XL-925 or ???

[MCS]

I do not have any experience on the XL-925 as it came out after I left the family hardware business but I have worked a lot on the earlier saws from this family. There is an auction on ebay that shows a 925, maybe, with a compression release.
cgi.ebay.com/homelite-xl925-chainsaw-parts_W0QQitemZ290385854614QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item439c588096

In this picture I see the classic oval exhaust port that is characteristic of the 925 cylinder but there is also the compression release valve.
None of the IPLs I have nor the Homelite Service Manuals support the idea of the 925 ever having a compression release.
Could this be an XL-923 or 924? Did the 923 or 924 have a oval port

[lesorubcheek]

Can't say, but think it was Bill that commented a little while ago about a service bulletin that talked about putting a decomp on 925s. Agree, all IPLs I've seen show no decomp, buuuuuuut........ It'd be nice to hear from an owner of a 924 or other if they have the oval exhaust port. It'd really be good if the seller (or new owner) of that saw could get us the part number off the cylinder.

Dan

[sugarcreeksaws]

I am in the process of rebuilding an XL-903,...it has a compression release,...uses the thicker 55537 rings instead of the thin rings used by an XL-925. An XL-923 is the later version of the XL-903,....it has the compression release like the XL-903. The XL-924, or the XL-925 did not have a compression release. However, I have seen franken saws where cylinders were swapped out,...sometimes using a different cylinder. So, this saw could have been an XL-925 that had its cylinder replaced. If I had to guess, I would say the saw on ebay was probably an XL-923. My two cents worth,....talk to you soon!
Joe

[aviatur]

I have a XL925 on the bench right now, that originally had a decpmp valve on it, but the newer cylinder had no valve. The linkage is still there though.

[aviatur]

Well, once again, I opened my mouth before I engaged my brain! I checked the parts books and the super xl925 had NO decomp valve. So, I went out and checked again and the saw on the bench is a XL924. That explains the decomp valve. Now for a question from someone smarter than I, did they make a XL925 or just a Super XL925?

[MCS]

Volume 4 of the Homelite Shop Service Manuals is the first one to mention the 925 and it is listed as SXL-925 and there is no XL-925.

I think Homelite promoted the 925 as a Hemi head and it had the thin rings so obviouly it had more power than the other 5.0 cu.in. model. Or was it cheaper to manufacture it
My IPL says the early XL-924W had compression release but after S/N11461450 they came out without the valve.
avaitur, the one on the bench, does it have a bridged exhaust or a single oval port?

[aviatur]

It has the single oval port.