Installed Aftermarket Parts , Now Won't Run

[Munk]

Hey everyone, noob here.

I recently bought a Trailmaster Mid XRX-R. Super fun, but after a little while I was craving a bit more power. I installed a loop header (with a supertrapp to keep the noise down), mikuni clone carb from go power sports, and performance spark plug.

All went fine except the carb. At first I accidentally connected the fuel line to the vent port, causing the carb to rapidly flood everytime I turned the line on. Before I realized my mistake I tweaked the float level a bit per G.P.S. advice. Of course, I eventually realized the silly mistake and connected the hose to the correct nipple, and "un-did" my adjustments to the float level as best I could.

Here's what happens. Engine won't start with electric ignition or pull, with or without the choke, with or without throttling. The only thing that gets the engine running is when the choke lever is down, I spray starter fluid, and throttle while using electric ignition. As soon as I stop throttling, it dies.

Other details that might be relevent, throttle cable is not fully installed yet, barrel is attached to the pedal but cable not properly fastend down/tensioned. Haven't messed with idle or air/fuel screw...should I? Sparkplug looks okay I suppose. Governor is disabled but not removed yet.

Any ideas? Some pics:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ip5dCRpKU8wZB5BW8

 

[Nosandwich]

You screwed up the carb....buy a new one.

 

[itsid]

nah.. he's kidding mostly

unmount the carb and let it rest sideways on some paper towels in the sun,
just to make sure no air vein is blocked with fuel..
a good hour or two is all it takes to be reasonably sure.

While the carb is off, make sure you got good spark
frankly there is no such thing as a "performance spark plug"
there is a correct one (temperature wise) and dozens of wrong ones.
yes some are better than others and some hold longer than the engine's lifespan..
but the correct temp rating is what you need.. a "hotter plug" is more often bullshirt advice than not.
So... put back the original plug for now just to be sure it's indeed correct.

put on the boot, rest the plug against the crankcase and pull the cord.. does it spark?

Great.. put your finger over the spark plug hole and pull the cord again (slowly this time!)
does the engine have compression?

Great.. now reinstall the now smelly carb,
connect the throttle cable and give the throttle a twist then rip the cord again.
adjust the idle speed screw so the engine revs at around 1200-1400 rpms when engine at operating temperature and you're done.

'sid

 

[Munk]

You screwed up the carb....buy a new one.

Can you elaborate? Do you mean the float level, or something else in the carb is likely broken?

---------- Post added at 09:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:08 PM ----------

nah.. he's kidding mostly

unmount the carb and let it rest sideways on some paper towels in the sun,
just to make sure no air vein is blocked with fuel..
a good hour or two is all it takes to be reasonably sure.

While the carb is off, make sure you got good spark
frankly there is no such thing as a "performance spark plug"
there is a correct one (temperature wise) and dozens of wrong ones.
yes some are better than others and some hold longer than the engine's lifespan..
but the correct temp rating is what you need.. a "hotter plug" is more often bullshirt advice than not.
So... put back the original plug for now just to be sure it's indeed correct.

put on the boot, rest the plug against the crankcase and pull the cord.. does it spark?

Great.. put your finger over the spark plug hole and pull the cord again (slowly this time!)
does the engine have compression?

Great.. now reinstall the now smelly carb,
connect the throttle cable and give the throttle a twist then rip the cord again.
adjust the idle speed screw so the engine revs at around 1200-1400 rpms when engine at operating temperature and you're done.

'sid

Ah okay. I'll do those things and get back to you on the results. Thank you

 

[mckutzy]

One thing I see off hand is the tight radius of the throttle cable. It should be more gradual... What you have there is way too tight....

Also, dont disable the gov... do it right... use like it should... or take it out completely...
The gov gear inside will destroy itself and cause damage to the internals....

 

[Munk]

One thing I see off hand is the tight radius of the throttle cable. It should be more gradual... What you have there is way too tight....

Also, dont disable the gov... do it right... use like it should... or take it out completely...
The gov gear inside will destroy itself and cause damage to the internals....

Okay, I can definitely unbend that cable some. I don't think I can reconnect the governor due to the throttle linkage of this new carb, so I suppose it'll need to come out.

 

[mckutzy]

Ya,the carb is a different style, it wont be able to actuate it with out complicated setup...

 

[Munk]

Okay some good news and bad news. The good news is that, once I switched over to the stock spark plug, boom running like it used to

Now the bad news. After maybe 5 or 10 seconds, the vibration of the engine must have rotated the governor dowel thing and partially engaged it. Made an awful sound for maybe 2 - 3 seconds before I could kill the engine. Now I'm wondering what damage there is (if any) to other components besides the governor mechanism that I intend to remove.

