Engine troubles - new FE350

[Ewelder76]

Thanks, Crash, for both the info and the encouragement. I used enough strong choice words on Sunday while working on this cart that it nearly curled my nieces hair...so this endeavor has certainly had its share of frustration but you guys are certainly convincing me that it can be fixed! Thank-you for that!

And I actually did put my hand over the carb with the inlet tube off and it did have a lot of suction and my hand was indeed wet with gasoline after just a few cranks. In fact, it spit gas pretty good which had me completely confused as I pulled the plug right after that and the plug was bone dry. I didn't know what to make of those seemingly contradictory factors. Also, I haven't checked for the slight tube collapse that Lockman mentioned in previous posts. I will check on that tomorrow or Sunday when I get back to the cart. And I haven't verified it yet but I will also check for butterfly movement with the pedal. It actually has run previously and run well when I could get it going (which is rare). Throttle response was very good when it runs, so I would imagine there is at least some movement of the butterfly valve but I will certainly check it.

Thanks again for all your help!

Best regards.

[lockman1]

I just checked my manual...
The compression should be 156 psi minimum... so don't be alarmed if it's over 125 psi.

If (by chance) it's around 71 psi you may have an ACR (automatic compression relief) reed valve,

Tahoedawg had mentioned that that's what CC is selling now,

there should be a tag on your engine saying... W/O ACR, or ACR.

Great... just another thing for you to look for!

[Ewelder76]

Well, if anyone is interested in a status update, I had a fun-filled weekend working on this cart and here's a little play-by-play of what went on:

I checked the compression on the motor but the only thing I was able to determine conclusively was that my compression tester was shot, so I'll have to do that again after getting a new tester (it was showing readings of about 70 PSI, then less than 50 PSI, than less than 20 PSI on subsequent runs). I knew I had a problem with a leak in the tester as the starter was able to turn the engine over way easier with the compression tester installed as opposed to the actual spark plug, which caused the starter to struggle quite a bit more to get the motor past the compression stage.

The inlet tube does collapse slightly when it is installed and the motor is cranked over.

It still spit gasoline on my hand when I disconnected the inlet tube and held my hand over the carb inlet.

At the same time, it seemed to have very strong vacuum when cranking the motor with the inlet off.

After all of this, I decided to try the trick of using a spray bottle to spray gasoline in the inlet with the engine cranking. What would you know, after a few cranks it fired up and ran like a champ.

Since we could get it running by spraying fuel into the carb we started to believe we had a fuel delivery problem despite the fact that we recently pulled the fuel line off the carb and it pushed fuel out when the engine was cranked (and we recently had replaced fuel filters when we replaced the motor). We went ahead and changed the fuel filters again and we also changed the fuel lines. After a good 20 seconds of cranking, both filters filled nearly completely with fuel (the previous filters were never full, in fact, the first filter next to the tank always seemed quite empty) and the motor fired up. I was elated as it seemed to now work as it should. I ran it around a little bit, stopping and starting it, and it worked for awhile. Then it went back to being somewhat hard to start (although much easier to start than before the new fuel filters and hoses but still not as easy as it should be). Also, even though it went back to being hard to start, it did seem as though using the choke could help it start. It would take a little bit of cranking with the choke pulled out to get it to start back up but this was still an improvement as previously it wouldn't respond at all to the choke.

So, as of right now, I'm much more upbeat as the cart did run much better and actually started as it should for a little while. That being said, it still isn't quite right. As always, I would very much like to hear any feedback or advice and opinions from the experts here. It seems to me as though it is a fuel delivery issue (and I could be wrong) but now the only thing left that it could be, I believe, is a problem in the fuel pump. Does this make sense? If so, is it possible to disassemble and clean the pump?

Thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it.

Regards.

[lockman1]

YEP!!! I'm interested!

Did you notice if the fuel filters came up somewhat empty when it started to have problems again?

I had recently brought up a possible fuel delivery solution that most people overlook when they ride in dusty areas... (Post #9)

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/gas-c...tting-out.html

[DOOmsman]

I had problems with low fuel flow and cleaned my mikuni
pump.

http://www.buggiesgonewild.com/gas-y...fuel-pump.html

[Ewelder76]

Thanks for the advice and message links on the fuel pump, Don and Doomsday, it is much appreciated and it seems as though that might be just the thing!

Don, you brought up a great question about whether the fuel filters were low again after it started back with problems. I kind of feel like an idiot that I didn't check that. I'll definitely check for that after I disassemble and clean the fuel pump. Now my problem is that I'm eager to get back to working on the fuel pump but I won't have time to do it until this weekend!

Also, if I keep missing the key technical points to this problem as you guys have kindly been patient to explain to me, I'm afraid my college is going to call me up asking for my mechanical engineering degree back!

Thanks again for everything.

[Ewelder76]

Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention, that's a fantastic visual walk-through of the fuel pump maintenance, Doomsday! Thanks for that!

[lockman1]

Try just cleaning the vent screen first, before tearing into the fuel pump!
(granted... as long as your careful with the diaphragm, and gaskets, you should be o.k.!)

BTW... don't continue to thank us until it's "up and running" like it should be!

[crash12888]

I'm with Don, I'm Interested.

You are on the right track and everyone has had great suggestions.
I would start at the tank, with the pick up tube and check if it has an intank strainer, trash in tank?
I have a 3/8 piece of copper tubing 2ft long on a hose that I syphon/vacuum tanks with into a bucket. Easier than pulling tank.
anyhoo, start at tank and work to carb, if you find trash, you might need to clean carb again.
If you find trash in tank, check the can you fill the cart with.

[Ewelder76]

OK, I'll work on the tank and vent first.

Don, a quick question...when you say vent, are you referring to a vent screen on the fuel tank or is it somewhere else?

And I'll be forthcoming with some additional information on the engine installation that I didn't mention before as I corrected the problem and I didn't think it had any connection to this problem. However, I'm starting to wonder if it does make a difference after hearing details of the fuel pump operation...anyway, we had a local mechanic do the new motor swap as I didn't think I had the time to do it. Anyhow, the mechanic WAY overfilled the crankcase with oil. It ran somewhat when we first got it (it never ran great) but then got progressively worse. Just out of curiosity, I soon thereafter checked the oil and found it drastically overfilled. I immediately dropped the oil and refilled with new oil and to the proper level.

I'm now starting to wonder if it was possible that it pushed oil into the fuel pump and what we're seeing is a result of that. Does that sound possible and could it be interfering with the fuel pump operation now, even after I corrected the oil level problem?

Thanks.