Homelite SXLAO restoration...

[dixiedrifter]

Well I've decided that all new big box store consumer grade chain saws are nothing but easily tore up pieces of plastic bodied crap with their constantly cracking fuel lines and primer bulbs.

So before plunking down some serious green on an orange husky, for craps and giggles I went and dug out my grandfathers Homelite SXLAO to see what I could do with it. Turns out the fuel line was... ummm... to put it mildly "melted". However, undeterred I decided to pour a little gas in the carb and yank on the handle. To my amazement, the darn thing fired up and ran for a few seconds after not having been cranked in 10+ years. :jawdrop:

At that point I figured if she wants to run and it seemed like the compression was fairly decent, I'll restore her doing a full carb rebuild and what not needed to get it back in top condition.

So after tearing into it now I'm looking for parts. According to the serial number my particular saw is a 1973 "old blue". There is no UT number.

Lucky for me, the local recycling center has like 5 of the dern things setting out back which I have been scavenging parts. So far I managed to snag a new reed valve (one of them was chipped), heat dam, one of those spikey toothy log gripper thingedebobbers, side chain cover, darn near new sprocket, nuts and bolts and some other odds and ends for like $10 (don't think I got hurt bad at all).

Now I think I just need a new bar, chain, carb kit, intake gasket and to reset the needles. Apparently my particular saw has a Tillotson series HS-142A carburator rather than a Walbro. According to this document, http://www.gaspares.com.au/catalogue/chainsaw-cas_474-525.pdf I think the correct tillotson kit is DG5HS, or RK23-HS.

Questions:

Ok, while I can order the carb kit off the net, I'm an impatient person. It looks like this will cross with a husky part according to the PDF above... does anyone have a part number so I can run over to the husky $tealership and see if they have one in stock?

Are the needles difficult to reset correctly?

Do I need to check the oiler and how do I adjust it?

Looks like the saw at the scrap yard that had the new sprocket also had a new clutch. How do you remove and replace them?

Finally, what sort of bar and chain do I need? I got a couple stock 16" bars but they are a bit too small for my taste and they don't have a sprocket on the nose. I got some new old stock carlson A1s, A2, A3, and B3's out in the shed. Im not sure if any of those would fit much less what exactly kind of chain they are, but I'd love to be able to use one if possible with a new bar to save some cash.

Lastly, there is some carbon around the exhaust port, is there any good way to get rid of it?

I know these questions have probably been answered a million times, but I'm only able to get on the net about once or twice a week and not for long periods of times so I don't have much time to do research.

I'll try and get some pics up soon. Thanks in advance for any information you can give me and patience in answering my newbie questions.

 

[barneyrb]

Welcome to the site, one of the Homey guys will be along and answer your questions. That old SXL is one of the great old saws.

 

[lawnmowertech37]

Well I've decided that all new big box store consumer grade chain saws are nothing but easily tore up pieces of plastic bodied crap with their constantly cracking fuel lines and primer bulbs.

So before plunking down some serious green on an orange husky, for craps and giggles I went and dug out my grandfathers Homelite SXLAO to see what I could do with it. Turns out the fuel line was... ummm... to put it mildly "melted". However, undeterred I decided to pour a little gas in the carb and yank on the handle. To my amazement, the darn thing fired up and ran for a few seconds after not having been cranked in 10+ years. :jawdrop:

At that point I figured if she wants to run and it seemed like the compression was fairly decent, I'll restore her doing a full carb rebuild and what not needed to get it back in top condition.

So after tearing into it now I'm looking for parts. According to the serial number my particular saw is a 1973 "old blue". There is no UT number.

Lucky for me, the local recycling center has like 5 of the dern things setting out back which I have been scavenging parts. So far I managed to snag a new reed valve (one of them was chipped), heat dam, one of those spikey toothy log gripper thingedebobbers, side chain cover, darn near new sprocket, nuts and bolts and some other odds and ends for like $10 (don't think I got hurt bad at all).

Now I think I just need a new bar, chain, carb kit, intake gasket and to reset the needles. Apparently my particular saw has a Tillotson series HS-142A carburator rather than a Walbro. According to this document, http://www.gaspares.com.au/catalogue/chainsaw-cas_474-525.pdf I think the correct tillotson kit is DG5HS, or RK23-HS.

