OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Edgers Two Stroke Edgers Victa Tilta-A-Cut not running continuously

So I bought Victa power torque TAC for $45.

I can't get to running for more than 5 seconds.
If I pull the starter cord and immediately start pumping the primer it will run till I stop pumping.

I have replaced the
carby Faceplate
Needle
Fuel hose.

I have cleaned out the fuel tank, replaced fuel, and blown out the tank, tap&filter, and main jet.

If I take the needle and float out it will continuously run at high revs.

I am pretty well stumped at what else to do. I gave the carby an entire bath in my parts cleaner unit as well

Hi Plain Old Iron

Quick question - what colour is the float needle you have put in. Yellow and black ones are prone to sticking, and only releasing while you prime.

Additionally, I would probably suggest blowing out the main jet again through both the side holes (covered by gauze) and the other hole at the end (which actually meters the fuel)

Regards
Tyler

Howdy Plain Old Iron,
may I suggest you check fuel flow from the tank by pulling the fuel line out of the carby and holding a container underneath. It should pour out at a reasonable rate with the fuel tap in the full open position. If it's coming out in drips or very slowly, then it's a clogged fuel tap our fuel tap filter (the cigarette butt shape sticking into the tank from the tap assembly.
You can pull it off the fuel tap and clean it by soaking in acetone over night or get another tap assembly or test with one off a wreck or good mower.

I have done all that a couple of times.
The fuel does flow out at a reasonable rate

Needle or jet trouble it sounds like. NormK will probably know the likely culprit(s).
You will definitely get it going eventually if it's firing.

I hope so its beginning to do my head in

I had a white one that I believe is now stained a cream colour but now I have a black one installed

Maybe try reinstalling the whitish one - that colour is normally original victa equipment, whereas black ones are aftermarket

London to a brick it is the float needle, the aftermarket plastic ones DO NOT work, complete waste of time. First thing I replace before trying to start any of these mowers is put in a viton tipped needle, try that and depending on what it does maybe then replace the primer cap. One important thing is when fitting a new needle is to check that the float can close the needle without hitting the tower the needle is located in. A few times I have had to grind a bit off the bottom end of the needle so the needle can drop down enough to allow fuel to flow before the float hits the bottom of the carby casing. The reason this varies slightly is how deep the seat has been set in the primer cap.

The white one was installed and I still had issues. So I went out today and bought a new needle

Hey normK,
Where do I get the viton tipped needles

The Carby Master developed these needles, which solve a lot of the problems

That being said, they sometimes still have the problem to a lesser degree. I bought a Pace Powertorque at the tip - new carby bits, new primer plate, new viton needle which was slightly sticking (amongst other issues with the machine)

Pay note to what Norm has said, as well as the notes in the Carby Master's ebay listing

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Metal-T...4?hash=item3d85932c36:g:3EEAAOSwa~FZjvEW

Hi Tyler,

Interesting thing with the float needles is that I have been dabbling with the faulty viton float needles I had, probably 10/12 of them, (any time I had an issue I just put the needles in a special container) anyway I have been refitting them to other carbys and so far I have only had one that played up again. I have no idea why they have decided to work now but it may have something to do with them being exposed to petrol and the viton swells a little who knows but I am happy that the failure rate is now pretty much a non event. It was an absolute pain in the butt at the time because the failure rate was so high and time consuming but at this stage I can only say they are the best thing to happen to a Powertorque since they were invented
And then you have this sort of stuff, https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-VIC...Roy-Gripskie-Ready-To-Ship/283642826597?

Ahh Roy Gripske & sons. I see their van outside Andrew's Mowers in Maroubra from time to time.
They supply parts for Briggs among others.

$10.40 for 1 needle is insane, considering each needle from GA costs somewhere around 70c (have some insider info)

Some of their parts are fine - but when they are charging dealers $3.60 for a briggs pulsaprime carby primer bulb, you can see why the exorbitant prices are passed on to buyers.

Norm, its good to hear the Viton needles are sorting themselves out - I will try the one I took out of that Pace again - maybe it will work now

This EBay seller says it's an original part. I don't believe yellow ones are.
I can't believe anyone can justify that price for such an inexpensive item to make. It's how vital it is for the operation the carb they think makes it valuable, so charge a highway robbery price to the unsuspecting.
EBay is infested with traders like this.

So I have ordered 2 viton needles from the carby master as well as some other replacement parts.
I broke the carby cap so I ordered that.
Aswell as vacuum hose
Ignition wire boots
Diaphragm
Exhaust manifold orings.

