# Ot- Chainsaw Oiler No Work



## Tozguy (May 26, 2016)

My Homelite XL30 Bandit (1995) don't pump oil to the chain no more. I have dismantled and cleaned everything out. When I put pressure in the oil tank with a shop vac held tight over the filler neck of the oil tank, oil comes out OK. But when running the chainsaw normally the tank does not seem to pressurize like it should and no oil shows up on the chain. The tiny check valve in the oil tank seems to test out ok so now I am wondering about the carburater.
Anyone know how to test if the carb is pumping air to the oil tank like it should?
This little wonder chainsaw always starts and is great for one hand work so I hope to keep it going indefinitely. Thanks in advance for your help.


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## ScrapMetal (May 26, 2016)

When you say that you have "cleaned everything out" does that include the bar itself?  I was having oiling issues on a little chain saw earlier this year and it came down to the ports in the bar were stopped up as well as gunk in bar slot.

Hope that helps,

-Ron


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## Cmesler (May 26, 2016)

Like Ron said I would check the bar out and make sure there is no sawdust caked in the ports. As for checking pressure. I'm sure there's a way but on something that small I can't think of a good way to.


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## Tozguy (May 27, 2016)

Thanks for your comments. The bar is squeaky clean everywhere. Actually I ran the motor without the bar to see if oil flows out of the oil port. It doesn't. But oil does flow from the port when the tank is pressurized with a shop vac. So there must not be an obstruction downstream from the oil tank.
Maybe need new gasket on oil tank cap? Either there is no pressure provided by carb or the tank doesn't hold the slight pressure it gets?


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## Cmesler (May 27, 2016)

The next thing to do would be to check and make sure the tank is sealed. If I recall those have plastic removable tanks. Not molded into the frame like huskys or stihls. If that's the case then you could remove the tank and check it and then blow out the lines while you had it off. 
If after that didn't work then i would start looking at the carb.


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## Tozguy (May 27, 2016)

'Cleaning everything out' means all was dismantled, tank, hoses, ports, valve, bar, cleaned then reassembled. Still no oil from the oil port. I am already at the point of needing to confirm that the carb is puffing properly, hence my original question.


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## barkoguru (May 27, 2016)

Start with the easy, make sure the cap is sealed off good, that carb doesn't put out a lot of volume so any leak at all and no oil, next if you haven't replaced the lines, split it apart and check the seam of the plastic tank and install some new lines to make sure it's sealed, those get hard and once they move around you have a leak, I used to check them with a hand held vacuum pump to make sure everything was airtight, just my 2¢


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## rgray (May 27, 2016)

The port that pressurizes the oil tank should be coming out of the crankcase. There's on pressure at the carb. A 2 stroke pressurizes/depresurizzes the crankcase every stroke the check valve in the tank serves to hold the pressure in.
It will take considerably longer to move oil on a lower tank fill level so when testing fill the tank nice and full.


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## Tozguy (May 27, 2016)

Chainsaw has a pumper carb I think. I am not as familiar with pumper carbs as with slide ventury carbs a la 2 stroke motorcycle. The chainsaw oil tank hose connects to the carb just under the diaphram. Wouldn't the pressure pulses from the crankcase be piped up to the diaphram somehow? with some of the pulse bled off to the oil tank?
Filling the tank sounds like a good idea, it has been kept low while working on it but I see how that might not be helping. Will be replacing the hoses as well per Barko's post.
Thanks everybody, Mike


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## rgray (May 28, 2016)

I've been around chainsaws alot and had not seen one hooked up this way. I looked up a parts diagram and sure enough the oil line is hooked to the carb. Maybe it was a way to get flow amounts where they wanted them. 
So the line from the carb goes to the line in the oil tank with the check valve (rear line in oil tank on the parts diag I saw) 
Front oil line from tank goes to oil fitting behind bar mount. That line I assume extends to the bottom of the tank as the parts diagram says it is 8" long with 3 3/4" extending out of tank.
If you can pull some of it up out of the tank you could check for cracking that sometimes happens near the top. Also make sure it hasn't curled up off the bottom of the tank.


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## Tozguy (May 28, 2016)

Wow, thanks for going to all that trouble for me.
Your description is right on. There is a metal strainer on the end of the hose that sits in the bottom of the oil tank. Once reassembled I shook the tank and could hear the strainer hitting the bottom of the tank. The hose is twenty years old and a bit stiff so it won't hurt to replace it.
I did a bit of cutting with the chainsaw this morning after filling the oil tank full. The bar started off wet by applying shop vac pressure to the oil tank before starting the saw. The bar and chain eventually dried out so all is not good yet.
I might try thinning out the chain oil with furnace oil to see if it flows to the bar better.

PS would you have a link to the parts diagram?


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## rgray (May 28, 2016)

Here's a link. Hope it works: http://www.ereplacementparts.com/ho...dit-chain-saw-parts-c-18807_21362_294384.html
The diag's are not great.
Mentions that the fitting at the bar mount is a check valve. Wondering if it needs blown out in case  a little saw dust has it partially clogged.
Thinning the oil sounds like a good test. Might even try diesel to clean it out and see if that will flow.


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## Tozguy (May 28, 2016)

Link works fine, thanks again.
Taking a break till I get some new hose. Then will go through it all again and flush that check valve with diesel fuel (same as furnace oil).


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## Tozguy (Jun 2, 2016)

After thinning the chain oil (50/50 diezel to heavy chain oil) and filling the tank to the brim, the chain oiled fine. After using up a tank of gas the oil level in the tank had dropped out of sight. The chain and bar stayed wet the whole time. Guess I'll settle for that. Thanks everyone for your help.


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## ScrapMetal (Jun 2, 2016)

Glad to hear that, in the very least, it's getting the job done.  

-Ron


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