tecumseh motor takes long time to warm up

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krazykyle

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i have two tecumseh motors,one five horse power and the other 6 which are in a couple of go -karts i have.they start up great but they take forever to warm up and run.is there a way i can adjust the choke so it brings the idle up more so they can warm up faster.
 

brendonv

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How long does it take. Should just need about 10 seconds of choke and then off choke. You can always up the idle a bit so it runs faster to stop it dieing.
 

krazykyle

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takes 10 minutes of giving it gas and pull starting it.then even when it's a little warm my son will get in it and give it some gas and the kart stalls on him.
 

Bluethunder3320

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sounds like a problem with vaccum in the engine not warming it up, or a dirty carb. was it always like this?
 

newrider3

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In my experience this is a pretty universal problem among Tec kart motors, just the way they are (again, in my experience, not trying to start an argument here). If they are newer, you don't even have a real choke, just the primer. If you can find a pre-emissions version of your carb, it should come equipped with an actual choke and adjustable main circuit.
 

krazykyle

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it's been like that ever since i had them.seems like if there was a choke if would be better.everytime i start it i have to prime it pull ,prime pull etc... till it's warm enough to run on it's own.then it stalls out.
 

Bluethunder3320

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sounds like it cant be a problem with motor temp, but some kind of fuel feed problem somewhere.
wait there is no choke??
 

slideways

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Don't worry its like this on almost all of them. Luckily the last kart i had was pretty good. It would warm up and take throttle after about 20 seconds. As kids the ones we had would take forever and you had to ease onto the gas lightly and then drive it that way until it was hot.

The only thing i can suggest is put new gaskets on the manifold and see if that allows them to seal up immediately instead of needing the motor to get hot. Usually working the throttle by hand right above the primer getting it to idle up is the easiest way.
 

Blazkowiez

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From factory these engines come with a tag dictating that the first 2-3min of running will be rough until the engine is warm. When these engines have properly adjusted valves and a clean carb they will run excellent following that time period. We've sold several hundred of these engines and they all act entirely the same just like the thousands of karts we've had in for repairs that have Tecumseh engines equipped.
 

krazykyle

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how hard is it to adjust the valves.the 6 horse power one i have takes forever to warm up and run.i reallity i just bought it off some kid down the street so i think some time and work might need to go into it first.thanks for all the help.
 

Blazkowiez

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Mainly adjusting the valves is simple if you've done them before, remove the valve cover, find top dead center, and reset the valves to 5-7 thousandths, factory should be 5, the epa will hate you for emissions at 7 though it will run better, a tight 5-6 will work perfectly if you do it correctly. As for the act of resetting the valves the main "special" tool required is a 7/16th crowsfoot.

Here is the disclaimer: Often times inexperienced mechanics ruin this process, we see it amazingly often, valves can very slightly go out of adjustment and cause an engine to run poorly after years of running but rarely do they go as far out of whack as we find them unless someone has jumped a governor or attempted a valve job themselves. If you set them incorrectly or fail to find top dead center you will not have a properly running engine if it runs at all, you may have snapback on the recoil from pressure in the valves if they are wrong, also if you somehow loosen them entirely and drop a rod you'll be in huge trouble. This is not a light task, I would suggest reading a manual on 4 stroke engine trouble shooting and maintenance before performing this task, they are inexpensive (less than 15) on many sites and can be found on Tecumseh even, it will give you further insight and may help you in the future if problems arise.
 
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