XL700 Rebuild

[xl130]

I am starting to go through my spare parts and assess what parts are reusable and what needs to be replaced so far.

The piston and rings are fried. Heavy scoring. I have a NOS piston kit.

The cylinder looks ok but I do have a couple of others to compare and I will use the best. I had intended to use a NOS cylinder but it got away on me in Ebay. No sweat. Good used is good enough. I did notice though a slight difference in the combustion chamber on two different cylinders that I have. I’m pretty sure one came from an early 922 (67455)and the other two are from a XL902 and XL700(63012). There is a larger space on n the top of the 67455 than the earlier 63012 model. I’m guessing that the older style would produce more compression than the 67455. Possibly produce a different sound as well. I think to keep the saw as original as possible I will use the 63012!

[xl130]

Rebuild complete. Still some fine tuning and possibly some decals. Mechanically speaking it’s a running saw that’s been saved from the scrap heap. I’ll probably post a few picks of the build but seeing and hearing it running is the fun part.

youtu.be/HaUpa9Ks-VU?si=5l0QXqLzV8HlbVTM

[xl130]

I acquired this saw about 2 years ago from a member here. I was aware that the compression was low and was expecting a full project saw so no hard feelings here! On the contrary I am happy to have saw in my collection and enjoyed the challenge and it was a pleasure doing business [mention]rarefish383 [/mention] .

The only real issue was the extremely horrible condition of the fuel tank. Horrific varnish that was extremely difficult to remove. I tried everything. The nail in the coffin so to speak was using boiling water to try and free it up. That caused the glue that holds the two cases together to pop. I contemplated opening the case, cleaning the tank and then resealing the tank but luckily [mention]5terrysupersaws [/mention] pointed out that Leon had a good condition XL700 or 701 case that was factory welded. Perfect solution! Thanks [mention]onlyhomelites [/mention] for the great deal on a case.

I pulled the crankshaft and installed a new main bearing since I had the shaft out. New oil seals, OEM piston kit, fuel system overhaul (Carb kit, lines, filter). I had a few cylinders and picked the best original one that I had. I cleaned it up and removed and aluminum transfer that was in it which was minor. The cylinder was practically new when it went back together.

Breaker points and condenser are good(so far) so cleaned and reinstalled. New plug wire and CJ6. New rope as well.

Replaced the oil pickup hose and cleaned the lines.

I had a shiny new muffler cap and air filter cover so that went on. I had a full wrap that unfortunately does not really fit right. The lower bolt pattern is not the same. It’s still pretty solid and will suit my needs. Maybe someday I’ll come across a proper handle if they exist.

There’s probably more stuff but I can’t recall now.

Sorry if this is too many pictures. If it’s too large of a file then I can remove the photos to shrink if needed.

Here are a few pictures of the build. I’m not claiming to be an expert by any means so please don’t think I’m trying to illustrate a “how to”. Just showing a few pictures for reference. Let me know if you have any tips to share.



Here a few pics!

Heated the bearing pocket to 300F then slid the shaft into the “new case”



Like a glove!



The cylinder polished up nice with a rotary tool and some soft bits and scotch brite. There was some weird damage to the base. Possibly corrosion or from the casting. You can see it by my thumb. I put a bit of moto seal in that area before I put the base gasket on for good measure.



I cut my own gasket because I’m way to cheap to pay for them plus the shipping it outrageous. Not perfect but does the trick! Felpro 1/64” thick.




I soak them with this stuff for a little help to ensure a good seal.



Ripped the fuel system apart looking for any signs of the evil varnish that I found in the tank. No problem here though.




Again….cheap self cut gasket for the muffler. I insist muffler gaskets though!




Cleaned and reset the gap for the points. Hard to believe they still work! They may be over 50 years old!


All done. Decals are in the mail. Going to leave the original paint!

[pioneer1200a]

Sweet Saw Man!

[oldwoodsplitter]

Nice work!