Husq. 346xp oiler not working

[pybyr]

Hello all-

Seems like I am jinxed right now on saws and bar oil (posted another thread about a Stihl 261 that's doing a wimpy job keeping the chain oiled).

My favorite saw is a Husqvarna 346xp that's about 3-4 years old.

A while back I noticed that the chain seemed too dry, so I put it down until I could check it. Pulled the bar and found the tiny hole where the bar meets the saw, that the oil is supposed to feed through, was plugged with oil-soaked sawdust. Cleaned the hole, the mirror image hole, and the entire groove down the bar. Cleaned the entire "face" of where the saw meets the bar. I'm always really careful to clean the saw around the fuel and oil caps when I refuel so that I do all I can to keep crud out of the tanks.

Assumed, now to my regret, that the "plug" in that tiny hole in the bar had been the issue, so took down a nice medium Hophornbeam today, and all seemed to be going great.

Until I went to top off the fuel and bar oil. The saw had used 2/3 of the fuel but the bar oil had not gone down even one tiny bit. UGH.

Pulled the bar and chain and started and ran the saw at medium throttle for about a minute to see if any oil would be pumped out of the "port" in the body of the saw. Zip. Zero.

So I guess it is time for me to start diagnosing and digging into what is going on and why.

Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[pybyr]

Dug into the saw and found that the plastic worm gear that drives the oil pump is stripped.

So I clearly need that oil pump drive gear.

My question/ suspicion, though, is whether the oil pump itself is not turning as freely as it should, which _would_ cause the metal gear on the pump to strip the plastic worm.

The oil pump turns OK with finger effort, although with some resistance. I just don't know "how much resistance" is to be expected.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[MasterMech]

346XP is a high-winding screamer of a saw. One of the highest factory rev limits I have ever seen. It's bound to tear up an oiler gear or two over the life of the saw. I'd just replace it and worry ony if it chews up another gear is short order.

 

[pybyr]

Got the drive gear and while I was at it (just so that I didn't encounter more down time) a new oil pump. While I was at it, also got a new un-cat muffler, all from Jack's small engine parts. Ordered them on Monday, all of what I needed was in stock, and received it Thursday.
http://www.jackssmallengines.com

Put it together Friday evening, re-adjusted the high mix on the carb., and the saw works BETTER than it ever did, even new. Oil is flowing to the chain better with the pump set to medium than it ever did on high before. Don't know whether the new oil pump is an improved unit or whether the old one had somehow just been marginal all along- but the difference is dramatic. Would much rather be buying extra oil than chains, sprockets, and bars.

The 346 was always impressive, but wow, with the freer-flowing muffler, it is a force to be reckoned with. Since it has an RPM limited coil, I can just put it in the wood, wind 'er up and let 'er go. 1.5x results in 2/3 the time and 1/2 the strain.

Thanks for all the suggestions.