use a 1x30” vertical belt sander set with a machinist square to true 90 degrees to true up worn bars. If the grooves are overly worn it’s time to replace the bar. Flip the bar over every now and then to keep from wearing one side out prematurely.

ericm979 · Oct 2, 2023

Clean the bar grooves and oil hole and flip the bar every time you sharpen the chain. Which should be pretty often, like every 2 tanks of fuel, or less.

They make special files to true up bars that are worn crooked. But its more likely that your chain is not sharpened evenly on both sides.

blades · Oct 2, 2023

other chain drift- depth gauges un even side to side or not low enough on one side, cutter uneven left set vs right set. bar worn in the grove so chain slops around plus the afore mentioned items. top plate of cutters left right at different angles loose chain will give all kinds of wierd problems. oiler - dry chain, bar will wear quickly. every time you put a chain on clean bar groove making sure oil port is clear( a lot of us open up those oil ports on bars.) pull bar and run saw a bit watching for oil to extrude from slot if . if not the that sysem will need to be serviced. , you can flush oil tank with diesel or Kerosene then run run it again with fresh diesel or kero observing for it to exit at slot. if not then got to go further into system. worst one i ever saw was HD cast off that had been run so hot it melted the plastic parts of the pump into one mass .

cutter44752 · Oct 2, 2023

blades said:
other chain drift- depth gauges un even side to side or not low enough on one side, cutter uneven left set vs right set. bar worn in the grove so chain slops around plus the afore mentioned items. top plate of cutters left right at different angles loose chain will give all kinds of wierd problems. oiler - dry chain, bar will wear quickly. every time you put a chain on clean bar groove making sure oil port is clear( a lot of us open up those oil ports on bars.) pull bar and run saw a bit watching for oil to extrude from slot if . if not the that sysem will need to be serviced. , you can flush oil tank with diesel or Kerosene then run run it again with fresh diesel or kero observing for it to exit at slot. if not then got to go further into system. worst one i ever saw was HD cast off that had been run so hot it melted the plastic parts of the pump into one mass .

Thanks, any tips on cleaning the oil port myself? (toothpick, straightened paper clip etc.)

blades · Oct 2, 2023

If you think the oil port ( or do you mean the tiny little breather on some units) is plugged then you need to pull the clutch assembly as that is where the oil pumps are. there is an internal line from the pump to the oil port. Before you go after that due the flush I described earlier. the oil pick up screen could be plugged in the oil tank. cracked line = no vacuum to pull oil up to pump.