OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Chainsaws and Concrete Cutters Petrol Chainsaws and Concrete Cutters GMC Electric Chainsaw - Oiler Problem

Not sure where to post this but I have a Gmc electric chainsaw. Don't use it much but lately the chain is getting very dry even though the oil tank is full. Took it apart, oil tube connected to Ol tank was not clogged as I had expected. Cleaned it out but not a huge difference, anything else I should try?

Petrol-engined chainsaws usually have an engine-driven oil pump, which is prone to getting clogged with sawdust and giving trouble. A few, though, use crankcase pulsations or an air pump to pressurise the oil tank. I'm guessing that your electric saw will have a motor driven oil pump. The most common problem seems to be the oil discharge passage from the pump to the chain, becoming clogged with sawdust. I suggest you clean that - the manual tells you how. If the oil pickup tube, especially the intake filter, is OK and the discharge passage is clear, you'll need to look at the pump drive and the pump itself.

Thanks Grumpy, this chainsaw looks to have a pretty primitive oiling setup. You've got the oil container which has a plastic tube that runs into the sprocket area of the chainsaw. The tube looked unblocked but I cleaned it and ran compressed air into it. The manual does not give any instruction on what to do if the oiler isn't working. Not sure that it's a pressurised system looks bare bones to me.

Is there a plunger-button that you push each time you want a shot of oil?

No plunge button.

There must be a way to get the oil from the tank to the chain, tiger. How about some close-up pictures of the bits of the system?

the gmc i had did have a button , was i think maybe 8 or 10 years ago now so dim in my memory but it looked sort of like a choke knob on one side , ok if your right handed ;)

At the bottom of the plastic tank you can see the oil tube. It seems to just run behind the metal circular sprocket holder. There is another tube underneath the brake cam an inch from my thumb.

Is the oil pump inside or underneath the small plastic motor-drive sprocket on the right, circled in red?


There may be a discharge port pointing upward in the center of the shaft. There may also be an entry port under the sprocket, pointing downward into the oil tank.

From what I've read on various sites it is very common for the pump to stop working, but I haven't found any reports of fixing the pump, or even finding it. You test the pump in the usual way for chainsaws: run the saw briefly with the chain bar pointed at a sheet of white paper, and expect to see it instantly develop an oil stain.

Thanks Grumpy, will have to disassemble and check, I can see that nothing is pumped because the oil in the oil reservoir tank is not changing ie it's still full of oil.

There may be a possibility that the pump is a very flat centrifugal one on the electric motor's shaft, perhaps just below the bottom edge of the plastic drive pinion. That would make it very cheap, and although it would block far more easily than the usual positive displacement pumps that are used, it would not be damaged by the blockage the way most chainsaw pumps are. This could explain why they block so often on those saws. I've never heard of a centrifugal pump being used, but it would be interesting if that turns out to be the answer. Whatever kind of pump it is, it would be helpful to post pictures of it: I haven't seen a solution to this electric chainsaw oil pump problem anywhere on the internet.