Have questions about my Torque Converter

[Wilson_Engine_Shop]

Hello everyone! Im new to gokarts and i just bought my first one! Its a Murray Explorer that looks like its been through **** and back. It had a bent live axle and tie rod (that we fixed with our 20 ton press), both rims on the left side were bent, the cage and fenders are gone along with the front skid plate but the 6hp Tecumseh is still strong! I just noticed that the drive pulley on the TAV is also very wobbly. Would that be why it takes so long to get up to speed? It kinda hangs around in the mid rpm range for a minute then finally gets up to top speed but i love the fact that it can go where our carter can't(tall grass is its weakness). The Murray has a 60t sprocket on the axle and a 12t jackshaft sprocket from GPS

 

[Wilson_Engine_Shop]

Here is what the drive pulley looks like

 

[950speed]

Well most likely but I could be wrong:
Your crank might be bent and that’s why there’s the wobble

Your govoner is kicking in, mine does the same thing but I have a 208cc clone

 

[itsid]

Might be wrong but to me it looks like the outer bell appears to be bent ..
remove the bell and check the weights and garter springs,
make sure both springs are hooked dead center on a weight,
not anywhere near the seam between them.
(ideally 180° apart)
just to be sure.
Then use any long bolt (4"+ will be nice) and a set of nuts and washers and
thread it through the hole from the inside..
and lock it to have as much sticking out the front as possible.
then place the bell on a flat table and see if the bolt is perfectly straight up as it should be,
or pointing to one side as I think it will.

You can get a spare clutch bell from mfgsupply.com (gokarts->clutches->comet series 30)

'sid

 

[Wilson_Engine_Shop]

Thanks for your advise guys! I was planning on putting a predator 212 hemi on the kart soon along with a new TAV from GPS. I'm afraid to take the drive pulley off since i'm not entirely sure how it goes back together. Should i just replace the TAV pulleys? Im not sure how the kart got so much damage either

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Well there's only one way that kart sustained that much damage:
Lots of crashes.
If you are intimidated by taking off the torque converter, it's probably best to get a new one, just keep the old one for parts, reference, and possibly if you want to diagnose it and learn how it works.

 

[itsid]

No need to pull the pulleys ..
just remove the bolt, and the outer bell can be taken off without removing anything else.

once tested, bell back on, bolt back in.. done!

'sid

 

[Wilson_Engine_Shop]

Well i found out why the kart took so many pulls to start and why it hesitated a bit. The old plug was fouled from the carb floats being too high. My dad reset the floats, put a plug in and it drives much better now. It gets up to speed quicker, idles better and doesnt spit or sputter when coming to a stop

 

[Dingocat]

I've smacked one of my karts into another going fast, smashed up the "bumper" and bent my tie rods and brake pedal. Other kart got scratched.
Looks like what happened here.

 

[itsid]

Well i found out why the kart took so many pulls to start and why it hesitated a bit. The old plug was fouled from the carb floats being too high. My dad reset the floats, put a plug in and it drives much better now. It gets up to speed quicker, idles better and doesnt spit or sputter when coming to a stop

and you are saying that also fixed the wobbly TC?
I doubt it

'sid

 

[Mrmonk7663]

No way it fixed the Pulley issue. From your picture you can clearly see that the bell is clocked inward at the rear. Fix that. Not only will it wobble it also introduces unwanted additional vibrations to the rotating assembly.

 

[BigWes]

All right, I have a Murray as well...good kart! Priority one...kill switch...install one. Check the frame over for cracks, especially the front frame just inboard of the spindle mounts. People tended to abuse these karts and they are heavy so they deserve attention. Nothing wrong with them mind you...abuse leads to breakage and people will abuse a tank! Go power sports has the proper belts and torque converter parts for this kart...search for the murray 7 inch driven...yes it uses a larger driven...it helps to pull the beast out of the hole! I prefer a 10t jackshaft sprocket on this kart...better pull out of the hole. I like to go fast too, but you really have more fun with better acceleration on a kart like the murray...trust me...I'm a crazy old guy!!! I have a 14t I tried on mine...no bottom end pull...boring...and dangerous up top if you ever find enough room to get it there! Follow itsid's advice on the TC...wobbly parts rob power and performance. if you have bent parts consider replacing them unless you have someone that can straighten them reliably--such as frame parts...a minor runout issue in an axle I might let slide...I'm just gonna bend the new one again anyway...if it's bad it's gone...

Watch your brakes on that thing...mine requires constant attention...adjustment...but I am hard on it.

If your engine is running good consider staying with it. Tecumseh's pull hard off the bottom. Nothing wrong with them. Have fun with your kart! As soon as you take it off you'll be fiddling with that predator. Adjusting the mount plate and that stuff. Run it until the carb starts acting up then put the hemi on there...

