Ok so here's the good and the bad.... The Good - Last night I finally got her running good enough to break-in the new rings, etc... The Bad - In the process of breaking in the engine I toasted my new clutch.
As I mentioned prior, when I leave the engine running on the stand it vibrates across the garage. So in order to combat this minor issue I opted to put the kart on the floor and chock the rear wheels with the front bumper against the wall... bada-bing! Problem solved. In this position I started her up set the throttle at about 1/4-1/2 throttle (clutch did NOT seem to be engaging at this point) basically running smoothly but without moving on it's own. Loosely set a mental timer for about 45mins and went about my other obligations. Well.... 45mins later I went outside to shut her down and immediately felt the HEAT emanating from the engine. At first I just figured it was the engine/exhaust pipe, you know, normal small engine heat!? Well that couldn't have been further from the truth. This heat was EXCESSIVE! Like broiler on the oven hot! AND it seemed to be coming, not off of the engine itself, or the exhaust pipe, (although both of them were hot in their own right) But off of the chain guard and SEAT (I have it screwed into the seat ever so slightly)!? I mean the SEAT was so hot you couldn't touch it!? Anyway, all this heat had actually spawned from the clutch!!! Which in turn heated up EVERYTHING else around it! Especially the crankshaft, chain, sump/side cover, seat, and most notably, the chain guard! I couldn't believe it!? Apparently at some point during the break-in process, the engine itself picked up a bit in RPM's, and partially engaged the clutch!? Enough in fact that it was, in essence, slipping the clutch for an extended period of time! I'm guessing 30-40mins just from the sheer amount of HEAT coming off of it!? When it all cooled off it had that powdery dry BURNT look to it, as did the chain, and chain guard too! Live and Learn right?
So now I'm in the market for a new side cover and a new clutch or possibly a torque converter..? I might even just grab a racing type clutch since I'm already going to be revving this thing way past 3k, idk? I forgot to mention that while I was at that local kart shop getting the carb jets the guy there wound up hooking me up with an awesome Dyno Cams cam for FREE! I forget exactly which model it was (it's got an 86 stamped on it?) but he said it'd be PERFECT for the setup I'm running, even with the stock flywheel. And I got the coil bracket that allows me to run the 3hp flywheel along with an offset flywheel key to make up for the timing differences in the two flywheels. Anyway, the reason I need a new side cover is so I can install the new cam. And it'd be nice to have the bolt holes for a torque converter IF I wind up going that route. Anywho, I feel like a torque converter may be in order just because of my size? But I'd like to research the racing clutches a bit more because I'm sure I can pick a lightly used one for much cheaper than a new TC.
Pics.... I know you guys are waiting on pics and as soon as I get a chance I will UL them. I probably have at least 100 or so pics since the last step I documented in the build process so it'll take me a bit to resize all of them but I'll get to it ASAP.
Lmk what you guys think about this clutch scenario and what might be my best option from here? I weigh in right around 300lbs and the kart itself is probably 100-125lbs..? Plus my 4yr old is almost 40lbs and we live on a very hilly piece of land so I really need all the torque I can get. So yea fellas any insights/suggestions would really be helpful. thx in advance!
