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Hi there, I uploaded photos from the area where the oil pump is on my stihl ms230, and am wondering what this seemingly melted plastic is. It seems like it has become too hot or almost as if the PO smeared liquid plastic on the place or something. Can anybody identify what happened here and/or give me advice on what this is and what I could do about it?

Thanks a lot,

Dion

Are you sure it's melted plastic, and not gummed up oil?

The inboard clutch got too hot and melted the plastic chassis/case of the saw. Saw was probably run too hard with a dull chain. You can see if oil pump gear and worm gear mate properly when engine secured in chassis. May can shave off some protruding plastic. Otherwise, it's new chassis time.

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If you had taken off the clutch drum and then fitted it back without making sure the worm drive was in its slot on the clutch drum, the worm drive could get pressed onto the body. Friction would cause it to heat up and melt the plastic.
It could also be caused by the worm drive being out of shape and jumping out of its slot.
In both cases you would notice erratic oiling of the chain.

Joe

Thanks all for the answer. I guess for now I will just replace all the other parts on the saw to make it run well again. The whole chassis is almost as expensive as a new saw, so I hope it will run for a while more.

Dion

Letting one idle with brake on will melt one quick if idle set where it move chain any. People often lock brake because chain turns at idle not realizing the clutch is heating up.