Modded Predator 212 died and won't start

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tylernol

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About a month ago I finished building my go kart from a klipper kart frame and a predator 212. Didn't go fast enough to keep up with my buddies dirt bike so I started modding it. Added straight pipe, cold air intake, rejetted the carb, and removed the governor. Hit and held 40-45mph no problem. Been riding it heavy for about 2 weeks or so with no issues. Rode it around for about an hour around town and stopped for gas at Quik Trip and put some 91 in it since that is all i run in it since I put the mods on and I was running low on fuel and needed to make it home.

About 10 minutes into my drive home, the engine completely died and wouldn't re-start. It didn't sound mechanically weird or anything when it died. I let it cool down for 10-15 minutes and tried again. Nothing. Pushed it home for almost an hour and when I got back, I checked the carb to make sure it was clean, I checked the spark plug, and the engines getting fuel. Anything else I should try/check? The engine still turns over, and sounds like it wants to start so I don't know if its a gas problem or what.

Thanks in advance!
 
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chris79

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I had the same problem and it ended up being the spark plug. It was getting fire but evidently it wasn't enough.
 
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tylernol

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chris79 said:
I had the same problem and it ended up being the spark plug. It was getting fire but evidently it wasn't enough.
Click to expand...

Awesome! I'll try that and see if that works. I'm hoping its something stupid like that.
 
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tylernol

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bob58o said:
"Checked the carb to make sure it is clean" means taking it apart and poking out every hole with a bit of wire.

How exactly did you check?:popcorn:
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I did exactly what you said, sorry should've specified.

---------- Post added at 12:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:14 PM ----------
Panhead5496 said:
Also, it's been determined that lower octane gas is better than 91, since these are relatively low compression engines
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Good to know, wasn't aware.
 
Kentucky Boy

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Sounds like a fuel problem. If you're going to be pushing it hard you really should get a billet rod. Stock rods are not made for that kind of abuse.
 
Nosandwich

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Start simple and easy. Replace the plug. Could be fuel, but try that first , you'd be surprised how many times that's all it is.

---------- Post added at 11:53 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:48 PM ----------
bob58o said:
"Checked the carb to make sure it is clean" means taking it apart and poking out every hole with a bit of wire.

How exactly did you check?:popcorn:
Click to expand...

Well, spraying carb cleaner into it and cranking the engine is a wee bit easier, if it runs for a few seconds, it's a fuel delivery issue, and possibly the carb.
 
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nosesandwich

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Well, let's see.....
It was running great all over the place.
You stopped and put in gas.
You got a little ways down the road, and the engine quit.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmm...........

I'll take gas for $500 Alex!
 
itsid

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Well first thing I'd chek is the fuel lines/filters and tank.
you said you refueled and it died shortly after..
could be you accidentally added some dirt that's now clogging the fuel lines (or carb veines for that matter)

a heavily modified engine.. it maybe just blew the head gasket out.. now without compression there is not much running ;)

might as well be the coil (no spark) those things can overheat and die from that (or better rapidly cooled down crack and fail..

but if the top three are checked and considered good (fuel, spark, compression)
it's about time to crack that baby open again to see what makes it bog.

could be a bent pushrod, a stuck valve, a misaligned valve rocker...

'sid
 
Kartorbust

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Yeah I'm thinking bad fuel. Is it an older gas station or of that's only 2 or 3 years old? What I've found over the years is, the tanks build up sediment over time and whenever the tanker is there filling up the tanks, sediment mixes around and stays at the top for a while. That in turn ends up in your fuel tank and may cause issues. That's more common in older stations 5+ years old. Generally do not have to worry with newly built ones.

Are you running regular E10 91 octane or you running ethanol free (Non-oxygenated or anything that states ethanol free)? Ethanol can cause issues to carburetors, regardless if the manufacturer says it's safe to run E10, it's bs. It clogs up the jets in the carb and it makes it run like crap or just won't run without a tear down and good soaking in carb cleaner or boiled in water on the stove for a bit.

Small gas engine shops make a killing on rebuilding and cleaning carbs every winter because people run E10 (10% ethanol) fuel in their snowblowers and mowers, because of what it ends up doing. Just because it looked clean, doesn't mean it is. I'd take the carb apart (plenty of videos on it) and clean every part of it well and then run nothing but ethanol free gas in it. 91 octane, 87 octane, 89 octane... long as it's ethanol free, regardless of these engines compression ratio, we've been using non-oxy gas for YEARS regardless of octane (usually find it at 89 or higher here) and never had a single issue related to that.

Usually fuel marked as Non-oxygenated ethanol free will say that and usually has a sticker that states only used in small gas engines, vintage cars, boats, motorcycles, etc.
 
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tylernol

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Okay last night I replaced the plug, no luck. Sprayed a little carb cleaner in and tried to start it, no dice. And after considering the post above about E10 91, that is what I put in because thats what quiktrip has 99% of the time. I went ahead an dumped all of the fuel out of the tank and put fresh non-ethanol e85 in there. Cranked it bunch of times and still won't start. I am getting small clouds of what i assume is gas out of the intake hole of the carb when i crank, not sure if thats supposed to be that way. I'll soak the carb in cleaner this weekend, and clean the fuel lines and see where that gets me. Thanks everyone so far for your help!
 
Kartorbust

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tylernol said:
Okay last night I replaced the plug, no luck. Sprayed a little carb cleaner in and tried to start it, no dice. And after considering the post above about E10 91, that is what I put in because thats what quiktrip has 99% of the time. I went ahead an dumped all of the fuel out of the tank and put fresh non-ethanol e85 in there. Cranked it bunch of times and still won't start. I am getting small clouds of what i assume is gas out of the intake hole of the carb when i crank, not sure if thats supposed to be that way. I'll soak the carb in cleaner this weekend, and clean the fuel lines and see where that gets me. Thanks everyone so far for your help!
Click to expand...
You added E85??? That's 85% ethanol that's even worse than E10 you'll have you more carb issues.
 
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tylernol

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Okay so update for all who care. Finally got some time to look at the kart again and I started to tear down the engine to see the point of failure. I took the valve cover off and noticed that one of them was loose. I took off the whole head and noticed one of the valves was bent. Looks like I'll be replacing a valve assembly but the piston looks fine. Will update everyone once I fix it :)
 
Whitetrashrocker

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Take the valves out and roll it on the table. Make sure they are not bent.

---------- Post added at 07:18 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:17 PM ----------

And a big thank you for coming back and posting your findings.
 
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