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I've got a cheesy Homelite backpack blower that I've owned for 5 years or so. Seven months ago the engine started surging at all speeds, especially half throttle and above. I took the carb off, looked at it carefully, cleaned it as safely as I knew how, and put it back together. Problem persisted, especially when fully warm. Took it to a now-out-of-business dealer, their repair department took the carb back apart, "fixed it", charged me $42.37 for the pleasure of their company, and I went on my way. Ten minutes into using it again, the surging returned. I took it back, they said the whole machine was worn out. Bought a new Echo PB-500, been happy with it. So,
Yesterday fired up the Homelite and it seems to run great, no surging, strange noises, anything. That being said, it seems to blow a ton of air, or air and fuel back into the gas tank.:confused2: Does anyone have experience with this? BTW, I've always used synthetic 2-stroke oil formulated for these small engines since new, and I have a hard time believing it's "worn out".

maybe just sell the older one to recoup your repair cost and keep the new one

You could pull the muffler off and inspect inside the cylinder to see if there is any scoring inside. If the rings are worn, it could cause it to lose power when it gets hot.

Maybe I'll break out my borescope and take a peek inside.:thumbsup:

I'm not sure if this applies, but I was doing a quick search and I noticed an article mentioning Homelite Backpack Blower Recalls due to fuel leaks for 2007-2009 models.

Briana said:

I'm not sure if this applies, but I was doing a quick search and I noticed an article mentioning Homelite Backpack Blower Recalls due to fuel leaks for 2007-2009 models.

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Thanks for the link, Briana! I'll check it out and see if it's applicable.

I don't know if this will help but I had a Homelite that done them same thing and if you take the muffler off you'll find a screen, it could be plug and probably needs to be cleaned. I did that to mine and it ran fine after that.

Ric said:

I don't know if this will help but I had a Homelite that done them same thing and if you take the muffler off you'll find a screen, it could be plug and probably needs to be cleaned. I did that to mine and it ran fine after that.

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Thanks! I'll see if it has a screen and check it.:biggrin: