Hi all, recently bought an old victa mustang with a Honda gcv160 engine. Seller indicated it has sat unused for a while and couldn’t get the engine to start. I’ve done some work on the engine/carby, managed to get the engine to start with 1 or 2 pulls but was having some issues : 1. Engine stalls when switching to idle; 2. Once running on choke, engine was revving and running like crazy at very high speed. Tried to move away from choke to get to idle or lower speed but speed would drop to the point of stalling but revving up a bit on the handle to avoid stalling, will drive the engine to max speed ie doesn’t ramp up gradually. Can’t use the engine / mower at its current conditions.
Below some info on the engines and what I have done (apologies for the long post) :
- tired to start but failed
- found no air filter in the filter housing and dirts are visible at the carby inlet, and choke plate.
- remove carby, dismantled bowl, emulsion tube, and cleaned. Reinstalled and attempt to start engine and didnt manage to start after many attempts. Noted occasional back firing from air inlet pot when attempted to start.
-removed and cleaned carby again. Replaced petrol in tank. Fuel tubing is not blocked as petrol is flowing when emptying old fuel.
-opened and inspected valves gap. Noted no gap on suction valve. Adjusted both inlet and exhaust valve clearance. Replaced engine oil and replaced spark plug (although old plug seems ok), inspected ignition coil and observed corrosion spots and have sanded off corrosion. I have also adjusted the governor arm per Honda’s recommendations.
-reinstated engine & carby and managed to start engine with one or 2 pulls but engine was revving like crazy. When attempted to switch to idle, it stalled. And when to avoid stalling by revving up a bit in handle control, engine immediately rev to crazy speed (not a gradual ramp up). Backfiring from the inlet is not totally eliminated but really rare now . Note air filter and housing were not installed for the run
- I removed and cleaned the carby again, this time removed & cleaned the pilot jet. Air flow into pilot jet and outlet from the 3 tiny holes are confirmed clear. Also removed the pilot screw (with limiting cap), cleaned and confirmed clear.
-checked exhaust pot and didn’t seem to have much blockage. Checked the usual fuel cap - no issue.
-reinstalled and restarted but with same observations. I then adjusted the pilot screw to about 1 1/4 turn out, and increased throttle stop for more opening to help but engine still stalls or with high speed as observed above.
I think I have confirmed all channels in the carby to be not blocked. But I am not 100% sure of the fuel channel from emulsion tube to the throttle stop screw location - one area I need to check again.
I was aware of possible adjustment of the governor arm to adjust engine speed but haven’t managed to get to this due to issues above.
Note I have reused the old gaskets which all seem to be in good conditions with no tear etc.
Appreciate advice on next steps. A bit lost on what to do next. Gcv160 is the type with manual choke vis handle control.
