Snowmobile engines are generally two strokes except for a few new four strokes. Repair and troubleshooting is similar to any other vehicle. First you want to identify if it is a fuel or ignition problem. Remove the spark plugs and look to see if they are wet or dry. Do they both look the same or are they different? If different then one cylinder’s carb or ignition may have a problem. A wet spark plug could be many things. Take the spark plugs, dry them off with a clean rag and place them back into the plug wire. Lay the spark plugs on a metal part of the engine and spin the engine(try to start) Look at the plug gap as you spin the engine over, do they all spark descent? If some of the sparks look weak you could have an ignition problem. Hopefully the plug is fouled out and just needs to be replaced, try that first. If weak spark remains, check that the ground wire for the ignition coil or system is good. Worst case you could have a bad charging coil or bad wires shorting out somewhere.
Piston rings are a very crucial part of a two stroke engine. If the rings stick they can be freed up, assuming there was no cylinder damage involved. If the cylinder is smeared vertically with aluminum it is damaged. The cylinder will need to be cleaned up with muriatic acid then honed out until the lines are gone. If too much honing is required the piston may not be large enough anymore and may need to be replaced. If the rings are only stuck then they need to be removed. If they are stuck hard you can try to soak the piston in diesel fuel or pb blaster. The ring may need to be pryed out carefully.
The height of outboards in relationship with the bottom of the hull is very important. The higher or “drier” the motor is the faster the boat will go until it reaches the point of ventilation “pulling air into the propeller” which will instantly slow you down. Most motors will be set a little bit lower to take off best. The motor can be trimmed, meaning hydraulics will rotate the engine higher at an angle, this will speed you at higher speeds. This works unless the boat front starts to bounce or “porpose” then the motor trim will need to come back down a little bit. Idealy the motor will have a jacking plate that moves the engine straight up and down instead of on a pivot like the trim. The propeller is very important and has to match the motor and boat to obtain the best performance. A prop that limits the motor speed to max rpm at wide open throttle is ideal. Some people use different pitch props to gain acceleration or top speed. Two numbers describe prop pitch the first number tells the diameter of the prop and the second tells the pitch.
A compression test is a way of testing an engine’s condition without tearing the engine apart. A compression tester or tool is used to check the compression pressure. An engine compression test will let you know if there is excessive wear between the cylinder and piston. When the seal between the cylinder and piston rings wear out the engine’s compression will drop. This sealing failure will also cause the vehicle to use excessive oil and the car may start to smoke out of the exhaust. A four stroke engine, usually found in cars, will vary per car but should be around 170-200+ psi depending on the static compression ratio of the vehicle. With high performance cars having higher psi numbers with the exception of turbocharged cars having low psi numbers. Two stroke engines and small garden type engines will have considerably lower compression. Generally these engines will be around 80-140 psi. These are the steps to check your engine’s compression.
The ignition switch lock is not hard to replace. The switch first needs to be exposed by removing the colomn area covering it. Older cars use a clip or a pin that can be pressed, that will allow the switch module to slide out. Many newer cars use a clip and a pin to slide the switch out. Many times you will need to rotate the key to a certain position for the switch to slide out. The older switches use mechanical connections to transfer the voltage from the battery to the starter and the ignition coil. Newer ignition switches use a electronic switch called a proximity sensor. The prox. sensor sees an internal metal tab and will switch the 12 volts on. The switch allows the car engine to spin over, start, then stay running.
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A water pump circulates water from the engine and through the radiator to keep the engine cool. Most cars need a water pump somewhere around 120,000+ miles. Some cars like Hondas have the pump by the timing belt and some are driven off of it. These type of cars should replace the water pump at the same time the timing belt is replaced. The water pump is easy to replace in comparison to the timing belt. If not replaced, the water pump tends to die soon after replacement of the new, tighter timing belt. Many newer front wheel drive cars have the water pump on the left side of the engine. The pump is driven off an accessory belt that will need to be removed first. The belt tensioner will first have to be loosened. Many times the alternator acts as the tensioning device.
The turbo has been around for almost as long as engines themselves. Yet turbos are not in the least outdated. The turbo works as an air compressor for the engine. At 14.5 psi the turbo has doubled the amount of air going into a normally aspirated engine. The more air you can put into an engine, the more power potential the engine has. The turbo has two sides to it, one that compresses the air and the side that the exhaust gases pass through. The exhaust must pass by a cone shaped “wheel” of blades to exit the engine. As it does this it spins the wheel very fast. The exhaust side is connected by a shaft that runs to the air inlet side. This shaft is lubricated by oil that passes between the two housings. As the exhaust side spins, it turns a similar looking “wheel” called the impeller on the intake side. This side of the turbo is called the compressor.
Small engines can be purchased for many self hobby types. Places like Northern Tool are great for small engines anywhere between one horsepower to 23 horsepower engines. These engines are purchased for many projects like water pumps, go carts, homemade generators, log splitters and various other projects. Pay attention to your project before purchasing an engine. Some projects require verticle shaft engines where others need horizontal shaft engines. The engine configuration generally will not interchange with the others. You will probably need accessories also to couple the engine to whatever drive system you use. Generally the same store, such as Northern Tools, will have sprockets, and drive shaft coupling parts to connect to whatever parts and components that need to be driven. If you plan to make a go cart briggs and stratton and tecumseh both have race cart series. It would make sense to use the same engine so that you have all the same aftermarket parts available to you. If you plan to build a generator make sure the engine has a good governing system to control the engine rpms. A generator engine should be run around 3600 rpms to keep the cycles at 60 hertz as regular ac power.
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Two and four stroke outboards are more similar in terms of performance and efficiency than ever before. Four strokes have become far more lightweight with more power than before. Two strokes have become far more fuel efficient while keeping their excellent power to weight ratio. Some companies such as mercury marine have produced four stroke engines with supercharging and intercooling to increase power with minimal increase in weight. Many other companies such as johnson stand firm in the belief that two strokes are still the best engine configuration to use. Most companies still offer two strokes while newer models are four stroke. All outboard companies accept the fact that the four strokes weigh slightly more. Most consumers don’t seem to mind having a little extra weight for four stroke technology that is far more common in today’s engines. Unfortunately with lightweight four stroke technology comes a hefty price tag also. People that have businesses of chartering fishing trips or that log high amounts of hours on their engines may see an advantage using a slightly more fuel efficient motor. Most boaters will never see enough of an advantage to regain the cost difference of a four stroke engine or possibly even a direct injection two stroke. The alternative being fuel injected two strokes or possibly old model carbureted engines, which are considerably cheaper initially and possibly overall.
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If the engine won’t crank, you first need to verify if it’s turning over. If the engine won’t even spin, then verify that the battery cables are tight and clean. If they are not clean, use baking soda and a wire brush to clean the posts off. If the cables are good, confirm that the battery is holding a charge. You can have this checked at an auto store unless you have a load tester. Volt meters can mislead you by showing a 12+ volt reading, until the key is turned. Replace the battery if it will not hold a charge. If the battery holds a charge but still dies after starting and stopping a few times, then the alternator could be at fault. A quick test for most alternators is to take a screwdriver and carefully touch the back center of the alternator. If you touch this shaft when the car is running, it will be magnetic and the screwdriver should stick to it very well.
