XL-98 Multi-Purpose saw

[scrotor]

Greetings All! 

First off, I'm greatfull there is a message board dedicated to Homelite equipment! Sure will help get the feedback needed to help diagnose my issue.

There was an xl-98 on Craigslist that i went an checked out. It started up, so i threw down the $370.

A week passes and I go to start it again and now it's not retracting the pull string.
After manually winding it back in i can feel and hear how the spring coil is slipping
I disassemble and discover the plastic recoil lock had a crack in it, letting the spring slip...

So I bought and replaced the recoil lock, the pull-string assembly works fine; i have it wound as tight as can be...

But the string is still not being retracted when installed onto the saw.... Which brings be to my primary question:

I notice that when i do manually rotate the flywheel, there is going to be a moment of rotation where there's resistance. I'm a newbie on motor anatomy, but im thinking that's normal and that it the movement of the pistons that is causing that? But that does make the retracting of the string more difficult.... 

So, I bypassed the pull string complete and used a socket on the center nut of the flywheel and cranked it with my makita drill... no dice....

That's where i stand now. I did test the ignition and got a spark...

[sawnami]

Check your recoil spring to see if the outside (top) anchor loop in the picture is broken off of it.

[sweepleader]

Yes, check the spring over carefully to see that it looks like sawnami's pic. Also, be careful cranking with the flywheel nut, if it gets too tight doing that, you could damage the threads or something else. Not likely but its possible. Once I got the starter working properly, I would check the compression by removing the spark plug and installing a gage made for the purpose. If you are unfamiliar with that process, let us know, lots of folks here can help. Low compression is a common problem with those saws as they can suck in a lot of abrasive dust in service.

The no retract problem could be due to damaged pawls or other parts that drag on the rewind assembly. It must be completely free. Do not oil it except for the center post. The spring can have the very lightest coating, very light only or it will stick. The rope may be too big or too long.

Keep posting, we can help.

[scrotor]

Thank you sawnami and sweepleader for the troubleshooting starting points.

Here's some results on the functions to check. I will point out that I have yet to do a new batch of fuel and new spark plug, so this post could be premature.

he starter cord / spring assembly looks to preform ok - when not attached to the saw. The anchor point is secured, and the recoil lock has been replaced. I all so took notice on how much pull string is wound up. There is still 1/4 of and inch left before it breaches the diameter of the spool : 





I then removed the fuel and spark plug. I overlooked taking a photo of the spark plug and how it looked after removal I will say it had residue on it.  The compression test yielded 165psi:



Here's a close up of the flywheel. How do the pawls look? -- I don't have an idea of a healthy pawl

[sweepleader]

The links to your photos lead to locked page.

[scrotor]

Sorry, I had the photos in a non-public folder on dropbox. I made the adjustments. Let me know if it's still a problem, for on my end, I do see the photos whether you do or not.

By the way, whats a recommended fuel/oil ratio for the xl-98? I did a word search on "ratio" and have seen 64:1 synthetic and 32:1 non synthetic. 

[sweepleader]

Photos still not working here.

Same oil as an XL925 or such. I would run it at 32:1 or 40:1, I don't know what Homelite recommended but the oils are much better now so I feel less is needed. Then you get more fuel too, so more power. The carb would still be tuned the same way as always.

[scrotor]

Bear with me fella's, I hope to get this photo issue resolved and get the fuel and spark plug suspensions off the list soon.

[undee70ss]

Apr 3, 2017 22:06:38 GMT -5 scrotor said:

Bear with me fella's, I hope to get this photo issue resolved and get the fuel and spark plug suspensions off the list soon.

If the pics are in a folder, you would need to share that folder. You can always make a new folder, move the pics there, and share that one. 

[scrotor]

Fist off, I noticed the "Other Homelite Equipment (Not Chainsaws) " category created at the root directory, so going forward on this I'll post the updates there for this message chain. And as far as the progress, I've got the replacement spark plug coming in tomorrow and give the update soon as i can.

[Ernie]

Looking for a service manual or photo or diagram of the carburetor and governor linkage on an XL98 demo saw.