Check those spark plugs!

[JTSpeedDemon]

Doof.
So a long time ago(in a galaxy far, far away), I pulled the old spark plugs from my 5 HP HiPo Briggs and my 3 HP FrankenBriggs, assuming they were dead.
Recently the thought occurred that maybe the spark plugs were not the reason my engines were not running initially.
The FrankenBriggs needed ignition points servicing, and the HiPo was having some seriously weird carb issues.
So this morning I dug the old beat up spark plugs out of my stash(yes I stored the HiPo one for almost a year), and plugged them into my currently carb-less FrankenBriggs.
And voila!
Clear, strong spark on BOTH plugs!
So don't just assume your plug is the reason your engine won't run!
Now I have two spare plugs!(Oh yeah, the HiPo one was actually a brand name Champion RC-J8 resistor plug)
Lesson learned from me so YOU don't have to!
Good thing I didn't throw them out!

 

[Budget GoKart]

I keep mine too LOL

 

[Kentucky Boy]

Maybe you should spend some more time researching and learning instead of giving out endless amounts of advice about stuff you not only have no clue about, but have never even had experience doing yourself. You don’t even have the skills or knowledge to properly repair your Briggs and get them running.

 

[Budget GoKart]

Maybe you should spend some more time researching and learning instead of giving out endless amounts of advice about stuff you not only have no clue about, but have never even had experience doing yourself. You don’t even have the skills or knowledge to properly repair your Briggs and get them running.

Who was this aimed at me or jt

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Maybe you should spend some more time researching and learning instead of giving out endless amounts of advice about stuff you not only have no clue about, but have never even had experience doing yourself. You don’t even have the skills or knowledge to properly repair your Briggs and get them running.

Jeepers, I don't think it really matters WHO that one was aimed at!
I DO have the skills and I DO have the knowledge, I am just limited by money and parts.
And this was just my experience, I just wanted to share, not get shot out of the sky for sharing it. Sure it was stupid, but there's always a chance that someone can learn something from it. And no I am not clueless about these engines(I've revived THREE of them, just one is having ignition and carb issues).
And if it was aimed at BGK, still, that's pretty harsh. We're just some teenagers trying to have fun!

 

[Randy H]

^
Kentucky Boy is absolutely right. You continually post about things you have little knowledge of, and less experience. You are in a learning stage.
You post about using hammers to remove flywheels, I could go on and on. I get it, your young and you don't even know you don't know.
Slow down, learn, get some real experience, your lucky you got this last engine running, very lucky.

 

[Tpdingo]

I think I'd take a middle ground on this....what JT said wasn't necessarily useless information, but JT, I would take a more of a "this is what i experienced" than a "this is what YOU should do" when you write stuff like this.

 

[jeffone]

JT You really should stop spending all your time typing on the key board. If you would put that much time in learning how to work on your go karts you might have something worth typing about.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Jeepers, didn't mean to start an argument....
About the hammers on flywheels: Guess what?? Here's what the OFFICIAL Briggs and Stratton manual says!!:

1. Support flywheel with a gloved hand or a shop ragwhile exerting an upward pull.
2. Strike outside rim of flywheel with a soft facedhammer using a sharp blow.

Ok sure, I used a hard hammer, but I TRIED the soft faced one and it didn't work.
My flywheels do NOT have holes for a puller. What I did, I had to do, and it worked.
All I wanted to point out with this thread is that it's a good idea to save parts because they might still be good.
I DID NOT want criticism on my methods OR the fact that I try to help people on the forum. Sometimes I see threads where literally NO ONE replies with anything useful. That happened when I asked a long time ago for help with the Briggs starter. No useful information.

You don’t even have the skills or knowledge to properly repair your Briggs and get them running.

THAT is just straight up untrue and hurtful. Completely wrong.

Y'all can keep making fools of yourselves, I don't care. I'd rather be the victim than the culprit.

Stop giving advice. You're young and dumb.

 

[950speed]

Maybe this isn’t what you WANTED, but rather what you NEEDED

These guys probably are older than you and have experienced more than you.

 

[jeffone]

Not trying to be mean or anything I didn't mean to if that's the way it sounded just pointing something out

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Ok oops. No hard feelings then!
But yeah, it's hard to find these obscure parts. Especially for a reasonable price.
And we still need a decent set of drill bits, so that severely hampers productivity.

 

[Budget GoKart]

This dude I know he is helping me fix up my yerfdog a Lil bit. keeps everything and uses what he has instead of just getting everything new. Like some people... some people buy everything new because they don't care about used or old stuff because "it's a waste of time and money" that's the fun in this hobby, learning and having fun while doing it. Not just craming a bunch of new shiny parts on some already restored go kart. Fun and learning takes old junk trying to fix it failing and trying again and again till you fixed it and learned something. I've done it and I'm sure most others on here have too.
Just some people just prefer buying something new and spending 1k on upgrade parts and barely knowing how to install them. And when you figure it out your "experienced enough to talk some random person down for learning". Sorry about my rant, I'm going to bed.

 

[Dingocat]

I see this like the situation with the bottom of my dingi. Everything is pitted. People on here say that I should probably replace it. I'll concider that and if I bend or break the offending piece I'll go huh. Probably should have listened. It's about learning. Like knowing thay a chain that is loose with the kart on the ground and tight with it in the air isn't nessicarily bearings.

