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Anyone else miss the odor of two stroke engines using castor oil? I remember going to the motorcycle races at Bridgestone, UK when a fragrant fog would envelop the crowd. Then there was my neighbor's two stroke Saab...
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Ah Castor oil and purple fuel
Al, I do remember the Castor oil smell. As I remember the Castor oil did not want to stay mixed very well either. I also am seeing a few using Castor oil again in ethanol fuels and alcohol assisted engines as the Castor will stay mixed in ethanol fuels.
All fuel are much "drier" today which is why we see harder materials being used in the valve train and rings. These harder materials wear a bit better with the drier fuels and top oiling is becoming popular in the performance market and with economy/longevity buffs like myself. I have been running the TC-W3 oil in my last 4 vehicles, a 32V Intec, an LT1 and my current Dodge hemi. The Intec went 260K, the Vette 365K and the Hemi has 165K and still purring. When I sold the cars they were still not using hardly any oil and ran strong.
Dave Neptune
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I got my re-build kit delivered yesterday!!
I will hopefully be tackling the cleaning and re-building the carb tonight or in the next day or so.
Quick question...I took the flame arrestor off...when putting it back on, should I use any type of sealant or tape around the join?
Same question for the oil dipstick tube that I had to remove to get access to the carb in the first place. (Wish I had a pic to show you what I am talking about).
AdamComment
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AFisch, no sealant on the carb stuff.. The dip-stick tube will seal well with a bit of Permatex aviation grade or #2.
Dave Neptune
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Caution
Adam, do take a lot of care setting he float. It is a 2 step setting~~first is the height of the float for fuel level, then be sure that the float is parallel to the body when measuring. This takes a bit of patience and do not twist the tabs against the floats use 2 narrow pliers and just tweek the tabs
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Dave Neptune
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Ok, I think I got it cleaned out as best as possible...
Have it all put back together and will be heading down tomorrow to re-install.
Wish me luck!
AdamComment
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Well...Update. Turns out my wife wanted to take the kids to the park with a bunch of extra Mom's/Kids...so I ran down to the boat, re-hooked up the carb, ran from an Auxiliary tank and Viola...she ran fantastic! Shut her down and hooked up to the fuel tank, fired right back up with no problems. Let it run for well over an hour.
So back track to when I was cleaning/rebuilding carb...one of the floats was bent. Not only did I bend it back into place (carefully), but also cleaned out the whole carb thoroughly.
Leading me back to my inclination that for some reason the carb was not getting anymore gas after it used up what was in the bowl.
Should be a good day for sailing tomorrow, we are finally going to take her out again and see how things hold up.
Thank you everyone for your input and guidance... I will keep you posted how it all goes.Comment
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Good to hear the engine is running normally. These sort of victories are always sweet. I've been through a few of these engine drills myself. Back in the "good old days" there was no Moyer forum and no internet for guidance.
It probably has been mentioned already...... What is your fuel filter system?
At a minimum there should be some sort of filter between the tank and fuel pump to catch the bigger particles and a "polishing filter" between the fuel pump and carburetor to stop the smaller particles.
ex TRUE GRITComment
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Thank you...yes, little victories mean the most!Originally posted by JOHN COOKSON View Post
As for the fuel filter system...It is actually reversed from the previous owner, but only for reasons of they way everything fits in the engine compartment. There is a small filter between the fuel pump and tank, and then the Raycor fuel/water separator between the pump and the carburetor. I will reverse this order this weekend, and add a fuel pressure gauge as well...
Thanks everyone here for all the help...without you guys and youtube, I would have been lost!
AdamComment
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My brother had a Saab 96 two-stroke. The factory stage-one racing mod was just cut off the exhaust pipe about 16 inches from the exhaust ports". That's all.Originally posted by Al Schober View Post
I still have three new pistons for that engine and some cans of oil in my junk pile out under the snow.
Saabs were big up here because they got stuck less than the average Dodge dart.
Great ski trip mobile too.sigpic Whiskeyjack a '68 Columbia 36 rebuilt A-4 with 2:1
"Since when is napping doing nothing?"Comment
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Business took me to Berlin shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I remember scores of two-cycle autos, limped across the old border and abandoned.
I don't remember a smell, because that required them to be running.
BillComment
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Ok, so went down to give the boat a much needed scrub...wanted to check on my work...opened engine hatch and a strong smell of gas...feeling around, it seems like gas is leaking out the air intake/flame arrestor.
When I rebuilt the carb, it recommended that you seat (gently) the adjustable main jet...then turn it out 2 full turns. I thought that was a bit much, so I did 1.5 turns.
I did notice that I don't need choke to start from cold, which can't be right...am I flooding the carb so that fuel is coming out the air intake?
AdamComment
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The fuel flooding is being caused by the inlet needle valve not sealing correctly.
A hole in the float would cause this. Also the way I understand it is that the needle and the seat should both be replaced at the same time because different companies use different specifications for those parts.
Is the bottom of the fuel tank higher than the carburetor? If so it be set up for a siphon.
Is there a fuel shut off valve at the tank? Some have two shut off valves for an added measure of safety: one just after the tank and one just before the carburetor.
ex TRUE GRIT
Edit: Maybe just maybe there is a bit of crud between the seat and needle. Try cleaning up the mess and starting the engine. If there is junk in the needle valve you might flush it out. A somewhat longer range goal would be to make sure the carburetor is supplied with 100% uncontaminated gasoline.Last edited by JOHN COOKSON; 12-23-2019, 12:06 PM.Comment
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John, as usual, is exactly right but one thing he left out is the danger. A single spark from any source with gasoline vapor inside the boat can blow it to smithereens. Please proceed with extreme caution.Neil
1977 Catalina 30
San Pedro, California
prior boats 1987 Westsail 32, 1970 Catalina 22
Had my hands in a few othersComment
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Adam, yikes. Two things to figure out on the carb and one regarding the tank position as per Al.
You mention the adj jet. I have had some poor experiences with these and I don't like them because they can leak. We will get to the adjusting procedure later once the leak is fixed. Is the leak coming from the adj jet?
RE the floats and the needle & seat. If it is leaking from the inside and not the adj jet removal will be necessary. The "bowl assembly" can leak in 2 ways. One way is a hole in the float from tweeking, this can be checked by shaking the float of feeling the fuel in it rolling around. The float can be drained and soldered shut again although a new float is first choice.
The second is the needle & seat (N/S). Take a good look at the needle, is it a soft tipped or brass? Then look into the seat at the bottom with a magnifying glass. The seat should look clean and free of nicks. The seat can be dressed if it is compromised and we'll cover that once we know what is causing the leak. Also the seat must be firmly "seated" to seal the threads usually with a fiber washer.
I have always suggested a pressure gage in front of the carb. However the one thing I do is mount a valve on the exit side of the gage for shutting the fuel off to let the engine run out of fuel. No leaks and it keeps the carb cleaner.
Your on the right track.
Dave Neptune
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