 

[BigWes]

Uh oh, you know the piston rod can hit the internal lever arm right? And the plastic button in there can literally fall off into the bottom of the crankcase? That's the biggest problems actually...then all that crap bangs and beats around inside...good luck!

 

[Munk]

Uh oh, you know the piston rod can hit the internal lever arm right? And the plastic button in there can literally fall off into the bottom of the crankcase? That's the biggest problems actually...then all that crap bangs and beats around inside...good luck!

I'm not familiar with precisely what can happen, but have read that it's worth removing the governor if you plan on disabling/bypassing due to problems that can arise. After my very very short experience with having a bypassed governor on an engine and running it only to hear that noise... it seems like good advice haha.

Got any tips for how to get the bolt off of the front pulley wheel to get to the crankcase? Trying to loosen just causes the whole thing to spin, and I can't get ahold of the wheel well enough to break the nut loose. Is there some clever trick/tip?

 

[Hellion]

Got any tips for how to get the bolt off of the front pulley wheel to get to the crankcase? Trying to loosen just causes the whole thing to spin, and I can't get ahold of the wheel well enough to break the nut loose. Is there some clever trick/tip?

Pneumatic or electric impact wrench. It can spin (or actually hammer) the bolt faster than the pulley can react.

That's the de facto method of removing things a fella doesn't have the time or the means to clamp it down.

 

[cleatusj]

Wrap an old v-belt around the outer bell of front drive pulley and clamp with vice grips for a handle. Now you can remove crankshaft bolt.

 

[Munk]

Pneumatic or electric impact wrench. It can spin (or actually hammer) the bolt faster than the pulley can react.

That's the de facto method of removing things a fella doesn't have the time or the means to clamp it down.

Any tips of you don't have one of those? I have some clamps I'm just a bit doubtful I'll get a good enough hold on this wheel for it to make a difference.

---------- Post added at 06:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:06 PM ----------

Wrap an old v-belt around the outer bell of front drive pulley and clamp with vice grips for a handle. Now you can remove crankshaft bolt.

I need more stuff (no old v belt either haha).

Also, am I crazy / mistaken or should there be a sprocket here instead of a smooth berring thing?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6LeSL6VjAAsZpZtv8

 

[mckutzy]

A sprocket/pulley/gear/hub with whatever fits the crankshaft pto.. weld a long handle to it, to hold onto...crank away at the bolt...
Or A bit of time one could make this thing....Like above, instead of welding a handle to it... a tab to bolt to the pto mounting holes...

https://www.ezbore.net/Crank-Lock-p/ept99049.htm

I keep forgetting about this guy and need to make one....

 

[Munk]

A sprocket/pulley/gear/hub with whatever fits the crankshaft pto.. weld a long handle to it, to hold onto...crank away at the bolt...
Or A bit of time one could make this thing....Like above, instead of welding a handle to it... a tab to bolt to the pto mounting holes...

https://www.ezbore.net/Crank-Lock-p/ept99049.htm

I keep forgetting about this guy and need to make one....

Ah clever!

 

[cleatusj]

Not the best idea, but pull the plug and stuff the hole with pull rope type rope until you can loosen the bolt.

 

[landuse]

Not the best idea, but pull the plug and stuff the hole with pull rope type rope until you can loosen the bolt.

This is what I do

 

[Munk]

Not the best idea, but pull the plug and stuff the hole with pull rope type rope until you can loosen the bolt.

I think this my be my best choice without buying an impact wrench. Just as a question, should I try to avoid turning that wheel during loosening, i.e. does anything happen if it turns like messing up the timing or some such?

 

[Hellion]

To be honest I’m not sure what you’re trying to remove. I’ve heard some mention of pulleys and what-not but I’m a visual man.

Shouldn't mess with your timing, just wrench it until the piston approaches top dead center and can’t go any further because there’s rope stuffed into the cylinder.

*I also approve of this method*

 

[Munk]

To be honest I’m not sure what you’re trying to remove. I’ve heard some mention of pulleys and what-not but I’m a visual man.

Shouldn't mess with your timing, just wrench it until the piston approaches top dead center and can’t go any further because there’s rope stuffed into the cylinder.

*I also approve of this method*

Here is a picture. It's the smaller wheel to the left, has to come off before I can take the crank case off and remove the governor.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eMSLTZqYmVCiJpTZ6

In every video I've watched, which is about 5 or so now, they don't show the process of removing a fully tightened nut there, they just either cut to a scene where it's now off or they make it seem like you can remove it by hand haha.