Problems with 925 & 955 homelites

[Jim C]

I bought both saws off ebay this winter because I could not afford a big stihl & read on this site that the homelites were good saws in their day and I do believe they are good saws.

The 925 ran for a short time then a piece of metal ( I do not know where it came from) got into the top end and wiped out the piston, ring, & cylinder. I have since rebuilt the top end with a decent used cylinder and new piston & rings from a 923. It starts and runs OK, seems to be a little rich at first then seems run real good when it cleans out in the middle of the cut. Because it was the first time I was cutting with the saw I used premix at 24 to 1. I have a bunch of Stectro 2T injector oil and was wondering if i could use that oil and @ what ratio? the second issue with the 925 is the bar and chain. It has a 24-inch bar (homelite) and a fairly new chain. The cut curves to the right and the chain came of the bar 3 times yesterday!!! Do I have a bad bar? I sharpened the chain with the proper file and tried to make each cutting tooth the same length visually. Any suggestions?
The 955 ran for about 15 seconds and blew the clutch big time!!! The protecting cover flew over the log pile and almost hit my buddy. It had one of the clutches with the spring that wraps around the shoes. What caused this? Should I replace with the same or get a complete clutch like the 925 has? The 955 was running a 20-inch hard nose with a 8 tooth sprocket. Anyone got a complete clutch that will work? Thanks Jim

 

[bugfart]

First the 925

925 is it a XL or an SXL? Some differences. Although all of the 900 series are interchangeable at the top end, the SXL-925 alone had high performance thin steel rings. This piston MUST be mated with the oval-shape exhausted cylinder to protect these rings. Using the larger sized (wider opening horizontally) rectangular shaped cylinder exhaust of the other 900 series will eventually lead to a failure similar to what you described. Honorable mention for the piston pin clips not being propperly seated or the piston being mounted backwards.

Easy to do - kill it every time. Do you have pictures of the failed parts?

VI-955

This is an XL-925 (not SXL) with anti-vibe. The XL-925 had the same piston/rings as the XL-98 cement saw, and most other 82cc 900 series. What you have to mindful of is; these two saws take different chains. The 955 has a 72 link count 20" chain and the SXL-925 utilizes the 70 link.

Some get away with it... some don't. Excessive bearing wear will allow the sprocket to ride against the clutch at an angle and my first suspiscion, but, I can't even see your house from here.

Sounds like the cutting problem is going to lead you back to the sprocket. It is almost a given that E-Bay saws need another hundred dollars to cut right these days. Clutch, sprocket, bar and chain will do that at a minimum. A common practice is to sell these saws when the (probably have a spline to boot) sprockets wear.

The next logical question may be "DO I have any recourse"? It depends on the seller and what the ad says but my short answer is...
Nope.

Damage control
I might as well tell you now that two kinds of clutches were sold for the saws in this age group. 3 shoe and six shoe. These clutches take a different size sprocket to accomodate the slight variation of the clutches outer diameter.

E-mail me if you would like.

 

[Jim C]

Bugfart
thank you. Good info on top end differences. I guess I'm OK on the 925 top end because the new piston has two wide rings and the oval shaped exhaust port cylinder. I think it was sold to me as a slx 925. I posted a picture a while ago, but it came out poor. I know it wasn't a piston clip because both were in place when I took it apart. My best guess is the guy who owned it before me had some work done to it prior to selling it and maybe a small piece of the clips that hold the throttle or choke levers on the carb got broken off and sucked into the carb. Anyways I hope I have the topend sorted now.

As for bars, chains & clutches on these two saws I am open to ideas that won't break the bank. The clutch on the 925 has three shoes and a rim sprocket with 7 teeth. The bar is an original homelite 24-inch sprocket tip. The chain rides very high in the grove at the tip and it seems to me that this is causing the chain to come off the bar. Shouldn't the drive links be out of sight as the chain goes around the tip? The clutch on the 955 WAS a 6 shoe, I think (I can not find all the pieces), and the sprocket was 8-tooth, but not the rim type. The bar I used because it was not shipped with one was a 20-inch hard nose off a SXL Auto with a (I think) 70 link chain. I also have a spare saw with an incomplete three shoe clutch. What I would like to end up with is one saw with a 20-inch bar and 8 tooth sprocket and the other with a 24 to 28-inch bar and 7 tooth sprocket. Can anyone help set me up? I live in western massachusetts. thanks Jim

 

[RaisedByWolves]

. The chain rides very high in the grove at the tip and it seems to me that this is causing the chain to come off the bar.

This is perfectly normal. The links will be hidden if your nose sprocket is worn out.


Thats a bummer about the 955 clutch grenading on you, lucky you didnt get hurt, allways inspect your equipment before use especially if you purchased it used.