Have you ever noticed this

[ChuckinOhio]

Rebuilding another tillotson today for a Homelite, and never noticed before, but the metering needle that was in the saw had a soft rubber tip that was a reddish color. The needle in the rebuild kit was a complete metal unit, no soft tip. Maybe I just never noticed this before, old parts out new parts in and all that, but has anyone else noticed this and if so is there an opinion either way on the needles?


Chuck

 

[Korn]

Chuck,
Just rebuilt the carb on my 066 with a kit from baileys and was wondering the same thing. The saw is running fine with the new metal needle.

 

[Lakeside53]

Any metal only needles are 30+ years old.. Are you sure it doesn't just have a gray rubber tip?.

 

[charlesfarm]

I'd bet it's silver colored neoprene -- I've yet to see a two cycle needle that's got a metal tip. The neoprene is almost always red underneath the silver coloring on the needle. Metal seats, such as those machined in a 2-cycle carb body, wouldn't allow a metal needle to seat correctly.

 

[starsailor]

Saw the same just this week.

Hi Chuck,

Just rebuilt a Tillotson HS-56A for my newly aquired Homelite XL-850 and I saw (no pun intended) the same thing. The old needle had a red rubber(ish) tip. The new needle had a silvery tip, but it wasn't metal though. The tip was also rubber(ish), perhaps neoprene, but was colored almost the same as the metal in the needle body. I don't think a dissimilar metal in a needle would work too well in direct contact with a cast aluminium seat machined in the carb. body. That's probably why there's a synthetic needle tip, maybe for wear too as the needle metal is certainly harder than the aluminium. It looks like stainless, but I really can't say for sure.

Anyway good luck with the rebuild! BTW, what model homelite were you rebuilding a carb. for?

 

[ChuckinOhio]

Revision

After removing the carb from the saw and pulling the needle, it is NOT a completely metal needle.
The rubber has a silver coloring on it. The rubber tip on the new needle does seem to be of a higher durometer than the old needle. Perhaps this is because of a coating on the rubber? Perhaps it is a function of the needle that was being replaced was probably original to the saw?
Seems to me that the last time I rebuilt my SXL-925 though it didn't have a silver tip on the needle, could be all wet on that though.

Anyway good luck with the rebuild! BTW, what model homelite were you rebuilding a carb. for?

I got my sweaty paws on another SXL-925 that a friends dad had sitting in his garage. He said that it had a fuel problem, hadn't run for 6 or 7 years, and that if I thought that I could fix it I could have it

It has spark, so a length of Tygon, a new fuel and air filter, carb rebuild, and tomorrow I will see what the result is.

What purpose do the welch plugs serve, and what is the best( easiest) way to remove and install them?

Chuck

 

[Korn]

Andy,
I just noticed the lack of an orange tip, I am sure you are correct. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[habanero]

I made the same mistake when I was rebuilding the carb for my VI-955. I pulled the new needle out of the kit package and wondered why in the heck they had changed to a metal-tipped needle. Then I got to looking closer and realized it just looked like a metal tip.

I wish my friends' parents had old 925's laying around in their garages. The closest I've come is a buddy who ran across a Super 2 in an old garage. He called and said he had an old Homelite for me to check out...I was severely disappointed, to say the least. I guess I need to get some different friends.

 

[starsailor]

Tillotson carb info

Chuck,

Go to this web page http://www.tillotson-fuelsystems.com/manuals.html and download the service manual for your carb. I believe all Homelite XL-8xx and XL-9xx saws are HS series carbs, but I'm not 100% sure. Anyway I found the service manual great at explaining exactly how the carb works and what all the parts are for. I think you'll find it amazing just how simple these little carbs really are. Oh, the downloads are a little slow, but definitely worth the wait.

Good luck.