Hi Plain Old Iron,
At the end of the day you can get this running perfectly as it is already a runner even though only for a second or so. That proves it will run. The issue is the carby and I usually don't bother with all the rubbish shown on utube, I have my own carby modifications that I know work, bit of work involved but I have done hundreds of them and they are pretty reliable, very few of them ever come back with a problem

I am keen to try this new needle out as you suggested. I hope you are right in the fact it will work.

Righto Norm,

I have an update, I got the new needle today and threw her in and no change.
Could it be an vacuum issue you think?

Hi POI,

Did it still do the run when pumping the primer?
Is the poppet opening when you move the throttle lever up and down. It doesn't move that much but you should be able to see it open a couple of mm.
You said in your first post that if you take the float and needle out it runs at high revs. The fact that it runs like that amazes me but this proves the main jet is clear, the crank seals are fine and you have ignition. This only leaves the carby and I do get the odd carby body that gives me issues but I just move onto another body. The next step I will suggest is to do my carby mod to it and unless there is an issue with the carby body it will work. I will dig up the carby mod details once you get through the initial tests. The carby mod is designed to allow the motor to come back to an idle speed because these carbys were renowned for over revving or high revving. Of the several hundred of these I have done I have probably left 5 carbys unmodified apart from the viton tipped float needle which I fit everytime first thing before testing.

Not a vaccum issue because you stated in your first post it would run flat out with the needle and float removed. It is a carby issue so it might be an idea to read through this on my carby modifications
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/u...arby-repair-modifications.html#Post82288

Alright I'll check the poppet valve tomorrow.
Does it matter what the poppet valve is set to right now?
I just have it on C

C seems to work fine

POI, I have info that says C is the correct position.

Alrighty so my parts came today.
So today I replaced the carby cap because I accidentally broke the male port off of it completely.
I also replaced both manifold o-rings and both vacuum hoses due to being hard.
The diaphragm also got replaced as well as the ignition boots.

I also checked the poppet valve like you suggested Norm and it does go in and out.

I am reluctant to do your carby mod to norm. I feel like I can get it running with out doing your mod. It is becoming very frustrating though

OK good luck with it then

Do you have any more suggestions norm?

No I don't, as it was a runner then mechanically it is sound so the only thing that prevents it from running is the carby. Is it firing now but won't keep running. Very hard to tell without having it in my hands

POI,
The only thing I can ad is that after modifying the carbys they seem to work fine, that is why I do them that way, it is a lot of work and I wouldn't modify them if I had found an easier/better way

Hey Norm,

I do totally trust your method.

I am just not ready to try your method yet till I exhaust all other options.

I also feel that it would be my luck I would mod the carby and I would still have the same issue

Float needle is critical, some stick in the seat, some I have had to shorten so that they can drop enough to allow fuel to flow. One major reason for modifying the carby is you will probably find it very difficult to get the kill switch to work , very bad bit of design work

Im fine with the kill switch not working. Ill just pull the spark plug lead off.

I just want this bad boy running

I assume the main jet strainer is clear, I haven't mentioned that before because you said it ran flat out with the needle and float removed, this indicates it is clear

Yeah I have blown that out several times. I can blow air through it in reverse quite easily.

I am thinking I might replace my float since that is still old

Old float is not the problem as long as it is not hitting the tower ( I guess it isn't because then it will flood out the primer cap). You then have to check that the float does not hit the floor of the body before it allows fuel to flow. It all depends on how high or low the seat has been fitted in the primer cap, the can vary slightly. If the float is ok in both directions no need to replace it.

POI,
The only other reason it won't run is there may be something wrong with the carby body. Rare but not impossible, of the hundreds I have modified I have had 5 or 6 that for some reason just would not work so the percentage is low but there is always that chance. I have boxes of parts G4/LM and I just grab whatever I need, doesn't matter what they are. I do have to fit an idle stop screw in the G4 cam to prevent them travelling too far and allowing the cable to let go.

Turns out there was a very fine crack in the carby body where you screw in the main jet.
I had a friend give me an entire carby body and she runs now.
I had a couple hiccups with not running for more than a minute or two but I have had that sorted now.

Massive thanks to you guys for all the support and patience you have given me along the way

Well there you go. How did you detect it?
Just goes to show that even a spare shell or two is worth holding on to.

I just went back over the parts again looking for something and noticed the crack

As I said it is rare for me to have a problem with the body but it does happen. I don't go looking for the problem, I just move on and modify another body and mark the faulty one so I don't get them mixed up