Tee: You do not advise of the age of the Unit . I would guess it is 2-Stoke engine , perhaps only needing as you
have stated some maintenance. The only way to know for sure
is (1) check the spark plug condition . Colour should be light brown to dark brown . Black , Oily indicates very old plug or less than optimum compression and rich mixture. (2) Compression Test is the only True Accurate measure of the Engines Condition . 125-160 Psi should be indicated after 5 pulls of the starter cord. Anything less than 100 # and replacement unit may be req'd . A blown head gasket would be the only cheap fix should low compression be identified. If compression and Spark Plug seem fine than just carburator cleaning and tuning may req'd . Check it out and let us know your findings . Yes there are Maintenance Repair Manual available also quite often .

Save yourself a lot of aggravatiom and just say no to Homelite, Ryobi, McCoullogh, Weedeater and Poulan anythings. I have and would never go back. Life is too short for cheap tools. I don't have a "shed" but I do have an Echo SRM-225 in my garage.

Any and all tools will need some maintenance and respect regardless of their cost or quality. In many cases you dictate your problems with lack of and miss-use. Plus, I know there are some tools that are not worth bringing home. Personally, I d/n feel a professional quality or cost for my personal home use only is needed. The middle of the quality and yearly or required maintenance has given me more than 10 + years of service on all of 2-cycle and 4-cycle equipment. Such as: I have had two medium grade Poulan chainsaws (S25) since 1978 that have averaged cutting 4 + cords of wood per season. They are cleaned and serviced yearly or more and not used long in 100 deg Tx Heat! Good Luck! To All People That Will Work. Loger

While I agree that Homelite is cheap stuff, they do serve a purpose, and if you're handy you can often keep one going. My main weedeater is an ECHO SRM2100 with straight shaft, and I also have an even heavier duty Olympyk OL400. However for every day use I picked up a Homelite SX-135 for $5 at a yard sale in 2002 and still use it today.

No real secret, just regular maintenance; drain gas during winter shut down, clean and replace spark plugs and air filter as needed.

Need to know both the Model number and the "U" number to point you to a manual. Mine is an SX-135 Bandit and is U20609A, for example. I have parts list for this machine but may not work on yours.

Sounds like you problems are carb related. Mine has a Zama carb, but many others have Walbro. You may be able to clean it yourself, or you might have to replace the entire carb. There are some passages that you cannot get at without special tools.

BTW, a blown head gasket is not likely to be a problem. Homelite has not built an engine with a detachable head since the late 1960's, long before weed trimmers were even invented.

"I have had two medium grade Poulan chainsaws (S25) since 1978 that have averaged cutting 4 + cords of wood per season"

There is no way you can compare a Poulan saw from 1978 with one made today. In fact you can't compare one made in 2000 with one made today. Any tools branded by Homelite, Ryobi, Poulan and Weedeater were much better ten years ago than today.

Hell Yes I have a Weed-Eater still kicking from 25 Yrs ago ! Damm thing just won't Die so I can buy a New Echo lol ! But Yeah would not buy another unit today .

The main problem I have found with my Echo weed whacker (SRM 2601)is that the crappy ethanol fuel eats the fuel lines and purge button. This certainly is a minor issue that needs to be done every three years or so. It's easy to fix yourself. No need to pay for any shop time.

Every once in a while you should treat your machine to new lines no matter the brand.

Thank God we don't have any ethanol fuel up North here ..Yet ! Yes the best protection is early detection !

What's In Your Shed" a bunch of junk! Got three of them homelite's I got out of the trash, cleaned up and they run good. I need to have another garage sale and dump about 5 WEs, and 5 chain saws, two push mowers, and two riders.

I seen Homelite's and there AKA cousin's on sale the other day for 64 bucks. You hardly can repair one youself for that. Just go buy another one and chunk the old one on the curb so somebody with skills can get another 10 years out of it. You will be better off cause it will just knoch out again.

I got a good homelite story I will tell some time. you can keep one running for a life time if you have enough spare parts that was pulled out of the trash.

It got to the point where I won't dedicate the time to cheap weedwackers, it's actually more cost effective to get a new one, especially when Christmas Tree Shop has Weed Eater straight shaft, dual line trimmers for $50 bucks. Use Sea Foam in your two-stroke mix and you'll save a lot of headaches.

What I like about the homelites in 20 mins. I can completely disassemble it and reassemble it, this includes removing the jug and piston, and cleaning the carb. For me 15 mins. not that much. I wouldn't buy parts or pay someone to repair them that's for sure. As said 69 bucks and you can have a new one. But, for me I got enough spare parts I don't have to spend a Dime for 10 years and that's after they break I just might be in the nursing home by then?????