Homelite 330 Intake Boot

[Dave K.]

I'm new to the forum. I have a 22 year old Homelite 330 chainsaw that wasn't used for some time but it has been roughed up in it's life. It is running lean and I can't get it to idle slow. It speeds up and I can't reduce the idle speed. I rebiult the ZAMA carb but no change. I inspected the intake boot but it does not look cracked or cut. However, it is old and I suspect is causing an air leak. I did not change the carb gasket when I reinstalled the carb and plan to also replace this.

How difficult is it to change the intake boot? Is there a procedure to follow? Any tips? I'm fairly good at mechanical repairs and have worked on numerous small engines.

Thanks,
Dave K.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Hi there Dave!

Welcome to the forum!


Im wondering much of the same things as you as far as replacing the boot as Im going to be fixing the same symptoms you mentioned.
Man, theres more AS in that sentance than you can shake a stick at.


Im probably going to tear into this in the next few days, if you stick aroung Ill let you know how it goes.

 

[Justsaws]

It is not difficult but does require removing a lot of parts. Just keep track of the parts and screws/bolts. You may as will replace the fuel lines and oil lines while you are there. It is also a good opportunity to clean out the oil pump. Good luck.

 

[Dave K.]

Hi there Dave!

Welcome to the forum!


Im wondering much of the same things as you as far as replacing the boot as Im going to be fixing the same symptoms you mentioned.
Man, theres more AS in that sentance than you can shake a stick at.


Im probably going to tear into this in the next few days, if you stick aroung Ill let you know how it goes.

RBW,

Please keep me posted.

Dave K.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Ok Dave, you still with me?


Heres the beginning of the disassembly process.

Start off by unscrewing the pullstart and setting it aside, a paper box lid or other good size box will be needed to put your parts in as youll have to wait for your boot to come in if that is indeed your problem.

Next youll need a 4mm allen wrench to remove the 2 bolts that hold the front handle in place. Once you have them removed, you will have to place the saw on the edge of the tablewith the pullstart side to the handle overhanging the table and push down on the handle to remove it.


Next you will need a 5/16" socket to remove the lower portion of the rear handle (3 srcews) and the bottom case screws (4).


At this point you should have a beer on the table and your work area will look like the pic below.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

OK, next up, remove the lower case half, the carb and the oil pump (the black thing behind the carb). Be carefull with your lines (fuel,oil and pulse) But as stated above you may want to replace these anyway.


Now find your 4mm allen wrench again and remove the 4 screws that hold the saw engine to the anti vibe mounts.

Once their all out, you wil need to remove the fuel cap and wiggle/shimmy/twist the outer case half off of the remainder of the saw. Dont go too far with it at this point as you wil need to remove the oil line going to the bar mount area from inside the case.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Now your saw should look like this.......

You will need to remove all of the connected lines to remove the carb plate and access the carb boot and reed cage.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Here I have removed the fuel line from the carb plate and set the fuel tank aside. You can see the last remaining oil line in the pic. this is connected to a nipple on the botton of the carb plate. Remove it.


The nipple to the left of this pic is the nipple that goes to the oil dilivery slot in the bar mount area as mentioned in post #6.


Now you can clearly see the problem with this saw, the boot is in two pieces. The white cresent is the top of the reed cage, remove 2 screws that hold the boot retainer and the reed cage to the saw.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Now you have removed the offending pieces!


At this point your reed cage is full of crap and you should remove it and dump the schmutz out.

Now look at your reed petals.

Do they all seat properly? If so, your good to go, if their sticking up away from the plastic cage they should be replaced.

 

[lovetheoutdoors]

nice pics rbw....those saws are a pain in the azz:censored: to work on.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

nice pics rbw....those saws are a pain in the azz:censored: to work on.

Hey man, where ya been?



Im used to working on difficult stuff, so it wasnt too bad. Gettin the upper case half off had me stumped for a beer or so, all in all it took me about an hour to disassemble it.


Now I could do it in 20min easy.



The real test is going to be reassembly after stripping out all the lines and waiting a week for parts.


Then well see whos the boss.......Prolly not me!

