Stupid Homelite doesn't want to run...

#1
it's already on a bike so it's still a related question I guess.

anyway, I took the engine apart, soaked everything in 2 stroke gas for 24 hours to clean off all the gunk and put it all together with plenty of oil and brand new gaskets.

I got it to crank over a couple times but only on idle at a certain speed, so I figured it was the factory adjustments. Pulled the red cap off and backed it out a half a turn and it hasn't come close to running since.

Compression's good, The carb has a brand new bulb on it and pumps gas no problem. It's got great spark and the muffler isn't restricting anything.. and also made sure the idiot switch wasn't the problem as well. I've backed the adjustments close to in and close to out and almost every point in between, and still nothing. I'm scratching my head on this one. Could it be that I'm running my fuel inlet and fuel return to a T adapter that goes to the tank? :shrug:

any input would be helpful.. I'll try putting a different carb on it tomorrow and see what it does... :hammer:
 

125ccCrazy

Well-Known Member
#2
2 strokes can be very finicky... the carb adjustments can't be made like on a 4 stroke..the slightest turn can be the difference between running and not.... as long as you have good spark, compression and considering it's probably not a reed valve engine the only thing it can be is fuel...those little carbs can gum up easily in areas that you can't see or get to and they won't run.... just because the bulb pushes fuel doesn't mean the carb is good.... We ran 30cc homelites in rc boats and they could be a real pain in the rear end... they would start and run great, bring the boat in and it wouldn't start again or run like crap.... If you have your oil/fuel mix too strong with oil they won't run well either... We always ran them on Klotz oil..much cleaner burn...
What size engine are you working with?
 
#3
2 strokes can be very finicky... the carb adjustments can't be made like on a 4 stroke..the slightest turn can be the difference between running and not.... as long as you have good spark, compression and considering it's probably not a reed valve engine the only thing it can be is fuel...those little carbs can gum up easily in areas that you can't see or get to and they won't run.... just because the bulb pushes fuel doesn't mean the carb is good.... We ran 30cc homelites in rc boats and they could be a real pain in the rear end... they would start and run great, bring the boat in and it wouldn't start again or run like crap.... If you have your oil/fuel mix too strong with oil they won't run well either... We always ran them on Klotz oil..much cleaner burn...
What size engine are you working with?
I'm working with one of those 25cc 2004 models.. I've had these together and running before but most of the time I put them together with bad gaskets. This is the first one I've taken a little more seriously.. I'll take a look at that carb in a little bit and give you an update. Thanks for the help.

 
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#4
Got it running, the screen under the top diaphragm had all kinds of gunk on it. Still had a lotta trouble getting it to start so I backed the adjustment screw out like 5 turns and whaddya know the thing kicked on. :thumbsup:
 
#6
it's actually the third one I've built, the first two were schit and had all kinds of problems.

first one used a nylon cable bolted to the steel cable for a throttle, it broke and I took it apart.. the second one was a leafblower engine which worked a little better but it would literally melt the tire and give me no traction at all. I made a bad guess on my fuel ratio one day and toasted it..

this one is a lot better with a fully rebuilt engine mounted to a swing arm and an adjustable tensioner, I still gotta make the "clutch" lever to lift the engine off the tire. for stopping and still being able to pedal the thing if it breaks or I run out of gas. I've been secretly putting it together for about two weeks now and I actually just got it rideable last night. and I'm VERY impressed with how it turned out. starts easily and runs flawlessly, almost no vibration as compared to my last two which vibrated more than a massage chair. I've only gone about 15 miles max so far but haven't had too much of any unexpected issues. The velocity stack actually came off the leaf blower bike but that fell off on my way to work somewhere.. I'll look for it tomorrow but I wanted to make a nicer one anyway. I had a turbo keychain connected to my exhaust to make it sound turbo charged but it hardly made a chirp.. that fell off two. but yeah the bike it self is great. I'm a little embarrassed to post a photo of it right now because i've got a ghetto tank on it and it makes the whole thing look bad.. but I'll start a thread with pictures and details on everything when I'm done and happy with it.. hopefully soon.

until then I'll have to keep you in suspense.

but here's some pics of the last two.
1st one

2nd one
 
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125ccCrazy

Well-Known Member
#7
I have 2 of those 25cc homelites..one was my weedwacker,..i raised the coimpression, little porting, advanced the timing etc...it would take down some serious weedage until the carb too a dump...the other one is on a leaf blower... If you want the engines pay the shipping and they are yours..both engines ran great but will need carbs...... if i do a little searching i can probably find the model number of the Walbro carbs we used on the rc boats... I believe they were 13mm bore..
 
