Stihl 441 Oiler Leak

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G6 at Snook TX

G6 at Snook TX

Member
Oct 17, 2011
123
central Texas
You might file this under the "no good deed goes unpunished" line, but I loaned my 441 to my father and his work crew to do some clean up at several cemeteries. When I got it back I cranked it and ran it and noticed that they ran motor oil or some cheap lubricant through the oiler. The chain was blacker, bar too.

I also noticed that when I replaced the inferior oil with Stihl bar and chain it continued to leak from the cam cover. Now, I was standing in my garage running the machine and it was dropping large droplets of black oil on the concrete. Is that normal, or is it not? I have never seen it do this before, but I have never really run the thing for several minutes in the garage for fun. Always out in the field or at the cut site. I would figure fresh bar and chain oil would be fairly clear.

My Stihl man said that the oilers on the 441 are very tough and any damage done by the cheap oil was on the bar and chain. I figure him to know his stuff, but it greatly surprised me see the big droplets of oil coming from under the cam cover. (I do know that the oiler lubes the chain there.)

Thanks for reading and any comments.
 
Sounds like very thin oil that cant stick to the bar. I would maybe flush it out with kerosen. Oh and dont make that mistake again.;)
 
smokinj said:
Sounds like very thin oil that cant stick to the bar. I would maybe flush it out with kerosen. Oh and dont make that mistake again.;)
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My father had two 360s but they busted one of them messing around on a hackberry tree. Trust me, I was nervous as a long tail cat under a rocking chair when I watched that 441 drive away.
 
Black oil? They could've been running used engine oil and might not have bothered to filter out the crap in it.

+1 on Jay's advice to flush it out good. And don't do that again. <>
 
Two out of the last 3 times I lent a saw out it came back with an "issue" that I ended up paying for.
 
MasterMech said:
Black oil? They could've been running used engine oil and might not have bothered to filter out the crap in it.

+1 on Jay's advice to flush it out good. And don't do that again. <>
Click to expand...
Simply drain out the old oil, and run kerosene in it for a few minutes? Then back with the good chain oil? I have always been told that you play with fire when using kerosene in a pump situation because there isn't enough lubricant in it to keep it from messing up. (I have used kerosene plenty of times to clean; it is my favorite.)

Or would simply working the saw hard take care of the issue? Fresh oil to chase the out the old, inferior oil? May not be as fast to clean though.
 
You'll be ok flushing with kero. Don't go cutting with it but flushing with it briefly won't hurt anything.
 
I put the bar back on with out a chain and pump it through the bar for a few seconds. Shut it down and let it set over night shake it up the next day and disregarde in an "EPA" manor!
 
Another very good flushing agent is automatic trans fluid. High detergent & lubricity in very low viscosity. Works wonders sometimes. A C
 
amateur cutter said:
Another very good flushing agent is automatic trans fluid. High detergent & lubricity in very low viscosity. Works wonders sometimes. A C
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Follow the epa regs: Would not want a drop to touch the ground it will kill the whole family! Really I heard that on here some where.
 
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MarkinNC said:
Two out of the last 3 times I lent a saw out it came back with an "issue" that I ended up paying for.
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That's why I never loan out ANY of my tools to anyone.Not even a screwdriver or a 1/4" twist drill bit.They want the work done,I'll go over there with my stuff (at my convenience & if time schedule works),do the job & return home.
 
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Well no one except Dad I meant to say.;em Taught me lots of what I know,getting on in years so I like to help whenever I can.
 
Bigg_Redd said:
Why not just top it up with regular bar oil?
Click to expand...

If he only was trying to flush the old oil out then I'd say that's the solution. But in his case he may have solid junk leftover from the old oil and something thin like kerosene would help dissolve clogs the regular bar oil wouldn't touch.
 
Is WalMart ATF for old cars as good as any for cleaning. I know there are about four or five types of ATF out there now.

Straight ATF for a few minutes (no sawing)? Or a mixture of ATF and kerosene?
 
Try the straight kero (no sawing). If that doesn't clear it out, then the ATF won't either and you'll be forced to dig in deeper.
 
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