Tore the cowling off today - I hadn't done it before on this one. Only used it 2 times since I bought it
Had the thickest pile of greasy grass I have ever seen - couldn't even see the governor arm, fins all caked. And it looked so clean on the outside - lulled into false sense of security
Degreased all that - had to scrape out with screwdriver and squirted a bit of water down to get the chunks out. And then I saw the intake - split.
I always like to start the engine after any water near it so put the tube back on, put the coil back on (took off in case of water). Wrapped rope around the pulley and away it went - ran smoother than ever despite the split
Will take to it with the soldering iron and see how it goes.
I was also disgusted by how the gasket between the manifold and engine wasn't even on right from the factory - they missed the bolt hole entirely (gasket bolt hole was triangle still) - they just torqued it down without checking - the edge just sealed it.
Turns out it was made in the first few months of the Chongqing Plant - bugger
