My Cox surestart is having a problem delivering fuel to be burned. I figured this because it runs for a fraction of a second on what i prime it with and runs a little more than a second when i shoot a little bit of fuel in the air intake. Any suggestions wil be much appreciated. I would just get a new one, but I cant find them anywhere locally because of what is going on with Cox.

Can you post a pic of your tank setup for the folks here to see? There are a lot of smart people around here who can probably spot the problem right off if they can see it.

MordacP:

It sure sounds like a plugged needlevalve or bad tank setup.
NV - 3 or 4 turns open sould do it.

HTH - Steve B.

Is this a new SS or has this one been sitting for a while after being run?

Many of the more recent SS were shipped with a lot of crap inside -- I would be inclined to pull the backplate and flush the case out fairly well. Also remove the NV and force some fuel thru the intake line and thru the air intake. A failure to run after prime is a fuel starvation problem -- either the intake line or NV seat has some blockage or the reed is not seating. This assumes that you have fuel in the line up to the backplate.

If this engine has been previously run, then I think the most likely problem will be congealed oil in the intake or NV seat or the reed is stuck. YMMV

Check that the reed is clean and seating well. Check the needle valve as well, I have a Surestart that had the NV not fully pressed home and it would not run properly. It was doing what you decribed with your Surestart. I had to open the needle 6 turns, not the usual three. I cleaned the NV while I was at it, so it may well have been an obstruction causing the problem as well.

And of course check your tank setup.

Another idea, make sure the fuel line is sealing on the needle valve nipple, some fuel line has a larger inside dia. than others and I ran across this problem a while back. Same result, the engine will only run on the prime and the needle wants to be opened a lot more than it should. Thre to four turns is normal. I use black neoprene with no problems.

My tank is the same tank it came with when i firsted started it many years ago. It has been sitting around. I have no idea what a reed is. I could not figure out how to disassemble the needle valve, if i did i would have cleaned it. I will try 6 turns on the valve and take another shot at disassembling the NV and that whole section with the air intake. Thanks for the great response!

If the engine has set around for a long period of time since it last run, then it is very likely the congealed oil problem that Andrew mentioned. After a while, when every thing else in glow fuel has evaporated or dried up your left with a sticky goo that blocks fuel passages. Clean up of the engine is usually easy to accomplish with a number of solvents. I have used various paint thinners in the past. If there is goo/congealed oil inside the tank you may have a bit of a challenge.

Are you sure this is a Sure Start ? It sounds more like a Cox babe bee. Regardless, go with what Wayne said. I use methylated spirits to clean my engines, a low grade of methanol. It works like a charm.

Luke

If you are going to run Cox reedies, you WILL learn what a reed is.

To clean the needle valve, just remove it and squirt some fuel in the tank connection, then replace the needle.

If you remove the choke tube check that the hole in the spraybar (tube the needle screws into) is not visible. The hole needs to point toward the front of the engine.

The reed assembly is on front of the plastic mount that protrudes into the engine. Carefully remove the plastic housing that holds the reed, then carefully remove the reed. Be extremely careful to not damage the reed. Look for any piece of congealed oil, grit or weed that may hold the reed open. Carefully clean the area with a soft cloth and carefully reassemble.

The reed needs to be able to open and close completely. Crankcase vacuum when the piston goes up pulls the reed open to admit fuel and air. When the piston goes down, pressure closes the reed and forces the fuel/air to go up the bypass ports to the top of the cylinder. Since tight tolerances must be maintained, any small obstruction will hold the reed open and the engine can not run.

There you have it...reedies 101.

Good luck.

George

Additional thoughts:

If you are using clear fuel tubing, hold a finger over the choke tube and flip it a few times. You should see fuel entering the engine via the fuel line. (BTW, this is called choking). If it was just a little oil clogging the needle, you may be able to start it (assuming it doesn't clog the reed). If it starts OK, sometimes it will soon go rich as the fuel flow becomes less obstructed.

Clogged reeds and fuel lines are easy to clean after you get the hang of it.

Another possibility is congealed oil on the backplate screen. A few drops of fuel in the choke tube usually clears that.

This all may sound complicated at first, but it becomes second narure.

George

What information do you intelligent individuals gleen from this?? if it is a busted pin, should i drill the obstruction out?

The needle sure looks alittle short to me. I'll have to measure one when I get home unless one of the other guys gets to it first.

LAter,
Tim

Been there, done that! Take the blocked piece and knock it on the table and the piece may drop out. The needle section that you're measuring should be quite a bit longer than that.

Two I measured were ~ .3125 or about 5/16".

I have already tried to knock it out, but i didn't wanna start giving it hell until i was sure it WASN'T supposed to be there. It is in there pretty good, i will reduce it to a fine powder with my drill[:@]

Try heating it up first .Might soften Castor oil Gums,or even expand enough to let the needle tip fall out..Its probably sitting in a taper hole

It HAS to come out from the bottom to up... Be carefull with HEAT. Try boiling it then pushing from the bottom with a piece of music wire.

It will be a challange, getting the drill started ,on a needle valve point without ,slipping off, and ,hitting the seat.If you can`t get it out ,you really have nothing to lose,by trying..Good luck ..

The needle isn't drillable metal. Propane torch or heat gun heat it, and then pushing with a piece of correct size music wire or back end of a drill bit will get it out.

i got it out. i used a drill bit that is smaller than the busted piece and came at it from the hole where you screw in the needle. It drilled a little and came loose, i do not belive i damaged anything.will i have to get a new needle before i can expect it to work properly

First, a good picture size is 600 pixels max.

Never mind...too late.

George

I agree with the previous posters that the answer to the first part of your question is ‘yes the pin (tip of the needle) is indeed missing and stuck in the spray bar’.

As far as the second part of your question, I wouldn’t try to drill it out. Drills try to wander and would likely mess up the spray bar. If you have access to a lathe, you might make a special punch. The body would be a slip fit into the bore of the inlet nipple and the end reduced to something slightly less then the end of the broken tip of the needle valve. Hopefully the broken tip would break free before it riveted itself in place.

And now for the customary free (but unsolicited) advice: I wouldn’t waste a lot of time trying to salvage that spray bar. They are a dime a dozen. Every Cox maniac has a shoe box full of odds and ends. PM me your postal address and I will be happy to send you one.

Al