Chinese Carb Kits Any Good?

[w30bob]

Hi Guys,

  Sort of a dumb question because they're the only game in town, but have you had good experience with these $10 Chinese carb kits for the old Homelite Tillotsons?  Or is there another alternative?


www.ebay.com/itm/282404089739?hash=item41c0986f8b:g:dQgAAOSwB-1Y0PN8

thanks,
bob

[bobby167]

All of the ones I have tried, the nub in middle of diaphragm are too high. I think Leon commented on here about them, as well as other members. You can file / sand them down. Match them up with your old one. You can use micrometer to check. Rest of gaskets seem ok.

[blythkd]

I'm pretty sure that oversized nub in the middle of the disc on the metering diaphragm is unique to the Walbro carb kits. If the picture of the Tilly kit is accurate, I think it'll be fine. For the price of this import stuff, you just roll the dice on quality and if it doesn't work out, you aren't out much. If it is ok, then you keep buying it.

[bobby167]

blythkd: I purchased a kit for HL series carb, a few years ago, could not get it to work. Put old one back in it ran. Wanted to do complete re-build is why i got one to try. Purchased OEM, it ran fine. China Walbro kit is one I will not use. Tried them, NO good at all. One I got for the HL could have been defective. I'm pretty sure the nub was too high on it also. Could have gotten better over the years, not sure. Maybe witch company is making them could make difference? Lots of parts made in China, by OEM standards. I guess you get what you pay for.

[edju1958]

The Chinese knock off Tilly HL kits are hit & miss at best.I bought a couple of kits that were for "Homelite 707 carburetor".I'm not a stupid person & know that Homelite didn't make their own carbs or the kits either.I ordered the kits & found that the needle seats didn't fit.I had to go to VE Petersen & order new needles & seats & wait 6 months for them to come from Ireland due to the Covid crisis.When I contacted the seller on Feebay about the problem he asked if I was using them in the 707 carb.I tried to explain to him that an 88HL kit sould fit all applications he argued with me about it.Sometimes I'm better off talking to a brick wall.He sent me a partial; refund because I "ordered them by mistake".As always,buyer beware.

[bobby167]

Very true. I would rather spend a little more for OEM. As posted before, if you are doing your own work, try one. When someone brings me one to fix, be it saw / trimmer / mower, better to do it once than have it come back again for same problem. Probably why most repair shops won't touch older equipment. Time is money. If you collect or repair your own equipment, you could have to take it back apart. Very frustrating. Most members here have been in that situation, more than once. Good thing is that you can find help on this site.

[w30bob]

Hi Guys,

So from what you're saying the OEM kits are still available? I was under the impression they were long gone or you had to get lucky when one popped up on ePay? Who makes the kits you use and where can I find them to buy?

thanks,
bob

[bobby167]

Would need to know what saw model / carb ID, such as HL-46B / HL-104A or ? Did you check Leons web site for them? You can search tillotson.ie/kits-parts/illustrated-parts-lists/ Lists most of the carbs / parts there.

[w30bob]

Hi bobby,

I'm looking for a kit for the very common Tillotson HL-117-C. Yes checked Leon's and came up empty for both the gasket kit and the full kit. But I checked a bit and I'm a bit embarrassed to say I didn't think Tillotson was still in business! I figured they went the way of the Dodo bird long ago. So the kit I need is RK-88HL and Leon didn't have any of those either, so I just bought a handful of these OEM Tillotson kits from a guy on eBay for $10 more than the Chinese stuff. Sweeeet!

thanks!
bob

[bobby167]

Great, that RK-88HL is common. Check out website i gave you for the carbs. Lots of good information. Was going to suggest, if leon didn't have them, randys engine repair. They have them. Good Luck!

[w30bob]

Hi bobby,

Just checked Randy's.....I've ordered from him before, but didn't think to check. But his price is more than double (2.5x actually) what I paid, even with his free shipping. I did make sure the ones I bought were OEM Tillotson, as that's all that seller sells. Maybe he just wanted to move some old stock, as I wouldn't expect that big of a difference in price. But there were others on eBay selling OEM Tillotson kits for $18, so maybe Randy is just high priced on that one. Could be a million reasons why he's priced higher. Pays to shop around I guess.

thanks again,
bob

[blythkd]

In my experience, Randy's is typically pretty high on just about everything, especially anything that's becoming hard to find.