J_D

How do you know when its time for a spark plug change?

the plug in my traveller has a black coating petty much all over the contact thingo , and the threads were all oily... And The buggy runs - but it won;t idle nicely, it will either die - or idle too high and engage the clutch...

So I'm guessing I've run it too rich or something, Its done about 10 litres of fuel.

Can someone also tell me the stock carb settings on the CY engine? Thanks

If you need a pic I'll add one, But does this sound like what it could be.... and is there any way of cleaning it, to get some more life out of it before i go buy a new one :P

8000ft

Judging by the plug it does sound slightly rich, the stock settings for the cy/zen are high speed 1&1/2 turns out , the low speed is 1&1/4 turns. I have found the needles to bet extremly sensitive to adjustments, so make very small changes at a time.
Also check for pinched fuel lines, both the feed line (black) and the return line (yellow) because if either are pinched or bent to an extreme they will mess up the idle.

By the way your plug is fine, it's just dirty. You can easyly clean it with some soappy water and a tooth brush.
The only times that you need to change a plug are if the insulator ( the white part) is cracked which will result in a plug with no spark at all, or when the electrode ( the curved prong on the bottom) has worn down, which usually happens at about 75'000 miles.

J_D

Well i don;t think theres any issues with the fuel lines - cos at the start of the run, it was perfect - then at the end it wouldn;t idle consistantly - But I will check them as well. And return the needles to stock. and clean the plug - and see what happens.

J_D

Also my oil mix is 25:1 for my next fuel load - should i make it 32:1 or 40:1 ?

Thanks

8000ft

40:1, 3oz of oil to 1 gallon of gas will give you a mix of 42.66666:1

J_D

I'm starting to think its my clutch - Soon as i hold the brake on for a few seconds it dies.... even though its not moving the throttle linakage back any more - So I'm thinking the clutch is engaging when it shouldn;t - and when i hold on the brake it stalls out the engine.

I'll open it up and have a looksie.

J_D

nope not the clutch - i ran the engine with the clutch bell and everything off. and the idle is still all over the place - u lower it slightly and the engine will die - or u touch it slightly higher it will go too fast

badz

My Feedback: (1)

your idle could be too low also...or needles need adjusting...is it moving at idle? it'll move at idle if your clutch springs are worn to engage the clutch...could be a fouled plug also...how about air cleaner? it clean?

J_D

yer - brand new air cleaner - and oiled - one of those K&n style ones with a TGN pre filter. Clutch looks in fine condition, I'm gunna take of my carb just to check it as well, but I'm pretty sure it might just be a dodgey spark plug.

needles are at stock position - it was moving - because my idle was going too high and thus engaging the clutch. You can hear its idling too high. so then i would lower the idle slightly and it would just slow down and die. It won;t go into its happy place anymore :P

J_D

I just took off the carb - and on the adaptor thing that the air filter goes onto the carb there was a few small particales of dirt - which is slightly alarming because i never went into any serious dirt.

However the inside of the carb looks spotless, so thats a plus.

Might have to give it more oil next time... so yea .. clutch fine - carb fine....

Time to put it all back together and buy a spark plug i think.

J_D

Something i noticed... a secrew that goes into the engine behind the car is loose - it should be in tight right?

its pictured below..


And yes - the outside of my carb is very dirty lol

badz

My Feedback: (1)

Yep that screw should be tight....hopefully you haven't sucked any dirt into your cylinder...peek in with a flashlight and be sure you don't have scuffing on your piston which would indicate it sucked in some dirt and caused some damage....but that screw being loose is probably your stalling at idle issue. I'd remove it and run it in with some blue locktite.

J_D

yer - but i don;t hav any blue - so i just put a really small amount of red locktite - i had a look at the piston and it looks clean and smooth. The thing that the screw holds on didn;t feel loose to me - but its in nice and tight now, And I've put it back together and We'll see what happens - I still think it won;t idle nicely

J_D

EUREKA!

It was just that loose screw - funny how one screw can cause all this lol.....

with that screw in tight she just sits there humming happily yaaaaaaaay

Thanks for ur help mate

badz

My Feedback: (1)

good deal at least nothings broken

bigger the better

Anyone think there is any reason to change the stock plug with a higher end one? Any benefit?