New Guy With a 707D

[ryanflathead45]

Hello all,

Ive been a looker on here for awhile, but finally became a member.

I tore into my first vintage homelite last night.  A 707D.

She will fire with pre-mix dumped in the cylinder.  So I figured a good carb clean and rebuild should be a good place to start.

But I have a total newbie question...

It has a HL 117A carb on it.  And I see there are two sets of high/low adjustments on it.
one set is on the side like the other HL carbs that I have seen.  But there are also two that are on the choke end...

None of them have visible springs to hold tension on them either.  I would post some pictures but I don's have any with me at the moment.


Another question:
I removed the reed block to clean and inspect the reeds.  A couple and sticking up more than the other two.
I found a manual that shows a height tolerance for the single reed saws, but I can't find a tolerance for the Pyramid style reeds.  Does anyone know how much is too much for them to be sticking up?

Sorry is these are silly questions.  I have tried to search and did not have much luck finding and answer.

Thanks in advance,
Ryan

[sparky]

Welcome to the addiction of old chainsaws! I have two Zip saws meself.The guys on this site you will find very helpful. Two or three are actually parts hoarders but if you need something go to the wanted thread and somebody will respond. No question is silly or dumb here.This is the learning channel about Homelite saws and we have some great guys willing to share their knowledge. Pictures are always fun to see and help us better identify a problem. Good luck!

[onlyhomelites]

Welcome to HOH! The side screws should just be plugs; the actual adjustment needles should be the two on the choke end and those should have tension springs. Here's a factory IPL for the HL-117A: www.leonschainsawpartsandrepair.com/uploads/3/9/7/9/39792537/tillotson_hl-117a_hl-117b_carburetor_ipl_23590_2.pdf

For reeds, I like to use the thickness of paper rule...if a piece of standard printer paper goes under, it's worth scrutiny and if a business card fits, replace the reed!

[ryanflathead45]

Thank you both!

onlyhomelites, thank you for the ipl. It totally make sense now. After getting the dirt off the outside I see that the plugs have red sealer still on them. Any reason to remove them for cleaning (any passages behind them?).

Having the H and L next to the plugs is was confused me. But the more I look at these carbs and saws I assume that they have different options. For example I see one model that looked to have plugs on the choke end, and the adjustments on the side...I guess just depends on what set up you needed...

[onlyhomelites]

Exactly...these carbs were used on a LOT of saws and many brands. I don't usually remove the plugs for cleaning; the carb would have to be pretty gummed up for that to be necessary.

[ryanflathead45]

Hi guys I'm back.

I have the carb all cleaned up and rebuilt. I've been busy at work and stuff so I have not got around to putting everything back together.

But I decided I going to replace the reeds. A couple are sticking out more that they probably should, and one has a chip out of it.

But now I have a question. I was playing around one day on lunch break and found a guy selling some composite reeds that will fit a pyramid reed Homelite. I cant remember the material off hand. But the guy has a good rep in the go cart world so I'm sure they are good.

My question is should I give the composite reeds a try, or stick to stock metal ones?

Price is about the same for both.