FE290 engine rebuild

[CP241]

Next comes the clutch.

And note the flattened o ring on the dipstick tube. Replace it now. Or it WILL leak. Every time I just match it up and use a bulk o ring.

Install the dipstick tube and the bolt/stud holding it in at the top.

Were ready to go back into the cart

[cartpartsplusman]

2 things that could be the cause of your low compression valve guide moved in head limiting valve movement or teeth on cam missing.also seen valve seat fall out.if it were rings oil would have made more of a jump.we have all oem 290 kaw parts in stock at CPP

[CP241]

Originally Posted by cartpartsplusman

2 things that could be the cause of your low compression valve guide moved in head limiting valve movement or teeth on cam missing.also seen valve seat fall out.if it were rings oil would have made more of a jump.we have all oem 290 kaw parts in stock at CPP

Nice try, but looks like you skipped a lot. Cam is perfect. Valve seats and guides are fine. Everything was inspected and measured before I ordered any parts.

The top ring was broken in half and 2nd ring was badly worn. Oil can only do so much...

[CP241]

Also to note, everything was cleaned out of the motor with brake cleaner and compressed air before reassembling. And generous amounts of assembly lube were used on all surfaces as well. Just didn't get pics of all that stuff, mostly just trying to illustrate process :)

[TahoeDawgZ71]

Very nice guide. Nice work!

[Fairtax4me]

Originally Posted by CP241

Also to note, everything was cleaned out of the motor with brake cleaner and compressed air before reassembling. And generous amounts of assembly lube were used on all surfaces as well. Just didn't get pics of all that stuff, mostly just trying to illustrate process :)

Yes, use PLENTY of assembly lube.
Nothing worse than trying to get started with a dry crankshaft.

[CP241]

I will shortcut reinstallation. It's just the reverse of engine removal.

But here goes. First, set the engine back in the cradle. Finger tighten all 4 bolts underneath as well as the 2 behind the transmission. I temporarily put the drive belt on to make sure the clutches were aligned and the motor had correct tension and then tightened them up.

Then, reinstall the wires going to the oil level sensor, ignition kill wire, and the 2 throttle cables. Once those steps in, install the starter/generator and the 2 belts.

Install the exhaust with the 2 bolts on the gkange and the 1 on the support brace. Reinstall the 2 springs or clamp, or if you cut it install a new clamp on the support or its gonna rattle.

Fill her back up with oil (I start with 1.2 qts and then after I run it for a minute or two will check and add as necessary).

[CP241]

And finally, hook up the pulse line, fuel line, battery, and airbox to carb. Time to give her a run!

Just for fun, I recorded the first start. Fair enough, I didnt clean the carb. I pulled the bowl and it looked decent enough, and it's easy enough to pull and clean I just went with it because I'm impatient and the fuel tank needs cleaned, theres some funky old stinky gas in there so I have to hold the choke for it to run, but it runs. The rest is easy and downhill.

I'll pull the carb and gas tank tomorrow and clean both. Then fill it with fresh gas and she should be as good as new :)




Short video if first attempt to start, just for fun. Took a second to fill the bowl with funky gas but she lit up and ran. Even with the wrong solenoid that looks like it came from an ezgo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dGk7-5izJs

[CP241]

Originally Posted by TahoeDawgZ71

Very nice guide. Nice work!

Thanks admittedly, this time I did order the parts from another source for timing reasons, but once I get moved I'll order a bunch of stuff from you so i already have everything on hand and wont have to wait :)

[CP241]

Shes still ugly, but runs like a champ. What a difference fresh gas makes! I pumped about 3 gallons of brown, foul smelling, nasty something out of the gas tank. At one point I'm guessing it may have been gas... cleaned the tank out and poured a couple gallons of fresh gas in. Fired right up and runs great. No more choke replaced the solenoid with a spare I had, replaced all the connectors because they were burnt and the wires got wicked hot from poor connections. No more sparks from that area. I'm gonna say that's a good thing :)

Fairtax must have gotten ahold of this one, it was set to top out around 8mph made a couple throttle adjustments (conservative) and it's running around 13-14mph now. Plenty fast. Dont want to run it too hard yet, let the rings and everything break in first I'll run it around over the weekend and then adjust the valves again. But shes alive, runs nice and smooth, you can barely even hear the motor run with the bed down.

When I get to my computer I'll put together a list.of what parts I used, and all the tolerances, torque specs, etc. Just so everything is in one place