homelite xl 700

[chainsaw kid]

A friend of mine brought me over an xL 700 that his dad used when he was a kid. It means a whole lot him.. His dad passed back in 98'
The thing hasn't been run in 25-30 years.
The fuel line was collapsed in the tank and was covered by nasty old old gas.
I replaced all fuel lines and rebuilt the carb and the thing runs great.
It runs so good that I have some questions. My friend says it has never ran this good..

I told him the modern oil (golden spectro) I mixed with the gas is way more advanced then the 30wt motor oil it was designed to run on.

So, I looked on chainsaw collectors and it said this saw was designed to run 16:1 and turn 6000 rpm under a load.

I mixed up some golden spectro at 50:1, tuned the carb, and the saw is pulling a lot higher then 6000.
I would like to know how high I can turn this thing before the crank bearings give out?
Also, what ratio is safe? Is the modern oil I use at 50:1 good enough for this old saw?

 

[Foxfire]

I'm new to working on saws and was recently told that I can run my Homelite sxlao safely at 32/1 and probably even 40/1 if I really wanted to. I have run a tank or 2 at 30/1 without any problems yet.

 

[hotshot]

I mixed up some golden spectro at 50:1, tuned the carb, and the saw is pulling a lot higher then 6000.
I would like to know how high I can turn this thing before the crank bearings give out?
Also, what ratio is safe? Is the modern oil I use at 50:1 good enough for this old saw?

Those saws have full complement needle bearings (no cages) & need more lubrication than the modern bearings.

No matter who's oil he plans to use, I wouldn't run it with less than 40 to 1, and 32 to one is better.

As far as top RPM is concerned, just make sure that it's 4 stroking when lifted out of the cut (no load). The carb is
an old Tillotson HS series, and it probably has a governor...I can't remember. You need to make sure that the 4 stroking
is due to the high speed needle being adjusted rich (one turn out) & not due to the governor dumping excess
fuel into the carb throat.

Did you first pressure & vacuum test the case for seal leaks, those have to be 40 years old by now?

 

[chainsaw kid]

Here is a quick video of it: homelite xl 700 - YouTube

I run a 32:1 mix in a couple of my saws and usually have some mixed up.. I don't think one tank of the 50:1 will hurt it.
Thanks for the reply.

 

[chainsaw kid]

Here is the owner Running the old saw.
Home lite xl 700 - YouTube

 

[struggle]

I never heard it four stroke in the video. I think it is running lean possibly as when you lifted up it never hinted at four stroking which would explain why it is running at such a high rpm

 

[67L36Driver]

I never heard it four stroke in the video. I think it is running lean possibly as when you lifted up it never hinted at four stroking which would explain why it is running at such a high rpm

Yes!

 

[hotshot]

Here is the owner Running the old saw.
Home lite xl 700 - YouTube

That's load of friggin wood you got there, I wish I had that stack!

Very nice old saw, I can't really hear your tune for all the cutting & throttle blippin' going on, but it
sounds lean enough not to 4 stroke during the ramp up before the bar hits the wood in the first
video. May want to back the H screw out a bit & listen for the miss, then come in an 1/8 turn or so.

Too late, everyone else beat me to it...

 

[struggle]

I think if you completely buried that bar in a log it wouldn't pull it since it is too lean. It is running strong in the small wood but the heavy stuff you will stall it or worse yet score the piston. Run it too rich until you find the four stroking point. Look up a video by mitch on u tube about how to tune a saw. It is very accurate to what you need to do.

 

[chainsaw kid]

She's four stroken guys, but on the leaner end if you will..
I just got it tuned for a couple cuts in the small stuff. I'll see if my neighbor is home and I'll do a vid before I go to work just to showcase the tune. Now, it might be a little lean but not enough to to burn nothing for a few small cuts. I agree with whoever said it would need to be fattened up for large wood/long cuts.

 

[homelitejim]

6000 rpm is the optimum operating rpm under load, max rpm will be a bit higher. I would run 32:1 period. I also agree on fattening up the H side a 8th then fine tune from there, running these saws a little rich will ensure they are still around 40 years from now.

 

[chainsaw kid]

Xl700 homelite - YouTube

 

[chainsaw kid]

What happened? Everybody clamed up!

 

[homelitejim]

It happens. The last video the saw sounded much better but still need to hear it under load.

 

[Tim Carroll]

Sounded like it was four stroking at WOT but need to make sure that it cleans up as soon as it hits the wood.