Go kart question.

[Sparky723]

My sons go kart has the Robin Subaru
5 HP engine and it has a torque converter.
As the gas pedal is pressed, the top pulley squeezes together stretching the belt and engaging the lower pulley which then in turn engages the chain turning the wheels.
My question is this:
Is there a way to start out by pressing the gas way the way or do you always have to "ease" into it?
If a wheel is in a small pothole or something when starting out, it won't go. You gotta give it a push to flat ground..is there a way to solve this?
I'd LOVE to go straight chain drive but know that I need some sort of slip clutch.
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[OzFab]

There's absolutely no reason why you can't gun it off the start, the more you open it up the more torque you exert on the clutch the harder it works.

What are the tooth counts on the chain sprockets? If the gearing is off, that may make starting off more difficult

 

[Sparky723]

If its hammered off the start and it makes it work harder, then why should I do that?
I don't know the tooth count..
I just want it to have some "umph"!

 

[landuse]

Yup, it sounds as if your gearing is bad if you cannot floor it. You should be able to slam it down and take off nicely.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Agreed- something's amiss. Either your gearing is off, or your CVT is not functioning properly. Could be the engine itself.

 

[crazy4carts]

check the 6 nylon inserts on the bottom pulley assembly, sometimes the wear down, and won't allow the driven pulley to function correctly

 

[spyder1968]

it would be really helpful to know the tire size and sprocket sizes ! could be overgeared !

 

[Sparky723]

There are about 62-64 teeth on the big sprocket if that helps.
I have a bunch of pictures I'd like to send to let everyone see so that I can get help.
When I took the cover off the belt/chain area, there was black fibery mess all under the plastic cover as if it had been eating up the belt.
When my son rode it just now, he said its not going as fast as it used to..maybe belt slipping?? Ugh!!....very frustrating!
I'll send pics to anyone interested. My cell is 940-***-****.
Thanks!

 

[landuse]

There are about 62-64 teeth on the big sprocket if that helps.
I have a bunch of pictures I'd like to send to let everyone see so that I can get help.
When I took the cover off the belt/chain area, there was black fibery mess all under the plastic cover as if it had been eating up the belt.
When my son rode it just now, he said its not going as fast as it used to..maybe belt slipping?? Ugh!!....very frustrating!
I'll send pics to anyone interested. My cell is 940-***-****.
Thanks!

Not such a clever idea to post your cell number on the net. If someone wants to get hold of you they can send you a PM.

And the tooth count you gave us doesn't really help us at all unless you give us the size of the sprocket on the TC

 

[Sparky723]

My cell is all over the Internet already. It's my business phone. Thanks for caring, though.
It was clever of you.
Now back to the go kart, what's a TC?
A previous post asked for sprocket size, figured teeth count would tell him what he's lookin for.
If anyone would like to see pictures of chain/belt/clutch area that could help me, please PM me. I'd really appreciate it.

 

[OzFab]

TC = torque converter, aka CVT or constantly variable transmission. It's the two piece clutch unit that's attached to the engine, connected by a belt. Behind the driven unit, there's a small sprocket with the chain running on it; we need to know how many teeth are on it & the axle sprocket to calculate the drive ratio.

We always want to see pics, whether we need to or not. Pics can be posted here...

 

[Sparky723]

I'm not able to get the pictures to post.
Would be easier to send to a phone/email address.

Anyway the top sprocket has about 10 teeth and the bottom has 62-64 as stated earlier.
The top pulley that "squeezes" together and grabs the belt is feathering the edge of the belt causing premature wear. I have pictures of this also.

I really need to get this fixed, because my boys wanna ride badly.

 

[landuse]

I'm not able to get the pictures to post.
Would be easier to send to a phone/email address.

Anyway the top sprocket has about 10 teeth and the bottom has 62-64 as stated earlier.
The top pulley that "squeezes" together and grabs the belt is feathering the edge of the belt causing premature wear. I have pictures of this also.

I really need to get this fixed, because my boys wanna ride badly.

The gearing sounds as if it should be OK. What size tyres do you have? This could affect things. Have you cleaned your TC yet?

 

[Sparky723]

The rear tires are Scorpion brand
Size 18x9.50-18
No, I haven't cleaned my TC because I haven't been told to and I didn't know I needed to.
How is that done?

 

[OzFab]

http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7332

 

[spyder1968]

sounds like the belt is worn out. how wide ( exactly) is the belt ? also ...i would personally recommend changing the rear sprocket to a 72 tooth with that large of a tire. it would give you more low end torque. just my opinion though

 

[kendelrk]

To me it sounds like they're not aligned properly, the belt is worn and your torque converter needs to be cleaned. With a 19 inch tire and a 10-60ish ratio I had enough power the full a wheelie off the start by flooring it.

 

[Sparky723]

The 2 pulleys are aligned. That's not the problem.
I'm not changing the big lower sprocket, that's what came on it.
I'm not changing the tires either...if this is stock, then why is it messing up the belt?
Why do I have to "ease" into the gas pedal at take off?
I should be able to floor it even with stock equipment.
Maybe the only thing IS the dirty TC.
I have several pictures but I can't get them to upload on here.
If the link below shows up, click it and you'll see my pulleys-if you'd like to see the rest of the pictures and you're willing to help me solve this problem, please PM me.
Thanks.

http://i1123.photobucket.com/albums/l541/bradsgun/image_zps6e3f86fa.jpg

 

[Sinbad001]

Your driven clutch looks like it is stuck open. That would explain having no bottom end.

 

[OzFab]

Your driven clutch looks like it is stuck open. That would explain having no bottom end.

... & it does look like it's slightly out of alignment (but that could be camera angle), it only needs to be out by 1/8" to do some damage