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OK guys,here's a thought - the piston & cylinder from a Homie SXL swap over onto the Remy SL4.Since finding a cylinder gasket at a normal price is pretty much out of the question,will a cylinder gasket from the SXL fit onto the cylinder & crankcase of the SL4?I'd make my own,but kinda tough when the cylinder studs are in the way.
 
OK,there's another term I don't understand.What is squish?I haven't worked in a machine shop for the past 40 yrs.& I'm not an engineer.I'm just a dumb oaf who's trying to do his first ever piston replacement.
Make your own gasket is the quickest,instead of waiting for one in the mail,then you can make the thickness that gets you optimum squish
Or wait and get the SLX one and see if it will work.
Like I said in my previous post,I'd make my own gasket,but how can I do that with cylinder studs in the way.Don't tell me to take them out either.
 
Refers to what happens to solder shoved into the plug hole when the piston comes up against it and the bottom edge of the combustion chamber. The resulting flatness of the solder is measured to determine the clearance between the top edge of the piston and the top edge of the cylinder/bottom edge of the combustion chamber -- commonly referred to as the "squish band" and usually a distinctly visible band at the bottom of the combustion chamber/top of the cylinder wall.
 
OK,my frustration is slacking off a bit now.Since I have 2 crankcases & only need one,I pulled the cylinder studs out of the Woodsman crankcase & I can lay my gasket material over it to make one.Now the thing is the original gasket was much thicker than FelPro gasket material is.Should I double the FelPro material up?I have 1/32 & 1/64 material.Maybe put a layer of each & glue them together?That'd give me 3/64 in.thick gasket.I also have a SXL gasket coming to compare the thicknesses.
I also checked the radial play & it doesn't have any as far as I could detect.Maybe I'm being overly-cautious,but I'd rather be safe than sorry.
 
Refers to what happens to solder shoved into the plug hole when the piston comes up against it and the bottom edge of the combustion chamber. The resulting flatness of the solder is measured to determine the clearance between the top edge of the piston and the top edge of the cylinder/bottom edge of the combustion chamber -- commonly referred to as the "squish band" and usually a distinctly visible band at the bottom of the combustion chamber/top of the cylinder wall.
Thank you for explaining that to me Poge.Now I'm not quite as dumb of an oaf as I was before.
 
Note: When you go significantly thinner on the cylinder base gasket, the third hole in the magneto will be slightly out of line with the tapped hole in the cylinder.

Just egg the hole a bit with a round file.

You will see what I mean when you get that far.
 
If I go with a thinner gasket will that increase the compression,or not enough to say so?I've got pieces of the old gasket so I can use a calipers to find the thickness it was.As I said before,I've got a gasket for a SXL on the way.If it fits OK I'll use it as a template to make a couple more to have on hand.If it doesn't work then I'll make my own.
I make those a 2 piece gasket. No need for it to be one piece.
I thought about doing that Tim as I had a SXL that only needed the top portion for the handle & reed valve replaced on a saw I did 1 1/2 yrs.ago.
 
I got another SL4 delivered today & saw that the recoil rope was hanging out.I figured it just needed to be rewound,but when I rewound it there was no tension.I pulled the recoil apart & the first thing I found was the washer & brake spring were put in wrong.Next thing I found was there was no recoil spring! It's a good thing I've got one on hand that I got from Bob J.
 
I'm still waiting on the SXL gasket,that's OK it gives me time to get caught up on the other saws I've been working on too.
I got the so called "short block" from Mr.Parrish yesterday & it wasn't a short block at all,it was a piston kit & a cylinder.I called him today to do some biotching & he tried telling me that he never said it was a short block.He did in fact refer to it as a short block several times & not once did he ever say it was just a piston & cylinder.He also has the same for an SL10 & wants me to help him move it.No way will I help him do anything after his crooked deeds.There was/is an SL11 on eBay that the seller wants $50 for,but I contacted him & asked to take the muffler off & take a pic of the piston & cylinder.He never responded & the listing ran out & he had to relist it.Too bad for him.
I put together my last SL9 that I was waiting on parts for (air filter cover & bar plates).I put a 16 in.bar & chain on & went to tighten the chain tensioner & it was seized in place.I put some lube on it & got it freed up,but then I put oil in the tank & went to oil the chain & the oiler would only work when the saw was on it's side.I let it set overnight & put more oil in it & it seemed to work better today.
After I got the recoil working for the last SL4 I bought the saw runs great! I had to change the spur sprocket as the one that was on the saw was shot.
 