 

[2wheels]

Wolf boy, I could tell by the open beer bottle that you were on the right track.
That was good advice to look at the reeds while in there, as I had a pine needle stuck in mine. When opened up for boot repair.

While you're in there take a good look at the vibration dampeners, they get pretty toasted over the years.

I was also thinking of replacing the the air filter with a foam block.

 

[lovetheoutdoors]

Hey man, where ya been?



Im used to working on difficult stuff, so it wasnt too bad. Gettin the upper case half off had me stumped for a beer or so, all in all it took me about an hour to disassemble it.


Now I could do it in 20min easy.



The real test is going to be reassembly after stripping out all the lines and waiting a week for parts.


Then well see whos the boss.......Prolly not me!

hey man things are a pain to reassemble.....good luck

 

[CrazyCarl]

330 Intake Boot

If you have any problem locating a boot for this saw,I have a source that can get one as I have a 330 in exellent shape and had to replace the boot on it last year.Not a major job,just takes time.

 

[Dave K.]

Hey man, where ya been?



Im used to working on difficult stuff, so it wasnt too bad. Gettin the upper case half off had me stumped for a beer or so, all in all it took me about an hour to disassemble it.


Now I could do it in 20min easy.



The real test is going to be reassembly after stripping out all the lines and waiting a week for parts.


Then well see whos the boss.......Prolly not me!

RBW,

Great pics!!

Are you gonna take pics during reassembly?

I was told the history of Homelite -- John Deer, parts destroyed , now owned by Chinese company. Got my parts back here near Pittsdburgh from an old Homelite dealer. He has some parts but parts can be purchased over internet. We drink a lot of Yuengling over in the Pittsburgh area. You have an unfair advantage of having the brewery in your back yard. My son has it on tap in his restaurant.

Thanks,
Dave K.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

OK, Its done, finally!


Well I had to wait a week for the parts and then find timt to put her back together, but today was the day.


Heres the reassembly process with pics detailing the more dificult parts.


The first thing you want to do is find your reed cage and double check that theres nothing in it before putting the boot on it. I know we knocked all the gunk out last time but it never hurts to double check.

Ok, now put the boot on the reed cage and install the cage&boot as a unit with the retainer. I had a pic of this but I lost it somehow, its fairly straight forward but it should be noted that the cage will only go in one way.

In this pic you can see the cage,boot and retainer installed in the case with two screws.

Also in this pic youll see the oil pump impulse hose (directly behind the center of the boot) and the oil delivery hose and nipple. Make sure you hook both of these up at this time or you will be unhappy in a half hour.

Also thread the carb impulse hose (shown .....\/..... here) and the fuel line (not shown) through the carb plate.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Ok, now that you have the hoses secured youll need to thread the new boot through the carb plate. I set the plate on top of the boot and pulled the boot through the carb plate Veery Careefully.


Pull it up through the plate till it sticks up a lil as shown and then push it down untill it seats on the boot flange in the carb plate.

The carb will squash the top of the boot to make a seal so just push it into place until it seats.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Now you should be ready to put the upper engine cover in place. Make sure you put the anti vibe bushing cups in the top mount as shown with my finger. One on the case side and one on the screw and fasten the screw to the engine. Also put the other top anti vibe screw in place at this time, its located 180* on the other side of the saw.


Once the upper cover is on you can secure the carb plate with the two screws that hold it in place.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Site went down and I lost my train of thought.....

Where were we?


Oh yeah, on to the oil pump and the carb.


The oil pump feed line is shown in this pic connected to the pump. Attach it to the pump before screwing the pump in place. Be carefull not to pinch the hose when tightening the pump mounting screws..


Next up is the carb. ATTACH THE THROTTLE ROD BEFORE INSTALLING THE CARB! Dont know how many times in life you have learn this before it sinks in.


Then attach the carb with the two screws and the choke plate in place. Theres lil buttons that go on the carb screws that let the choke rotate the way it should. They both look nearly identical but their not, the T shaped one goes on the choke pivot side.

Tighten both carb screws simultainously to avoid cocking the carb too much to one side and causing a leak. Also attach the lines going to the carb, these will only go one way.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Now the last you need to do is re attach all of the outer stuff and your saw will look like this.....