Questions:

Ok, while I can order the carb kit off the net, I'm an impatient person. It looks like this will cross with a husky part according to the PDF above... does anyone have a part number so I can run over to the husky $tealership and see if they have one in stock?

Are the needles difficult to reset correctly?

Do I need to check the oiler and how do I adjust it?

Looks like the saw at the scrap yard that had the new sprocket also had a new clutch. How do you remove and replace them?

Finally, what sort of bar and chain do I need? I got a couple stock 16" bars but they are a bit too small for my taste and they don't have a sprocket on the nose. I got some new old stock carlson A1s, A2, A3, and B3's out in the shed. Im not sure if any of those would fit much less what exactly kind of chain they are, but I'd love to be able to use one if possible with a new bar to save some cash.

Lastly, there is some carbon around the exhaust port, is there any good way to get rid of it?

I know these questions have probably been answered a million times, but I'm only able to get on the net about once or twice a week and not for long periods of times so I don't have much time to do research.

I'll try and get some pics up soon. Thanks in advance for any information you can give me and patience in answering my newbie questions.

How is a 24" hard nose tip Homelite gas welded bar bar mount pattern fits the Sxlao and xl12 ?

 

[willysmn]

Homelite SXLAO rebuild

I have one and I like it, especially compared to the new stuff that is available at Box stores. You have a real deal with that recycling center, none here like that. A lot of the older saws used a higher oil content mix and in addition used "outboard motor oil" which should be avoided. So you might want to clean some carbon out. Can't help with the carb kit. Chainsawr is the best I can do , as no shops close by here.
I don't know the bar mount pattern.
Have fun.

 

[lawnmowertech37]

Dixie for some reason the tillotson website on there carb kit list is nla at the moment comes back with a broken link 404 page not found so i not sure what happened to the site let me do some digging i may be able to find a tillotson book somewhere that can show that carb # with the kit # if it is a RK-23HS and no one local has it i have them in stock and can get one to you in a few days take care
calvin

as for the husky dealer they should have the kit in Tillotson oem most shops do on walbro zama and tillotson

But let me know on the bar 24" and its yours for $ 20.00 plus shipping

 

[longbar]

According to this document, http://www.gaspares.com.au/catalogue/chainsaw-cas_474-525.pdf I think the correct tillotson kit is DG5HS, or RK23-HS.

Questions:

Ok, while I can order the carb kit off the net, I'm an impatient person. It looks like this will cross with a husky part according to the PDF above... does anyone have a part number so I can run over to the husky $tealership and see if they have one in stock?
QUOTE]

Thw tillotson number is all you should need to bring to the husky dealer. I would bring the carb too so they can see it if they want but they should be able to get you the correct kit from the numbers you have

 

[dixiedrifter]

Got it running, at least half arse. Went to husky $tealer and got an RK-23HS carb kit for like $16. Was really easy to rebuild... just stripped it down, gave it a good soaking in some solvent, drilled out the welch plugs and hammered the new ones back in with a center punch.

I did screw up though... tried putting the carb back on without the gasket between the intake and the heat dam and cracked it by putting too much torque on the bolts.

Now that I know for sure that it will run and crank I'm going to order the rest of the parts I need.

Also, on another note, I found a damn good condition Lombard Comango at the scrap yard the other day. Ignition coil is shot, but other than that I believe it would be less trouble to get it up and going than my homelite.

I can see how getting old saws up and running can turn out to be addictive.

 

[sefh3]

Got it running, at least half arse. Went to husky $tealer and got an RK-23HS carb kit for like $16. Was really easy to rebuild... just stripped it down, gave it a good soaking in some solvent, drilled out the welch plugs and hammered the new ones back in with a center punch.

I did screw up though... tried putting the carb back on without the gasket between the intake and the heat dam and cracked it by putting too much torque on the bolts.

Now that I know for sure that it will run and crank I'm going to order the rest of the parts I need.

Also, on another note, I found a damn good condition Lombard Comango at the scrap yard the other day. Ignition coil is shot, but other than that I believe it would be less trouble to get it up and going than my homelite.

I can see how getting old saws up and running can turn out to be addictive.

Welcome!! Parts for that Comango might be harder to find than you think. If you want to sell it or trade it PM me. I have one looking for a piston for it. Homelite sold millions of saws in the US parts are there you just have to be patient and wait for them. What parts are you looking for?