Likely the oil line is broken. My MS 290 did the same thing a couple years ago. I took it to a local Stihl dealer (not my JD dealer) and they fixed it for somewhere around $20.

 

Is this a new issue with the same bar or a new bar and now new issue?
When your run the saw with no bar is the oil coming out or just a dribble? If the latter it could be your line, pump or worm gear.
If this is a new issue with a new bar, it’s possible the oil holes are not aligning with the saw therefore oil is going on the bar and not Into it.
had that issue on my 290 so I made the holes a bit bigger.

 

Is this a new issue with the same bar or a new bar and now new issue?
When your run the saw with no bar is the oil coming out or just a dribble?

New issue with the same bar. The bar was serviced some time ago and when I got it back the issue wasn't there. However, I don't remember how long ago that was.

When I run the saw with no bar the oil is coming out but I'm not sure what counts as a "dribble". It looked like it was coming out about like I saw on Youtube but it did take a while.

Steves Small Engine Saloon....

I went through his video and about the only thing I didn't do is blow out the inside of the bar because it looked clear.

I have a MS251, about 2 years old and a MS250, probably 15 years old. Neither have in the past or currently sling very much bar oil. They are oiling and I’ve never had a problem with them, it’s just not very visible if you rev it up and look for it. The MS251 has an adjustable oiler the 250 doesn’t.

I smell a burning smell when it runs and last time that happened was when I didn't put bar oil in it. It was a stupid "I've never owned a chainsaw before" but my dealer never once mentioned that I needed bar oil so I place a little bit of blame on them as well. Luckily the damage was just some slightly melted plastic that the dealer says they wouldn't bother fixing unless it gets worse.

Likely the oil line is broken. My MS 290 did the same thing a couple years ago. I took it to a local Stihl dealer (not my JD dealer) and they fixed it for somewhere around $20.

Possibly, I did find a bunch of bar oil in the bottom of the saw's carrying case that I don't remember being there before.

 

There are 2 people I see with videos that may be useful..

Steves Small Engine Saloon....
Chiccanic ... meaning chick mechanic or close to that...
--- ---
On my little MS 170, I try to be very fussy about keeping the clutch, bar end under the cover squeaky claen.. Not free of oil type clean, but free of debries clean.. I like to think it helps..

 

Easy to work on, this is better than I can explain it.

Matthew Cremona

 

I have a MS251, about 2 years old and a MS250, probably 15 years old. Neither have in the past or currently sling very much bar oil. They are oiling and I’ve never had a problem with them, it’s just not very visible if you rev it up and look for it. The MS251 has an adjustable oiler the 250 doesn’t.

 

Sounds like the oiling system needs to be replaced to me. I had one that wore out and barely dribbled on the chain.

 

My newer saw is a 261, not a 251 like I said in my original post.

 

I normally run a knife blade down the groove of the bar when I clean an oil hole. Sometimes there's a build up of crude in the groove that also can limit oil.

If I'm not sure about oiling, I hold the tip of the bar close to a clean surface. The chain going around the tip of the bar will normally throw a nice line onto the surface. Just don't get too close to a solid object or the saw will kick up since you have to run it at speed to see the oil.

In cold weather, you may have to wait for the oil to warm up or use winter weight (lower viscosity) bar oil. In real cold weather, I've used hydraulic fluid because we had a lot of it from changing the hydraulic fluid in a combine.

If the simple stuff doesn't work, then it's time to dive deeper. The video did a pretty good job of explaining what's involved.

 

I normally run a knife blade down the groove of the bar when I clean an oil hole. Sometimes there's a build up of crude in the groove that also can limit oil.

I use a broken Sawall blade to do the same, fits perfectly and if you have ever used one of those saws you have a broken blade or two. Had the same issue with my MS310, replaced oil pump, worm gear and oil line, $100 later worked fine.

 

Was cutting brush along property lines today used my MS 025 was more walking than cutting and noticed the bar after a few minutes of walking. Non adjustable oiler and this is what I was getting on the bar.

 

Looks like plenty of oil on the bar!

 

Thank you everyone for your help but it turns out this was an 1D10T error.

Basically, I did another oil test, after refueling and refilling bar oil since I ran out of gas, along my shop garage doors only to find plenty of oil coming out. Went back to the log I was bucking and sure enough there was a burning smell. Took the chain off and the bar had oil in it. Then I noticed that the chain was on backwards which of course wouldn't work. I must have flipped it while working on the saw and didn't notice. Put the chain on correctly and it cut through the log like butter.

 

LOL, I'll bet most of us have flipped a chain at one time or another. I know I have and felt really silly when I realized it. But all's well that ends well.

 

Well at least you found it and not the service tech.

 

@hedgewarden I teach chainsaw to fire fighters, I've been deep in teaching how to redress a bar and then put the chain back on backwards, I didn't run it as one of the students pointed it out. We all do these things from time to time. Do you wear chaps or chainsaw trousers when using a saw? I religiously wear chaps or pants, hard hat, ear and eye protection because they are awesome but unforgiving.

 

Do you wear chaps or chainsaw trousers when using a saw? I religiously wear chaps or pants, hard hat, ear and eye protection because they are awesome but unforgiving.

All except the hard hat religiously. Mainly because I mostly buck things below me so the hat constantly falls off. However, I recently bought one of the helmet systems which should work better (save for ear protection) than my cobbled together system so we'll see how that goes. Plus I'll be using my tractor's forks to lift the logs a little higher which should help things out.

I also grew up in Oregon in the timber country though my family didn't do any logging. We know plenty of loggers and while they're not always safety sticklers they do usually wear chaps and helmets because most of them know someone who died while logging. Even outside of logging one of the tree companies we hired for storm cleanup went on a rant about how I better be wearing chaps because he'd spent the previous weekend at the funeral of a friend whose death would have been prevented by the chaps.

 

 

I think if you go south of the equator your chain would run the correct way. Put the chain on backwards? Not me

 

I was in a local Stihl dealer a couple of years back, they had a concrete chainsaw on the bench, looking pretty dirty and the chain half hanging off. I asked what they thought of it, and the contractors were not happy because it wouldn’t cut. I said it’ll be because they put the chain on backwards. The guy behind the counter said “how can you see that?” I said the drive teeth are the wrong way. Next time I was in they said it fixed the problem.
I’d like to have a go of one, but I reckon it’d be very dirty work. At least with a concrete cut off saw, the bulk of the cutting disk is covered.

 

My 251 oil issue was that I had plenty of oil under my sprocket cover however the chain was not getting what I thought was nearly enough oil. The issue I believe is the saw only have one stud/nut holding the bar onto the powerhead. I got a cheap aftermarket sprocket cover from a MS 250, which was listed as fitting the 251 also. This cover has two holes for the additional bar stud that the 250 has. I also got another bar stud and nut. The torx headed screw immediately behind the adjuster screw on the 251 has the same threads as the stud, I removed that and installed the new stud, the flange on the stud does need to ground a little. I run 2, bar nuts, on mine now. This fixed my oil issue, which I believe was the rear of the bar not making enough contact with the oiler outlet.