Spiderbox 3206 GY6 is burning oil. Swap it? Rebuild it?

[thepaultucker]

New member here! I'm a great automotive mechanic, but new to the small engine and go-karting world. Pictures just for fun.

CONTEXT:

Short version: I found a decent deal on a running, driving Yerf-Dog Spiderbox GX150 (3206). I knew it needed some repairs and love, but I'm up for the challenge, and my kids loooooove it so far.

The Howitt 150cc GY6 sounds pretty good. It's happy overall, very responsive, but it burns oil like crazy. I have to add oil every hour. I'm guessing valve guides, since it sounds so happy and healthy (e.g., I don't think it's piston rings), but I haven't torn it down to see.

QUESTIONS:
1. Any tips on what I should try or look into for the engine oil consumption issue?
2. Should I rebuild the engine or do a Predator engine swap?
3. If I do an engine swap, does anyone have a parts list for their build? I'll happily accept "don't do this..." or "avoid that" advice, as well.


NOTE: I'm not really looking to add power over what it has currently, but I don't want to lose power. It looks like the 212cc would be down on power from what I'm reading? It's pretty good right where it's at right now, performance-wise, for my kids and me to buzz around the property.

 

[Hellion]

Got a photo of the clouds of blue smoke emanating from the tailpipe?

Make sure the engine is not overfull of oil (have to say it) as that can cause smoking.

You might try upping the oil viscosity by a 10 factor (30 to 40) and see what happens. Temporary fix.

Does the kart have a Fwd-N-Reverse gearbox? GY6 usually has that feature.

I think you should upgrade to a 670cc. Better hurry!

 

[thepaultucker]

Got a photo of the clouds of blue smoke emanating from the tailpipe?

Make sure the engine is not overfull of oil (have to say it) as that can cause smoking.

You might try upping the oil viscosity by a 10 factor (30 to 40) and see what happens. Temporary fix.

Does the kart have a Fwd-N-Reverse gearbox? GY6 usually has that feature.

I think you should upgrade to a 670cc. Better hurry!

View attachment 162063

lol... yeah, 670 miiiiight be a tad much for my kid's yard and pasture bombing runs. Looks fun, though! 420 would probably be as big as I'd consider at this stage.

No reverse gearbox on this one. It's just a forward-only with a CVT (rather than a torque converter or clutch), which is common for this model.

It's blue smoke. No photos, but if you can imagine blue smoke, you've seen it. It tends to smoke less at WOT but more at idle and mid-throttle. I'm running 40w now, and it's not overfull. I keep it in the hashes on the dipstick. It'll go from the top to the bottom of the hashes in a couple of hours of driving.

 

[Denny]

Replace the head, piston and rings and a new jug and ride it for another 100,000 miles or until it breaks down again.

 

[Hellion]

I agree with what he said .

However, I wonder how Denny’s parts list compares in price to a brand new 301cc or a 420cc Rotaderp? I think it was someone here who reminded us that the common Chinese ATV-buggy-“kart” and the GY6, which we see a lot of, is an over-stressed marriage as the GY6 started out in life as a scooter engine which is a much lighter vehicle...

Here’s an owner’s manual for the hell of it:

https://www.bmikarts.com/PDF/3206-4206.pdf

Yerf-dog Spiderbox GX-150

 

[thepaultucker]

@Denny, I thought about that plan too, but I'm hitting a wall sourcing decent 57mm cylinder bore parts that aren't wildly expensive. 57.4mm parts are everywhere, and it looks like I could mill the case to drop them in, but that's further than I wanted to go. If you know a good source for the 57mm stuff, I'm all ears. I haven't ruled that path out!

Otherwise, by my shopping, I'm looking at roughly $600 either way: a full Predator swap with a 40-series TC and the bracketry, or a new top end on a 20+ year old motor with shrinking parts availability. The Yerf-Dog / Howhit GY6 in my kart is supposedly the "B" variant, and while it's close to the standard GY6 clones, the cylinder and head aren't interchangeable. I assumed parts would be a breeze when I bought it. Not so much.

@Hellion, your point about the GY6 being an overstressed scooter engine in a kart application is part of what's pushing me toward the swap side. Anyone here done the Predator 420 or 301 swap on a Spiderbox and have a parts list or "wish I'd known" notes to share?

 

[Hellion]

Anyone here done the Predator 420 or 301 swap on a Spiderbox...

Get a load of this one: https://www.diygokarts.com/community/threads/offroad-big-block-buggy.49423/