Still waiting on the SXL gasket.The elderly lady I'm getting it from is 94 & she don't move too fast this time of yr.,Lol Of course neither do I.

I bought an SL11 & it was supposed to be a parts saw for the PL5.It turned out to be too good of a saw to be used as a parts saw.I had to replace the starter cup,put a plug in it,& put a new fuel filer in it.I put fuel in,pulled it over a couple times & it fired to life.I think the duck bill in the auto oiler is no good as there was a huge cloud of smoke in the garage.
 
Yesterday I hooked up the switch wire & thought it worked OK.I fired up the saw & it ran good,then shut it off & put a bar & chain on it.I took it outside so as not to fill the garage with smoke & it wouldn't start.It acted like it wasn't getting spark,so I decided to check for spark.I tried to pull the wire off the plug,but it fought me tooth & nail.Finally something gave way & I had the boot in my hand with a small section of plug wire stuck inside.The spring was still attached to the plug.I had to order some 8mm.wire to replace the broken wire.I'd like to buy some plug boots with springs,but can't find them at a reasonable price anywhere.I don't like the newer style boots with the newer style clips that snap onto the wire.I can probably reuse the old boot & spring,but eventually I'll get one that's no longer any good.
 
The SXL gasket was finally shipped today,so I should get it by mid-week next.I've got a question pertaining to the needle bearings in the top of the con-rod.Should I put new needle bearings in,or reuse the old ones that are still there?
I've got another question pertaining to the PL5.I got the new piston & cylinder,but can't locate a cylinder gasket.I measured the gasket on the SL4 & it was 1/32 in.thick.I was going to use FelPro 1/32 in.gasket material,but I was told that I need to use a thicker gasket material because it'll squish down as the nuts on the cylinder bolts are tightened.Is there any truth to this?
 
The SXL gasket was finally shipped today,so I should get it by mid-week next.I've got a question pertaining to the needle bearings in the top of the con-rod.Should I put new needle bearings in,or reuse the old ones that are still there?
I've got another question pertaining to the PL5.I got the new piston & cylinder,but can't locate a cylinder gasket.I measured the gasket on the SL4 & it was 1/32 in.thick.I was going to use FelPro 1/32 in.gasket material,but I was told that I need to use a thicker gasket material because it'll squish down as the nuts on the cylinder bolts are tightened.Is there any truth to this?
Regarding the needle bearings...if you feel play change it. If you can twist the piston easily, that indicates play, upper and/or lower. Basically, lightly work the piston in various directions and see if slop exists. Needles do wear. Manuals say if you separate needles by the width of a single needle, change it. I had many saws that will turn over and rattle. Change the rod bearings and the noise vanishes. Generally the pin won't wear near as fast as the needles.
 
Regarding the needle bearings...if you feel play change it. If you can twist the piston easily, that indicates play, upper and/or lower. Basically, lightly work the piston in various directions and see if slop exists. Needles do wear. Manuals say if you separate needles by the width of a single needle, change it. I had many saws that will turn over and rattle. Change the rod bearings and the noise vanishes. Generally the pin won't wear near as fast as the needles.
I wish you'd have replied to my posts about 2 pages back.I was trying to tell everyone how much slop there was in the con-rod & I was told that if there no radial play put it back together.I can tip the con-rod from side to side about 3/64 in.if not more,but no radial play.I was told this is "normal".One of the circlips let go & I could see the track it left all the way up the piston & rings.It never touched the cylinder & I didn't find it in the engine.I have no idea what happened to it.It didn't go out the muffler because it had a baffle in it.The pin was scored badly due to the clip coming out.The needles that are in it seem to be OK.I couldn't check if the piston had any play because the pin was ruined.
 
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