Got My Old Homelite XL Chainsaw Running Again !

It's has been sitting on the shelf for the last 25 years, collecting dirt and dust. These were well made saws. Constructed of all powder coated Aluminum, with very little plastic. And good, strong running engines. So this morning I decided I would try to get it running again. It's been a good saw, but has been badly neglected. And I felt bad about it.

So the first thing I did was open the fuel cap and turn the unit upside down. I thought it was empty, then after about 10 seconds this vile thick snot like substance came running out. It resembled a slimy 90W gear oil. Most likely it's what was left over after what gas was in the tank evaporated over the last 25 years... Yecch!

I filled the fuel tank about half full of fresh 40-1 Tru-Fuel Mix, and swished it around, and let it soak up and absorb whatever assorted crap was left in the tank, while I washed the unit down with some clean Kerosene. And then I blew it all off with compressed air. I wiped it down and detailed it a bit with some WD-40 and a clean, soft cloth. It cleaned up really nice.

After I got it all nice and clean, I pulled the plug and replaced it with a new one. Then I drained the fuel tank again, and filled it with fresh 40-1 Tru-Fuel, with some Sta-Bil added to it. Along with about a tablespoon full of some fresh Husqvarna Synthetic Blend 2-Stroke Oil, to richen up the mixture a bit. (I was able to find the operators manual on line. And Homelite say's it should run on a 32-1 mixture of gas and oil).

I oiled and adjusted the chain, and drained and filled the bar oil tank with some fresh Mobil 1, 10W-40 I had laying around. I really didn't expect it to start. But after a couple of pulls with the choke on, I switched it off, held the throttle wide open, gave it a yank, and it fired right up after the third pull! I was shocked! It stumbled and smoked a bit until it burned all the crap "fuel" out of the lines and carburetor.

Then I let it idle for a few minutes to warm up, while goosing the throttle to draw more of the fresh fuel through the lines, and into the carb. Now at full throttle it really screams! To be honest, it's the best I ever remember it running. I let it get good and warmed up, and all total I burned through about a third of a tank of the fresh, Sta-Bil treated Tru-Fuel.

So now she's good to go. I hate neglecting power equipment. And I thought for sure I was going to have to pull the carburetor off this thing, and soak it. Especially after seeing that nasty crap that drained out of the fuel tank. But she fired right up, saving me a lot of aggravation.

So now between this and my old Honda generator, along with my brand new Echo 8010-T power blower, and my Simpson / Kohler Power Washer, I've got everything all freshly fueled and running like Rolex's. I feel a lot better now!

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Got My Old Homelite XL Chainsaw Running Again !