some problems and questions

X

xzackx

New Member
ok well had three problems lol
1. gas tank leaks around mounting bolts
2. blown exhaust gasket
3. cracked original exhaust

im thinking about using seal-all around my bolts and use rubber washers to mount the gas tank
getting new piece of gasket material to cut out
and ordered a barry's thunderpipe exhaust from ebay for $75 hope it works should be getting here friday and i'll take a video of what it sounds like

some questions

i have a leave around my head bolts and sparkplug what lb torque should i use for the bolts and sparkplug ?

sparkplug has Black all over and inside the head the piston is black also should i adjust air/fuel mix screw? any tips?

thank you
 
You haven't told us what kind of engine you have but we'll assume it is a 2 stroke, Chinese kit. If this is correct you do not have an air/fuel mix screw. The only external adjustment on the carburetor is the idle speed screw, left side of carb. The air/fuel mix is determined by the position of the 'C' clip on the needle valve inside the carb. There will be several grooves cut into the upper end of the needle. The stock (factory) position is usually the second or third groove from the top. The higher you place the 'C' clip the leaner the mix; the lower, the richer. It sounds like you might be a little rich due to the black plug and piston. Reposition the 'C' clip one grove up and try it.
Also if this is a new engine you'll notice improved performance as you accrue miles on it. They run better as they age. You didn't say what fuel/oil mix you are using( ignore the kit manual that might tell you to use 16:1) we recommend starting at 24:1 then moving down to 32:1 after a few tanks of fuel.
As for head bolt torque: Shoot for 110 to 120 inch pounds and check them after the engine has reached operating temp a couple of times. Do not over tighten them or try to get them tighter afterwards. Go for 80 to 90 inch pounds for the plug and don't try to remove the plug from a hot engine. A good antiseize compound lightly applied to the plug threads will be a benefit too.
Good luck. Let us know how you're doing.
Tom
 
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ATTENTION read again above ,,,He said "inch" pounds "not foot lbs",just in case,that just panicks me,sorry
 
oh yeah its a 2 stroke came from daemon bikes and i'll try that c clip to see if it helps but cant run it until i get my new exhaust. yea its new got about 100 miles on it, I used 16:1 the 1st two tanks of gas, and used 5 oz oil to 1 gal gas, i thought maybe alot of oil to break in would produce less problems with the engine running smoother maybe? i'll torque the bolts and sparkplug on and see if it helps thanks both i'll tell you how it goes
 
16:1 will not help anything except the oil co. profit... it's just too much oil.

You will be much better off going to a higher ratio, like 32:1 after you get it running. Do that BEFORE you make any other adjustments.

Clean your plug while you have it out.
 
A lot of oil in the mix actually makes the fuel to air ratio lean and can cause damage in extreme cases.
 
Too much oil can be as bad as too little.
24:1 for the first tank, and then go to 32:1 with a quality two stroke oil made for air cooled engines. (not outboard motor oil)

After break in is complete, go to whatever mix ratio you are comfortable with, and use a name brand oil.
 
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Well I'm glad I read this thread because I was going to follow my instructions and mix up my fuel 16:1, but not anymore. Thanks for the heads up guys. I also have a question while I'm here. I am fixing to sit down and tear this whole drive train apart (clutch, shaft, ect.) in order to find out why I have no clutch action and hopefully correct the problem. I have read through most of Norm's teardown and repair threads and I don't foresee any major problems but I would like to see a schematic drawing of the drive train and it's parts. I've been looking but haven't found one yet. It's pretty bad when you have to take a brand new engine and tear it apart and troubleshoot it in order to try to get it to work properly, just goes to show what can pass as acceptable nowadays. Guess my grandfather was right when he told me that if you want something done right then you better do it yourself because if you let someone else do it then you're going to have to check behind them and fix their mistakes anyway. I bet if he was still here to assist me I'd have this thing running by now (he was a small engine mechanic). Wish I would have payed more attention when I used to help him in his shop when I was growing up, lol. Too late for that now. Alright, enough talking, it's time to see what this thing is made of !! Wish me luck cause here I go.............

scratg
 
1) I had a gas tank that leaked at one of the mounting bolts. I fixed it by getting a fender washer (large outer diameter, little hole), a rubber hose washer that matched it's size, and some fuel proof sealant. Used the sealant to "glue" the rubber washer to the other one and then filled the inside with sealant. Then I used a nut to hold this against the tank to seal the leak. Worked like a charm. I'd have just replaced the tank but I had something painted on it that I didn't want to have to repaint. If you have leaks in more than one spot, I'd replace the tank.