I plan on putting lights on mine!

Good luck,
Wes

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Well i found out why the kart took so many pulls to start and why it hesitated a bit. The old plug was fouled from the carb floats being too high. My dad reset the floats, put a plug in and it drives much better now. It gets up to speed quicker, idles better and doesnt spit or sputter when coming to a stop

THAT would be the result of running too rich.
I can't see how adjusting the float(s)(I think there's only 1?) would change the fuel mixture. I think you mean adjusting screws.

 

[Randy H]

THAT would be the result of running too rich.
I can't see how adjusting the float(s)(I think there's only 1?) would change the fuel mixture. I think you mean adjusting screws.

Float level can change the fuel mixture.
________________________________________

I agree with Wes on the Tecumseh. They are fine little engines. My son and I recently put a lightly modified one on a mini bike. People took turns running it hard for two days. Woodward Dream Cruise partying.

We removed the governor, used a Chinese PZ22 jetted appropriately. To me that means getting a selection of factory jets.

Stock rod, polished, casting flash/surface defects removed.

Stock steel cam out of a scrapyard flathead Tecumseh.

Head milled .1" (yes a tenth, buddy machinest screwed up, lol). Oxygenated racing fuel. Sunoco brand, gas stations sell it there, at least for Dream Cruise.

Stiffer valve springs, 1.3 ratio rocker arms. I don't necessarily recommend the rocker arms. The geometry isn't good, but it worked. These were Predator parts.

Homemade header.

Timing advanced by lapping the flywheel removing the key and guessing at a few degrees advance.

Pull started ok had to start at TDC.

This thing ran crisp and sounded great, smelled good too.

This isn't intended to be thread hi jack. Only to say that Tecumsehs have a little bit of mod potential without breaking the bank.

 

[Wilson_Engine_Shop]

The pulley still wobbles but the engine was having other performance issues. It was spitting at top speed(25-27) but now it starts easier and doesn't spit anymore. I took a look under the kart to check everything out after driving it hard and the throttle cable is rigged so bad i cant believe it was still working like it was. I'm having trouble finding a direct replacement for it tho, i'm also unsure what length the cable originally was. It looks like one end should have two jam nuts and a "Z" hook. My karts model # is 60501X92

 

[Wilson_Engine_Shop]

THAT would be the result of running too rich.
I can't see how adjusting the float(s)(I think there's only 1?) would change the fuel mixture. I think you mean adjusting screws.

The previous owner put on a new carb before i bought it and the mixture screw is plugged so we had to drop the fuel bowl and barely raise the float. It runs better now that fuel isn't pouring out the face of the carb lol. The float just wasnt stopping the flow of fuel into the bowl after it filled up all the way

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

My flathead would be very finicky before, since it would fill up the carb body with fuel, giving it a ridiculously rich mixture.

 

[Wilson_Engine_Shop]

I still couldn't get the Tec to idle and it was hard to get the kart to stop so today I had to take the drive pulley off and inspect things. I cleaned the springs and the dust buildup, cleaned the 4 eared "sprocket" that lets it slide back and forth and lubed it so it returns easier, then my dad deburred the angled pulley face so it would stop eating the belt. We also found out why the outer cover was crooked... IT WASNT EVEN ON ALL THE WAY lol . There was a gouge keeping it from seating completely on the end of the 4 eared "sprocket" that slides onto the PTO shaft. A little file work and it's much better now! It didn't drag through the brakes anymore either but i'll try it again tomorrow

 

[madprofessor]

Holy spit! I've seen some inventive rigging before, but not by a blind person with 2 numb hands. Rip out the entire throttle setup and start over. I couldn't get any ready brake cables for my minibike because of the long length (tried what's available), but MFG Supply eventually got me hooked up with some really nice heavy-duty aircraft conduit and cable I could cut to fit, and adapter parts to create the types of barrel end and clevis end I required. The best part is the metal liner in the conduit, slips the cable smooth as silk. Get that good stuff for your throttle, cut it to fit, and add a kill switch. A stuck throttle could be your worst nightmare someday.

 

[Wilson_Engine_Shop]

Thanks for the advise and info Professor! My plan was to get a 212 with a real Mikuni VM22 soon so hopefully I won't have to worry about the rigged throttle cable for much longer. I also put a return spring on the governor arm so it returns to idle faster. I decided to order a new TAV belt yesterday since the kart wasnt going over 20mph and i'm glad I did. The previous owners slapped a random 1/2" wide mower belt on to move it. I didn't know a true belt should be 3/4" wide lol. I think my speed/acceleration issue could be that cheap belt

---------- Post added at 10:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:58 AM ----------

How much did the conduit, cable and everything else cost you? I might have to call MFGsupply to get the same parts that you bought to make a throttle cable that works