Modifying a Homie SXL

[Mike G]

hey guys,

I've been reading ( and searching like an S.O.B.) up on various saw modifications, and was wondering if there was anything i could do to my homelite super xl to make it run a little better. I've had the muffler off, and the port was full of carbon build up, and the top of the piston was crudded up as well. I was considering cleaning up the ports and polishing them to prevent carbon build up. Some threads that i found in my search also suggested polishing up the top of the piston. The main thing is that i really dont want to get too involved at the moment, as this is my primary saw. I have a way of not getting large projects finished when they are needed most (as evident by the 12" grass and the mower deck that is still in 50 different pieces ) . Is cleaning and polishing the ports to remove casting marks, ect. a fool proof procedure for the most part (as opposed to drastically changing port shape, location, and size) ?

Thanks!

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Your best bet would to replace your piston and cylinder with one from an xl-12. This gives you an additional 5-6cc right off the bat and in combination with ditching the cylinder gasket you will notice a big improvement.

 

[Mike G]

ok, this may sound dumb:stupid: , but what does removing the cylinder gasket do to improve performance?

 

[RaisedByWolves]

No Mike, not dumb.

Removing the cyl gasket will change/accomplish a few things.

#1 It will boost your compression.

#2 It will alter your port timing for more torque.

#3 If you then change your port timing while having removed the gasket you will see even greater gains than just porting alone.

#4 On a piston port motor (witch yours is not) you will advance the intake timing somewhat in addition to raising compression.

If you have the funds, going to the bigger piston/cyl and also doing all of the above will yield impressive gains.

 

[lesorubcheek]

Mike,

I understand you have a Super XL. This engine has a bore of 1.8125". The XL-12 has a bore of 1.75". I think maybe RBW got a bit confused reccommending the XL-12 piston and cylinder would increase your engine size. The Super XL is larger already.

Dan

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Acres site has the same bore and stroke for all four saws XL/SXL/SXL-12 and SXL-12A


Somethings not right there unless they were made in different displacements at different times.

I know one of the xl's would take a cylinder from an sxl-12 and it would increase the displacement.


Im going to have to look into this further as it dosent make sense that they would make an improved version of a saw with out upping the displacement.


Unless it had soley to do with that "Worlds lightest saw" deal.

 

[lesorubcheek]

RBW,

Here's the way I've always understood the history of the XL series: The original saw was the XL-12 as seen at Link on Mike's Site. This had a 3.3 ci engine. It was called XL-12 'cause it weighed 12 pounds and the XL was an acronym for "eXtra Light". The Super XL was then added with a larger 3.55 ci engine by using a larger bore. Dozens and dozens of variations popped up from this same basic design. The XL-400 and XL-500 were based on the same general design but had longer stroke and numerous components that were different. The whole XL-100 series shared a few components but were a newer design.

The XL-12 was also labeled the XL (not to be confused with the smaller XL introduced in the early 70s). The Super XL has been labeled SXL, Super XL-12, SXL-AO (for automatic oiling), etc..... latest variations were Big Red and Ole Blue. Homelite decided to use "XL" on TONS of products which made referring to anything as simply "XL" too vague to know what anybody really was talking about.

Bottom line is there are 2 bore sizes for this series of saw and the Super XL, or SXL, or whatever you wanna call it is the bigger one and Mike said he has a Super XL.

Again, this is my perspective of the model in condensed form. Anyone else please feel free to correct, clarify and add as you see fit.

Dan

 

[Mike mandry]

Dan is right on here.

SXL has the larger engine 3.5 vs 3.3 for the XL-12

 

[Mike G]

So if one removes the cylinder gasket, what is it sealed with? Is somthing like silcone (high temp) used?

 

[RaisedByWolves]

RBW,

Here's the way I've always understood the history of the XL series: Dan

Im lost here, are you saying their both the exact same saw with only a difference in displacement?


I know they made them both on and off untill allmost the very end, Im just trying to make sure I understanding what your saying.



Mike g, there are several products on the market you can use, my favorite being Loctite 515 Gasket eliminator.

 

[lesorubcheek]

Im lost here, are you saying their both the exact same saw with only a difference in displacement?

Yes, primarily the only differrence is the cylinder, piston and rings. Now as we all know there's been models with and without auto oiling, points and electronic ignitions, different mufller designs, clutches, paint schemes, etc, and it may well have been the case that in a given model year there were differences other than the displacement, but for the most part the XL-12 and the SXL are the same saws but the SXL has a bigger bore.

Dan