2) Buy a metal exhaust gasket. Sick Bike Parts sells an aluminum one for $2.49.

3) This is a good time to upgrade your exhaust, but the stock original ones go for about $15-$25 from many of the vendors who are sponsors of this site.
 
ok thanks i'll have to look around i was gonna see if my local auto and bike shop Napa to see if they have one but idk if i can find one but i'll look around for one thanks guys for the help i'll post some pitcures of what the tank and new exhaust looks like (when it gets here)
 
i do have one more question about my clutch im about 140lbs i got a schwinn stingray (about 60-70lbs probally) and i can take off at a stop without peddling but i have to rev it up and slowly release the clutch i was wondering can that hurt my clutch if i do it too much?
 
If you have 20" wheels and a stock 44t sprocket, it may be O.K. I would at least give the pedals a little shove right at the start.
 
Better to get the clutch engaged as soon as possible. You would be surprised at how slow you can be going and still let the clutch out fully.
 
After yet another all-nighter (no, I don't give up easily) the drive train has been re-assembled and the clutch is working properly with one exception. There is no free play at all in my clutch arm and I can't seem to get any free play with it, no matter how I adjust the clutch and/or cable. It seems to me that the pin that the clutch arm pushes on is too long. I'm tempted to find a length of steel rod that is the same diameter and fabricate a few replacement pins that are a little shorter and keep replacing the factory pin until I find the right length that will allow for there to be 'slight free play' in the clutch arm. What do you guys think ?? Would this be worth the time or will it be OK without any free play ?? I don't won't to run it this way if it will cause any damage, but if there's no danger of damage then I can live without the free play. Let me know what you guys think because after 7 straight days of work, including 3 all-nighters :-|| I'm ready to gas this baby up and get some fire under her @ss, lol. Also, my two local part stores do not stock synthetic two-cycle oil which is what I thought would be best. The best thing they carry is standard Pennzoil two-cycle for air cooled engines. Will this be OK or am I going to have to special order the synthetic ??
 
Penzoil for air cooled engines is all I use, even in the ultralight aircraft engines we run.

If you find the clutch slips, you may need to grind just a little off the end of the pin, no need to buy another.
 
Bikeguy Joe said:
Penzoil for air cooled engines is all I use, even in the ultralight aircraft engines we run.

If you find the clutch slips, you may need to grind just a little off the end of the pin, no need to buy another.
Click to expand...

Wow, that was like a slap in the face, a real eye opener :eek: I never thought of grinding a little off the existing pin. Guess I was over-thinking that one just a wee bit. Glad to hear that Pennzoil is OK because it's readily available and pretty inexpensive too. Many thanks to you Bikeguy Joe. Guess while I'm here I'll toss out another question. I'm noticing where it's better to get advice from people with experience instead of relying on my wonderfully vague chinese instructions. That said, is there a thread that covers proper engine break-in. My instructions say to not exceed 15mph or 30 minutes run time until the engine has been broken in, but they fail to cover what the proper break-in procedure is. All they say is to start out with 16:1 then move up to 20:1 which I found to be incorrect after digging around here in the threads. It also states that the idle speed should be between 1300-1500rpm (1400rpm being the optimum). Is this correct and if so how do you tell what these little things are turning over without a tachometer ?? I'm not sure exactly how a tach. works but I wonder if it would be possible to hook one up to one of these engines. I think that would be a cool add-on if so, have a little small tachometer mounted somewhere on the handlebars. Well, I've said enough for now. Hope you guys have a great day and happy biking. May your rides be smooth and your tanks stay forever full !!
 
Well, after taking my bike on a few test runs I decided to take a trip to the parts store. I picked up an in-line fuel filter and a new spark plug. I tried to find a 7mm plug wire at two different stores but all they had in stock were 8mm. They only way I'll be able to get a 7mm wire would be to get the parts store to order me a full set of plug wires for a car that uses 7mm and the cheapest set is gonna be $21.99. I can get a few 8mm plug wires from a friend for free to save some cash but would it be OK to use one or does it have to be a 7mm ?? I don't want to use an 8mm if it might mess something up. Also, at low speed (5-7 mph) when I give it a little gas to accelerate it's kinda jerky until it gets up to about 12-15 mph. Is this normal or is it a sign of a problem that needs to be addressed, and if so what might be the cause of it ??
 
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