lonmower,

Don`t be offended but unless you are cutting alot of a particular species that is widely known to produce alot of dust, you need to keep you chain sharper. That`s where the dust comes from.

Ouch..."barbedwire"
LOL
I am not (easily) offended
The first saw shop that tried to fix this said same
"Dull chain"
Then I talked to an "old logger"
He said: "No way, that is the problem"
He said: "You can run that saw in the mud and it won't plug"
Shop #1 said it was plugging with dust from the outside-in

Shop #2 could not solve the problem

Shop #3 said it is plugging from inside the tank-out

I have cut hundreds of cords of firewood without this problem. I used this particular saw for two years without this...so I am discounting operator error. I am cutting some fir, which makes alot of dust. I now think that is is plugging because the pump is not generating enough pressure. When I take it to the shop...they unplug it...the oiler seems to be working...but maybe not with enough pressure?????

I am leaving for town to pick up the saw at shop #3...can't wait to hear their diagnosis.

Thanks for responding "wire"

Any other ideas out there?????

I still say that the oiler is plugging from the outside in from excessive dust. Perhaps it is the fir that you are cutting?

These oil pumps are positive displacement but fairly low flow, I expect that you will find that it has plenty of pressure but not enough flow to flush away the mung when there is enough mung to build up in the bar groove, which I`ll bet that you also have.

Your old logger friend is mistaken. Modern saws like the 455 are much more sensitive to oiling problems than the old iron was, furthermore, he is probably accustomed to using much larger saws intended for longer bars with higher flow oil pumps, nonetheless, no saw can literally be run in the mud and not have problems.

Maybe your pump is bad or the drive gear is bad? Remove the clutch cover(...and bar and chain!) and the thin metal plate over the oiler and rev the saw if you think the pump isn`t flowing properly, it should provide a steady dribble down the side. Remember, the pump won`t have so much pressure and flow that the oil will squirt out. The oil is expected to be dragged around the bar by the drive links passing by the bar oiler hole. I`m curious to know what fixes this saw.

I went to pick up the saw (@ shop # 3) and it wasn't ready
They had to order parts
Yahoo!!!!
This was the first time (out of 6) trips that there was "something wrong with the saw"
They are going to replace the "cups" on either side of the pump????
The mechanic thinks there is an air leak as he saw bubbles in the oil after he unpluged it.

I have been lucky to be into seasoned wood. I think seasoned wood will make more dust. But I have been keeping the chain sharp and have been making good sized chips. i suspected that it might have been a "worn bar" so that the oil was not being dragged down the bar...but saw shop #2 (which could not fix it) said that the bar was good.

When the "cups" come in...I will get this saw back. Then it will be a few tank fulls to see if it is fixed.

"Ain't she just like a woman"

lonmower, has the saw been fixed?

I looked at the IPL for the 455 oiler and I don`t see any "cups"..........and even though parts are theoretically available most shops won`t(well I don`t know of any who will......) bother because the relatively low cost of the entire oiler assembly makes more sense than paying for the parts and bench time to rebuild one.

You`ve piqued my curiosity lonmower, apprise us of your results.

Hey lonmower, we`re still waiting to hear about those oiler cups. Is your saw fixed?

I do not have the saw back yet
Luckily I bought a used Stihl 036 at the begining of the winter
The Stihl is a wood cutting "Jesse"
So the Husqvarna is my backup
I am curious
But I am not pushing the shop on this one
I hope to get it back fixed

I will keep posted

Thanks lonmower. The 036 is an underated saw if there ever was one, IMO. It would also be my first choice over the 455.

I got my saw back yesterday
I have not used it yet
But the saw shop shop gave me confidence it is fixed

Here is the story

There is a tube from the tank and one from the pump to the bar
They meet at the pump and form "cups" around the pump
The mechanic said there was air leaking around the "cups"
He reconned this to softening of the plastic
...Made sense to me???

I hope this will fix this long-standing problem.

I just got given this same saw. I was told it runs fine but won't oil. Sounds like a poor design with this particular saw.

Runnings lighter grade winter bar oil will solved this common problem , also Will reduce saw oil system fouling via increased flow .