#8
I have 2 of those 25cc homelites..one was my weedwacker,..i raised the coimpression, little porting, advanced the timing etc...it would take down some serious weedage until the carb too a dump...the other one is on a leaf blower... If you want the engines pay the shipping and they are yours..both engines ran great but will need carbs...... if i do a little searching i can probably find the model number of the Walbro carbs we used on the rc boats... I believe they were 13mm bore..
I'll take'em :thumbsup: it'll have to wait till next paycheck but im defiantly interested.

the motor mount on my bike decided to take a dump after like 40 miles so I gotta go back and re-fabricate from steel instead of aluminum. I also just won a Rupp MX gas tank on ebay that will temporarily replace my temporary ghetto tank until the one I want to use is done, then later on the MX tank will probably go on the electra. so it's gonna be a bit longer.. I know you guys must be DYING to see it. :001_tt2: :doah:

I've gotten stopped by 4 people now that just wanna look and ask me questions about it. None of them being the police yet. :scooter:
 
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125ccCrazy

Well-Known Member
#9
I'll take'em :thumbsup: it'll have to wait till next paycheck but im defiantly interested.

the motor mount on my bike decided to take a dump after like 40 miles so I gotta go back and re-fabricate from steel instead of aluminum. I also just won a Rupp MX gas tank on ebay that will temporarily replace my temporary ghetto tank until the one I want to use is done, then later on the MX tank will probably go on the electra. so it's gonna be a bit longer.. I know you guys must be DYING to see it. :001_tt2: :doah:

I've gotten stopped by 4 people now that just wanna look and ask me questions about it. None of them being the police yet. :scooter:
pm me and we can get it set up :thumbsup:
 
#10
nice ill have to try that sometime. what do you use for a drive wheel just a grippy bike peg? usually when they dont run its either the muffler plugged up or no hole in it, the fuel line turned to mush from ethenol, or the float valve stuck. the walbro carbs are pretty interchangeable so thats nice
 
#11
nice ill have to try that sometime. what do you use for a drive wheel just a grippy bike peg? usually when they dont run its either the muffler plugged up or no hole in it, the fuel line turned to mush from ethenol, or the float valve stuck. the walbro carbs are pretty interchangeable so thats nice
well usally you use a peg with welds going down it long ways, mr getto rig mightve done it diffrently but thats what ive seen so far:shrug: when i tried doig it mine dint work out to well:no: yours seem good tho!
 
#12
well usally you use a peg with welds going down it long ways, mr getto rig mightve done it diffrently but thats what ive seen so far:shrug: when i tried doig it mine dint work out to well:no: yours seem good tho!
on all three of mine I've run a 3/4" deepwell socket that can only be found at sears. they seem to be the only place that has a socket with a shallow enough drive hole.. Most deep wells have too deep of the square hole to fit the shaft. anyway, I used to use them because they would fit right in between the flywheel dogs but on this one I cut the flywheel flat anyway so it doesn't matter. It was a 12 point socket so i made marks at every corner and sliced it both ways to make an X shaped cross hatch that would grip the tire. The gearing with that set up isn't terrible either, it can be a little slow to pick up at times but you can help it with the pedals, tops out at 24mph so far and I was even able to climb up a sloped bridge without any trouble. But since the flywheel is trimmed I can always go with a bigger socket if I wanted or needed too.

oh and jeep, I opened up the muffler by pulling out all that wire mesh out of it and it runs really good. also the fuel lines and primer bulb are all brand new so it should be at least another week before I gotta deal with that :doah: :lol:. and I yeah I like the interchangeable carbs a lot. I've got like 3 or 4 zamas and a couple walbros that need to be rebuilt for other engines.

My neighbor came over and gave me an older model homelite.. I was kinda considering putting that one on the front wheel.. :freakout:
 
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#16
here's the socket spindle as promised.. and part of the old tensioner mount. Still gonna do a finished project thread but I gotta make up a few more things first.. figured I wouldn't keep ya waiting in the mean time. :scooter:



oh yeah and I added the Edelbrock sticker for the extra horsepower. :laugh:
 
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