OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Victa Two Stroke Engines Powertorques that won't start

You can use spray degreaser (non foaming type) or even water dispersing spray like WD 40, but only through the plug hole. The good thing about that is you get the chance to check the spark plug as well as clear the cylinder of any excess fuel.
When my Ryan 31cc engined Ryobi weed wacker sat idle for too long, it just wouldn't so much as murmur. Start Ya Bastard got things back to normal and saved me an unnecessary carburettor kit.

Lol, I'm surprised more people don't use this simple solution. Pride perhaps?

i'm with you Norm! a dedicated start ya bastard man,i wish i had something like that i could squirt into me sometimes,,

I'm hanging out for it to come on special somewhere again so I can get another half dozen cans. Last time I got them I paid $7 each for the big cans instead of around $16.

Ok so I had a bit of play time this afternoon so I pulled the heads off a number of these PT's that I have tested over the years and marked them as won't start. These are motors that will not give a hint of attempting to fire with starter fluid in the plug hole. So far every motor shows signs of being run on straight fuel with deep scoring of the bore with a small lump of steel at the end of the score. The motors I have checked were showing low compression so this does not surprise me. If I get a chance tomorrow I will see if I can find some of the motors that had reasonable compression and see what I find there.

OK, so today I had a full crank that was running fine earlier this week and then it stopped.. I have checked everything, everything checks out, even with a squirt of starter fluid in the plug hole, not a peep. I have fitted a new module, only thing I have not changed is the coil and I'm wondering if that may be breaking down under compression. In the open the spark looks normal. Tried several plugs, nothing. I pulled the head and barrel off and all looks fine. I have given it a quick hone, (no marks in the bore) and will put a set of rings in it in the morning and see what that does. Things like this bug me because I like to find a cause as to why things won't work.

Things like that bug me as well Norm

I have had one with a HT lead that would earth on the cowl/block when the plug was in the engine, but would act fine when testing (I should get one of those spark testers).
And I have seen a blocked decomp valve line - but that was a clogged metal nozzle (where the hose connects to the inlet) on a G3 125cc.
And sometimes there is just one invisible problem that remains.

I have been trying to fix one of my whipper snippers - turned out that after all the stuffing around, it was a rotten (on the inside only) fuel line that kept clogging everything.
Ran good for 5 minutes after that, and then started bogging down again and expired. I was about to take the carby apart and I saw the problem - the bloody diminutive 250mL fuel tank was bone dry after only a half hour of tuning.

What hone do you find good? I was thinking about getting the small engine hone supercheap sells - but wasn't sure if it was much chop.

Regards
Tyler

Did you test the coil Norm? I guess you can treat it as a a side project without any pressure to get results.

Hi Tyler, yes it has me puzzled but hopefully I will come up with an answer. As for the hone I use it has 75mm stones so that it can travel across the ports without problem.
MF the coil gives a normal spark at first I thought it might be breaking down once the mower warmed up but the next day it made no attempt to fire with starter fluid down the plug hole. To me this is usually an indication it has been straight fueled but the bore on it was near perfect, not a mark on it or the piston

I had a bloke bring around a Powertorque yesterday that I had got running for him a few weeks ago. After a quick test I said I was pretty sure it had been straight fueled and was now junk. He then asked if we put some oil in the petrol now would that fix it. Anyway he now wants another motor fitted so I thought I would start testing the 17 motors I picked up for $40 a couple of months ago as I had no idea what the condition of any of them was. So far I have tested 6 and 4 of them run fine, the other 2 obviously straight fueled. Very happy so far, hopefully I can get a few more tested tomorrow At least then I can put them in the good pile or the parts pile. There is at least 50 that I need to check and the test rig makes it a lot easier to do.

I think the problem is that the culture of getting a 200ml sachet or bottle to throw into a 5 litre petrol can to make up 2 stroke fuel, has disappeared.
They used to be available at every petrol station and were very cheap. Now they cost a substantial part of the fuel mix and it's much more economic to buy a litre and dose your own at home. I even make up a litre of two stroke fuel at a time for easy pouring from an old 1 litre metholated spirit, turps or kerosene bottle.

MF, thats got me chuckling.

