OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Victa Two Stroke Engines Victa Super 24/600 - PowerTorque decompressor issues

Hi Max

I don't think a small power loss would matter much. The 24s power comes from the big heavy blade disc. Once it gets a few revs up it will go through almost anything.

Jeff

I'm convinced that the gearing on the PT pull start is not able to spin the motor fast enough to get it to fire, it just seems too slugish for it to start. They are a piece of shite on a 24,probably why you don't see too many around

We aren't having much trouble getting it to fire
Just the small amount of kickback which we can put up with. Worse if flooded in any way.

Jeff

Don't know Jeff, but they don't seem to spin fast enough to be able to fire, feels heavy and sluggish and before I gave up I had removed most of the tension on the belt and still nothing

Hi Norm,.

Are you actually having trouble getting it to even fire? Let alone run? Never had that.

The spindle bearings aren't tight are they? Sticky belt? Contaminated fuel?

Reminds me of an occasion where I replaced an engine in a ute twice before I discovered that the owner had filled the tank with diesel not petrol.

I'm sure with your experience you have checked all this but what else could it be. They are slightly harder to start but not that bad.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,
I can't even get a splutter out of either motor, even with starter fluid, pull them off and put back on a standard base and they will fire up first pull. I have had this problem with everyone of these 600's fitted with the PT motor. Fuel is new just mixed it, belt and spindle seem fine, I do have shoulder issues that have developed over the last few months that doesn't help but on a standard base no problems starting them

Well they do need a stronger pull than a standard PT. Maybe try to find your local strong man and give him a go
I'm lucky I have such a bloke for a neighbour. Heeps stronger than me. If he can't get it go then it's cactus.

Jeff

Hello NK, MW and JFB,
that's where a key start PT might come into it's own.

What do I need, apart from a pulley, to transfer a 160 from a cracked Mayfair base to the Super 24?
I want to build one in case I need to bring out the big guns which I may need down the track.

Hi Jeff,
I built an F/C one for this bloke last week and starting that was not a problem. I am 100 % convinced the PT on these is a dud design, great motor, great base but for some reason the combination does not work. No idea why yours works so well.
MF,
Good idea but you can't fit the starter motor because the belt tension adjuster bolt pushes on a plate where the starter motor would be fitted. The other issue is these machines often only get used a couple of times a year to clear blocks so every time you went to use it the battery would be flat.
Apart from the pullet you need the adapter plate that bolts onto the motor and that then bolts to the 2 slots in the base so you can adjust it in and out.. I guess the ring with a piece of threaded rod welded to it that is used to adjust the belt tension is missing but that is not a big deal you can get around that easily.

Hi all,

The proper pulley for an FC is going to be hard to find. I have never seen one but Norm says it's the boss with the tapered fitting as well
Mine has a modified automotive pulley for a 11mm fan belt maybe off an an air-conditioner compressor or something

I am using an 11mm fan belt as well
Commodore or something I think
.
Conventional wisdom suggests that only the genuine Victa belt will last in this application but this one has done 2 years of reasonably hard work.

Norm I have had that sluggish pullover before
It was usually after the engine has been on its side or upside down. The remnants of the oil l must run around the rings or something
Usually clears after a few pulls with fuel off and plug out or something.

Jeff
.

Hi Jeff,
I wouldn't try to find the correct F/C pulley, I would try the pulley of a PT or as you used the aircon pulley although I think you might have to lift the motor slightly to get the belt alignment correct. I found an aircon one on ebay yesterday but it was about $30 and the hole needed to be bored a couple of mm. Yes that is what the motors feel like, they won't spin freely as they do with the blade carrier bolted directly. You have to get that big blade carrier spinning and that is where the issue is. I was thinking that with the sidepull it is geared and that might help, but I have also built a couple with the cup pull start and they spun over easily. I'm fairly convinced the problem is somehow related to the PT pull start design even though it is a very clever design, somehow I think it is geared too high for this application.
The pic is the adapter plate that MF will need to bolt an F/C to the base

Norm

I think the kickback issue is related to the PT pull starter design. It seems to really hang on to the crankshaft and does not disengage easily like the FC types.

Jeff

Yes Jeff it has to be something like that, it just doesn't seem to be able to get it over that last rotation. Only other time you will get a kickback on a standard mower is if the blade carrier is loose or not fitted. This is a different problem but I think it is weight related in the fact that you can't get it spinning fast enough before it hits that last compression stroke. I have never had the kickback on a 24 fitted with a F/C
This is the pulley I found, bit expensive though
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Pulley-Add-On-for-Swp-SB-Air-Conditioning-Chrome-Steel/162694411127

Hi Norm

The one I have is solid cast steel
I just needed to turn it out to the right diameter to fit over a PT blade boss. It fits an FC as well. There is a recess nearly the right size on the other side. My guess is it came from a wrecking yard
I just left about 3mm in the middle and filed a couple of slots in that to fit over the prongs on the blade boss.

On that eBay one you would have to turn up some kind of adaptor


I think an FC on a PT 24 base might have height issues
The engine could be too high
I needed to lift my PT by 20mm. With the opposite conversion need to lower by 20mm


I guess you could allow for that in your adapter


Jeff

Can I cut a square out of the centre section of an 18" base and use that?

You certainly could MF it would need the slots so you can adjust the belt back

Can't you just move the plate and engine forward and aft using the slots on the S 24?

Yes, forgot about that, there is a least 3 different base/slot types and I was looking at the adapter plate pattern I have here. You have me intrigued now, I have a number of F/C bases here that I was thinking of converting to PT bases. I'm picking up another 30 PT motors tomorrow so that means I will need a lot of bases, then the dreaded bit, wheels

Hi

Hi all,

I did that when I was converting my FC 24 to a PT motor.

The material is a bit thin and I needed to weld some bits on to give me the slots but it worked.

I intended to get something that worked fairly quickly then use that as a pattern to cut out a proper one from 6mm plate
But it worked so well I didn't bother. I did have to brace it a bit later to stop it bending when the belt tension came on.

There seem to be a few different types of FC 24 bases
Some do not have the sliding plate the early ones I think.

I did all this because FCs are hard to find around here
I did get on to a couple later on however.

Jeff

I checked my stockpiles of F/C motors yesterday as I will have to start rebuilding them. I have about a dozen side pulls and probably the same in cup starters but with these I am short of the pull starters, only have a few of those.