 

[J.S.@SMS]

Maybe you should spend some more time researching and learning instead of giving out endless amounts of advice about stuff you not only have no clue about, but have never even had experience doing yourself. You don’t even have the skills or knowledge to properly repair your Briggs and get them running.

Sorry about joining in late, but all I have to say about this statement is... BURN!.

And Budget, if you're getting on people for replacing parts on their engines, then don;t leave out JT. Remember he just swapped the rod on his 5hp. And also, sometimes the best thing to do is replace parts. Like the engine in the truck my uncles about to give me. I'm going to put in a new rotating assembly (crank, rods, pistons, bearings, and rings), swap in a better cam, add retrofit roller lifters, new rockers, new valve springs and retainers, upgraded distributor and possibly a crank trigger, and have the head and block cleaned up. Why you ask, because it's a 1978 windsor 351 with 250 thousand miles on it. That engine made about 146hp factory, and the probably 125 it has now won't move a sleeper.

 

[Budget GoKart]

Sorry about joining in late, but all I have to say about this statement is... BURN!.

And Budget, if you're getting on people for replacing parts on their engines, then don;t leave out JT. Remember he just swapped the rod on his 5hp. And also, sometimes the best thing to do is replace parts. Like the engine in the truck my uncles about to give me. I'm going to put in a new rotating assembly (crank, rods, pistons, bearings, and rings), swap in a better cam, add retrofit roller lifters, new rockers, new valve springs and retainers, upgraded distributor and possibly a crank trigger, and have the head and block cleaned up. Why you ask, because it's a 1978 windsor 351 with 250 thousand miles on it. That engine made about 146hp factory, and the probably 125 it has now won't move a sleeper.

Who says I was leaving jt out and I didn't say like engines because I can understand that. Also COOL! But that's exactly what I mean you have to tear yours down replace stuff and you learned how to do that or are learning. What I mean is more someone buys a perfect frame and just bolts wheels on it and and a stock 212 and says they know everything. Because that's what my best friends grandfather did. He got a carter kart wheels in perfect shape and all HE did was bolt a predator 212 to it( I showed him how). And he acts like he fricken built it from scratch and says he knows more about go karts. All he has done to a go kart was bolt a brand new engine to it and changed a few parts on a Tao Tao 125cc. Yea he was a mechanic and he did mostly body work. My dad has done suspension his entire life and recently replaced the whole oil system and rockers and push rods in our jeep. That's his first experience inside an engine. And he learned something.

Also that carter has broke so much and I've fixed almost every problem on it for my buddy it takes his grandpa almost a month to change a tire. I got four done in 2 days. I know I sound like a jerk because he's old and all but that's not the point. My point is he has money to fix stuff I don't I find a way to fix it the best way I can all he does is bolt some stuff together and say he's experienced. Its really annoying because I have fixed way more go karts then him and he still says he knows more about the thing than I do (its literally built the same as my Ken bar)

 

[J.S.@SMS]

Ok, now I understand what you meant.

And randy, I usually use a hammer on the flywheel nut or bolt to knock it off. I had a bad experience using a puller on a flywheel once. The flywheel did fly, right off the engine and into my lip that is. Thankfully it was a little two stroke, but it did chip one of my teeth through my lip, that’s why I don’t use pullers on flywheels.

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Don't get me wrong, if I had it and my flywheels were compatible, I would absolutely use a flywheel puller! But, neither of those are the case. A hammer on the end of the crankshaft works pretty well, with the exception of my HiPo flywheel. That one is frozen, and it has no puller holes to boot.
Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

 

[Randy H]

Ok, now I understand what you meant.

And randy, I usually use a hammer on the flywheel nut or bolt to knock it off. I had a bad experience using a puller on a flywheel once. The flywheel did fly, right off the engine and into my lip that is. Thankfully it was a little two stroke, but it did chip one of my teeth through my lip, that’s why I don’t use pullers on flywheels.

If your flywheel is designed to use a puller, if it has threaded holes near the center for pulley use, then that's fine.

No reason to use a three jaw puller, they cause stress on the flywheel. Just because you don't see a crack doesn't mean it isn't.

No reason every to bash a flywheel with a hammer to remove it. I use a brass hammer with a nut threaded on til its flush with the top of the threads,

On A Briggs with a starter clutch I use a flywheel knocker. That's a lesson I learned before I was teenager that knew everything. Sure enough if you smack that shaft with a hammer it will peen the end over and you gotta file or grind it.

Throwing your hands in the air because you don't have the tools to do something properly and saying screw it, "I'll just hit it with a hammer" or whatever. Sorry to say, that's just ignorant. I'm old, modest, extremely handsome, and I don't like to create problems. At least mechanical ones. I rarely have studs or bolts break off. Ain't got time to be fixing crap like that. One of the few perks of getting older is knowledge gained by experience. Knowing what you can get away with without getting in a jam.

 

[BigWes]

If I wasn't at work I'd crack open a beer or few and read through this thread again and enjoy it properly buzzed! But I'm at work...so I can't! I won't even make any grouchy comments!

All I will say is this...and I say it with sincere good will and as true good advice to anyone else willing to listen...

Spark plugs are cheap. If it has any age or questionable at all toss it. It may show a good spark outside the engine but fail under a fuel rich environment, especially with age. As it's going bad it'll fool you that way... it's too cheap and easy to replace and too much the headache to fight a 5 dollar part... I'll can sketchy plugs in a heartbeat.

In a high RPM engine plug failure can actually cause breakage of parts.

Y'all be sweet now!