Once in a while we experience troubles in our go cart engines. While it’s easier to just have a mechanic take a look at it, you may be charged an arm and a leg to have it fixed. What you don’t know is that there are some engine troubles you can fix without a mechanics expertise. You don’t need to run to a mechanic each time you experience a weak spark or no spark on your engine. For instance, if you’re engine uses points then you can try changing the plug and replacing the points. Performance problems are a longer discussion but it involves gapping the coil in order to improve the engine’s power.

Before we discuss anything deeper, we need to familiarize ourselves with engines. If you remove the recoil starter, you will see a magnet on the flywheel and a coil. There is no need to remove the coil if you’re changing the points though you need to check the gap. Under the flywheel, you can locate the condenser and the points. The gaps in the points are at.020 inches. Although you can reuse the points when you file them, you can also replace them at a very affordable price because the parts are not really expensive.

Now, when troubleshooting go cart engines, it is advisable to start by taking out the recoil starter housing such that the starter recoil clutch and the flywheel are exposed. Use channel lock pliers to grip the clutch and then turn it counter clockwise to remove it. A stout screw driver will help keep the flywheel from moving while you are on the process of removing the clutch. Keep in mind that the flywheel should be handled with care because it is made of cast iron which is brittle.

Sometimes, the go carts starter fails to catch or it is too sticky that it makes it difficult for the spring to recoil it. To solve this problem, open up the clutch using a cold chisel. Do not lubricate the bearings in the interior. You can remove the stickiness by using a carb cleaner eliminate dirt and grease. Do not put grease on the bearings because lubrication will only make dirt stick to it and thus make the clutch even stickier. Read the rest of this entry »