I do the exact same thing - kero bottle for 25:1, Metho for 50:1 and another different colour labeled kero bottle for 40:1.
Drew the line at 3 bottles - 2 odd machines take 32:1 and 35:1 - they got mixture adjusted for 25:1 - just a bit more smoke.

Used to see the little bottles in coles and at the petrol stations - now some don't even stock it. Then again, the local Caltex has 200ml 2 stroke oil, CJ8's, CJ6Y's, Victa, Masport and Rover Blades.

And I always laugh when I pass the Valvoline 2 stroke 1l bottle in woolworths - the mower on the front of it is a four stroke.

Personally, I just bought 1l of Penrite Semi-synthetic on special for about $13. Took me a year, and I have about 100ml left.

Aldi were selling full synth for the same price. I bought one but still have a couple of litres of the old mineral based mix to go before I make this stuff up. Should last me a couple of years.

Got 7 running from 11 tested , better average than I expected. My son used this to analyse people and came up with the fact that 4 people in 11 are idiots

36.36% sometimes seems a bit on the low side

7 from 11 is pretty good - a few more good engines

Might be higher if what I get in the line of repairs hereis any indication. I spend half my time undoing makeshift repairs.

So far I have tested 21 of these motors and I now have 15 of them that are running fine, pretty good outcome I think.

Hi Norm
Sounds like a pretty good outcome.

As sample size increases, the experimental mean and standard deviation become closer to what could realistically be expected.

15/21 is 28.57%, down from 36.36%. Sounds like this experimental data is the opposite to what is actually happening in the world.


But then again, a good percentage of the idiots probably went 4 stroke or electric or battery years ago.

Glad that most of the engines are good, how many are chinese blocks?

Hi Tyler, Haven't checked on the Chinese block ratio, but at a guess probably 15% I will check tomorrow. I don't find any difference with the Chinese ones, obviously Victa had strict controls on their manufacture. The problem now is I am getting into the "I think I have been through this pile before" so the failure rate will go straight up. The ones I had been going through were all from a pile of motors I picked up from a bloke who was mostly looking for good Victa bases so he could put 4 strokes on them, he didn't know how to get the Victas to sing again, this is why the success rate was high. There is still probably 15 or so that I have previously labeled as not starting so no point in me testing those again. Still leaves a pile that need to be gone through, but it all takes time, everyone has usually had something ratted of it or is broken

Hopefully that good test stand you made makes testing a bit quicker and easier.

What method do you use, throw on a modified carby, check spark, fuel in cylinder and then see if it goes?

I haven't had a good innings with the handful of Chinese Powertorques I have dealt with. The one working one I have sometimes bounces backwards just before coming to a halt. Could this be to do with to much stuffing in the exhaust? I put in more than usual.

Hi Tyler, the test stand saves me having to put a motor on a base, lift it onto the ground, test it lift it back up and remove it again. Still have to bolt the blade carrier (without the blades) on,squirt a bit of fuel down the plug hole,one carby to test them all, motor slips onto stand and held in place with a "G" clamp. Test for spark, check decomp valve and good to go.
MF the only Chinese ones I have had problems with have been straight fueled and that is not their fault. As for kicking backwards, muffler shouldn't be causing that

What is making it bounce and spin backwards for a moment then?
That test stand is a winner, even if it isn't pretty.

PS: I think it must be the decompression valve delaying release after the motor stops, or maybe an instruction in the vacuum hose coming out of it.

MF the decomp valve will remain shut till after the motor stops spinning so that is not the cause.All that can cause it to kick back is timing slightly too far advanced (can't do much about that), compression too high, or blade carrier too light (not enough spinning mass to take it past the last compression stroke. No idea why apart from that. You could try making up a decompression plate to fit between a couple of head gaskets or you could try one of those heads that did not have a decomp valve in the head. If you look closely at those heads you can see the chamber is deeper to lower the compression a little

I'll put up with it then Norm. It has a four blade carrier with all four blades. As long as it's not causing long term damage to the motor, it's not worth forgoing the benefit of a decompression valve on start up.
The main thing is it will still cut grass.

Hi Tyler, I just checked the 15 motors and only 2 of them are Chinese, I would have thought there was more of them