Homelite Chainsaws

[MacAttack]

Complete carb disassembly, cleaning and rebuild.
New ignition module.
Spark plug.
Fuel filter.

I finally got the piece of junk running again....

It seemed to be flooding, so I replaced the inlet needle. Now it seems to run OK.

I did get angry and throw the saw (just once), in the mud. No damage except my pride.

One final thought....in my personal experience, the older Zama carbs suck compared to Walbro. Yes, I said it. I've had by far more woes with the old Zamas. Give me a Walbro any day.

 

[heimannm]

I spent about 40 hours (or so it seemed...) on an XL the past couple of weeks. It would not hold pressure or vacuum so I replaced the crankshaft seals. I tried dunking it in the parts washer tank under pressure and always had a leak in the vicinity of the oil plunger so I even tried a solid rubber gasket in place of the oiler plunger and gaskets and rerouted the oil lines like the early models, always the same results with irregular idle no matter where I set the L jet.

Finally I tried a different carburetor with the fixed H, and the saw now works as it should albeit pig rich on the high side now. I reinstalled the oiler plunger and gaskets and returned the lines to the standard configuration since the direct approach pumped way too much oil.

I was not going to let this one defeat me. I have no idea why the carburetor (Walbro HDC) behaved so badly, I totally disassembled it multiple times, made sure everything was clean, new kit, check valve worked, idle ports were open, held pressure, no excessive play in the throttle or choke shafts...I am stumped on that carburetor.

Mark

 

[bob kern]

I spent about 40 hours (or so it seemed...) on an XL the past couple of weeks. It would not hold pressure or vacuum so I replaced the crankshaft seals. I tried dunking it in the parts washer tank under pressure and always had a leak in the vicinity of the oil plunger so I even tried a solid rubber gasket in place of the oiler plunger and gaskets and rerouted the oil lines like the early models, always the same results with irregular idle no matter where I set the L jet.

Finally I tried a different carburetor with the fixed H, and the saw now works as it should albeit pig rich on the high side now. I reinstalled the oiler plunger and gaskets and returned the lines to the standard configuration since the direct approach pumped way too much oil.

I was not going to let this one defeat me. I have no idea why the carburetor (Walbro HDC) behaved so badly, I totally disassembled it multiple times, made sure everything was clean, new kit, check valve worked, idle ports were open, held pressure, no excessive play in the throttle or choke shafts...I am stumped on that carburetor.

Mark

Things like that drive me crazy. Guys like us want to know what the issue is!

On another note, I received my brand new clutch drum for the 925. Hoping to get it 100 percent before my bil has a massive oak dropped.

 

[bob kern]

Got the drum changed but what I fight getting the clutch off. Tightest I've had. Tight enough it egg shaped the holes where the puller goes! Did heat ,tap tap tap ,the whole 9 yards.

 

[MacAttack]

I spent about 40 hours (or so it seemed...) on an XL the past couple of weeks. It would not hold pressure or vacuum so I replaced the crankshaft seals. I tried dunking it in the parts washer tank under pressure and always had a leak in the vicinity of the oil plunger so I even tried a solid rubber gasket in place of the oiler plunger and gaskets and rerouted the oil lines like the early models, always the same results with irregular idle no matter where I set the L jet.

Finally I tried a different carburetor with the fixed H, and the saw now works as it should albeit pig rich on the high side now. I reinstalled the oiler plunger and gaskets and returned the lines to the standard configuration since the direct approach pumped way too much oil.

I was not going to let this one defeat me. I have no idea why the carburetor (Walbro HDC) behaved so badly, I totally disassembled it multiple times, made sure everything was clean, new kit, check valve worked, idle ports were open, held pressure, no excessive play in the throttle or choke shafts...I am stumped on that carburetor.

Mark

Sounds like my Homelite 240, I was very close to giving up on that damn thing and possibly trying to find a replacement carb. And that's a Zama CIS - H4 carb.
Ultimately I think there was some junk in the fuel system that I couldn't get out that was causing the inlet needle to leak and flood the saw intermittently.
I did discover the stone element had fallen right off the fuel pickup, and also the small inlet screen inside the carb was getting plugged up with junk.
It seems...SEEMS to finally start and run like it should. And yet I can pull my old Mini Mac 30 off my shelf which in over 30 years I've never had apart, and it will start and run as perfect as ever.