Sounds very frustrating Norm when you have fitted a new needle and primer cap and the carby still floods.
The mulch plate that was modified is just the flutes on the plate bent to a different angle than standard Mf , the standard flutes point down so you just bend then up with a big shifter. The base in one spot needs a little hammering so the blades don't rub after fitting the plate.
Mowed today for about an hour and 10 minutes ( 1 and 1/8 of a tank of fuel) and the needle and clip worked well, carby didn't flood and the needle didn't get stuck.
One thing not mentioned yesterday was when mixing up 5 litres of 2 stroke , it was getting late and I only had two and a half litres of unleaded left so also put in two and a half litres of 20 year old super fuel to make up the 5 litre mix, the mower ran fine no problems ,I even put the same mix in a Stihl FS 36 line trimmer that I hadn't started for at least 10 years and besides the primer bubble that I had to replace as the old one was solid the line trimmer started and ran well.
Found another use for a Victa 2 stroke Today they work well to mow down an Agapantha you no longer want.
Hi Max, I could not imagine the number of new needles and primer caps I have fitted that pissed out through the primer cap. I am just about done fixing these because of the needle problems. Eventually I get them working but the hours wasted with this problem makes it not worth the effort. I was going to pick up another 30 motors but I don't think I will bother now, just not worth the agro they cause I just ordered another 30 air filters so I guess I have to fix another 30 of them. That means I have to find 120 wheels so I will be scratching through the barrels of wheels here
Well done Max! Nice outcome. I think you have the original primer cap and float if you didn't get those from us as they are also suitable for the metal needle and lever. Try to leave the fuel tap open for a week then start the mower after a week to test the needle and seat.
Send me the troubled set of primer cap, needle and float that pissed out fuel. I will do the investigation and I will check seat with a microscope. One of the issue I have incountered same problem with the new primer cap and needle is when I test with a particular aftermarket float with a know issue. Once done with my investigations, I will send you a new set with my finding. Hoping your primer cap seat and needle tip were not deformed or damaged when polished with Autosol due needle sticking. Since we have the new lever, polishing the seat and needle is not required. PM me thanks.
Hi CM, I will PM you but with this float needle I gave the cap a hit with a screwdriver handle and that stopped the fuel coming out but once they have flooded like that the damage is done and then I have to remove the plug and pull it over several times to clear the excess fuel. Not a problem to me just an annoyance but if somebody has taken the mower home and then it plays up (over the time I have had many do that) I then have to go to their place to get it running again, they have then lost confidence in the reliability of the mower. One place I ended up going to 3 times to replace the primer cap and needle, luckily it was not too far away
MF, I test mow lots of nature strips around my area, did a couple testing a Sprinter I had modified for the bloke who wanted a lightweight mower to put in his ute. I used 2 Sprinter bar blades to give it a bit more spinning weight, not that it makes much difference they are so light, from memory they only weigh 380 grams
With the Sprinter you can also fit a cast iron Flywheel Norm ,I have a couple 3.5 Briggs cast iron flywheels here , cast iron flywheels are usually on chondas when they are fitted with a light bar blade. I've sold a few Sprinter mowers to mower contractors.
The only thing that you may not have tried Norm is a new float , I've heard some floats bottom out before closing the needle completely and sometimes I check the widths of the floats as that can vary ,you can put $12. worth of $2. coins (6 coins) in the carby then put the primer cap on without the float and o ring and if that fits just make sure the float is smaller than the width of the coins, all the ones I've checked were fine though.
I was looking at a couple of floats and one looked a little larger on the 2 pivot points , not sure if that would make a difference without trying it on one with a leaking needle but I think by now you would have tried all the different combinations Norm.
Hi CM,
I haven't had any problems with the needle and clip so looks like you have solved the Victa carby problems CM, Success !
One strange thing is I haven't had the problems Norm has had with leaking needles ,but it could be because the majority if not all of my primer caps are the CRO3501A OEM caps and I have heard they are matched to the black plastic needle so most of the problems I've had were sticking needles when starting but most times they just needed more priming of the primer and the needle would drop , the difference with CM's metal needle and clip is that the needle never sticks so priming cold is only 3 times and always works.
Turned the fuel tap on yesterday night and the tap was on all day today and no fuel was leaking ,I will let you guys know how it is after a week
Hi Max, You might have given me an idea. I have had a number of Sprinters that kick back violently and maybe a heavier flywheel might fix it. Only thing that makes me doubt it might fix them is the fact that on all these motors to see if I could fix them I fitted a blade carrier off the 18 inch Victas to see if that could solve the problem but it didn't. I also tried drill starting one with a big old 2 speed Sher drill ( you know the one that breaks wrists if you get wrong) and it stripped the low speed gears in it. I was hanging on really hard. I throw those motor out now
I've had a lot of newish Sprinters that don't kick back Norm ,The old Sher drills are awesome ,In 1967 the American Skil Corporation took over Sher Tools Australia, too bad about the drill.
Before you throw a motor out you should take it apart and check the ACR.
I usually just do the easiest tests first for kick back, the following isn't in any order to do, just a list, too much valve clearance ,exhaust valve not opening correctly ,incorrect ignition timing ,coil too close to flywheel ,broken or cracked key on flywheel ,broken key on blade hub , not enough flywheel weight to overcome the compression stroke, spark plug or coil needs replacing ,the automatic compression release is malfunctioning (acr). Don't adjust valve clearance at Top Dead Centre, use proper instructions,restricted or blocked exhaust ,excessively carboned up ,over fueling ,worn rings, bore, piston allowing oil into the combustion chamber, crank case ventilation pumping oil into carby, oil level too high.
I've left the fuel tap on for over a week now and the needle and seat isn't leaking any fuel and 2 primes and the mower starts.
I was looking at one primer cap with a magnifying glass and where the taper is cut in the seat there was a bur sticking outward, this makes me wonder when people have problems with the needles if you just need a milling tool to remove a bur.
If there was a problem with the seat in the cap you could make an alignment tool in a lathe to centre the seat in the cap and make a tool to polish the seat in perfect alignment using valve grinding paste.
Latest disaster with these. Brand new primer cap, brand new needle polished the seat and spring clip. Can't get it started. A second brand new primer cap, new needle polished seat, spring clip. Fired straight up but then started pissing fuel out of the primer bulb while it was running. I am just about done with these Victas, they are just not worth the hours spent fighting with float needles and primer caps, they will go to the scrap before too long
Please send to me the two complete carby assembly which pissing fuel and doesn't starts. I will investigate and provide solution to you and to everyone especially you have plenty of primer caps and needle. Send few needles and caps as well. Once done, I will send everything back to you.
I had a couple that wouldn't start lately too but I knew the needle wasn't getting stuck which just left the primer as the problem, one primer if I held my finger over the plastic hole on the inside then pushed the black primer bubble I could hear the air escaping from the rubber bubble to the plastic mount so that cap is useless and the other cap the primer tested good (no air leaking) but would still not prime ,the problem was the cap o ring was leaking (if you measure your cap where the o ring sits and it's slightly under size to the old cap the o ring may not seal, sometimes the o ring will leak air at the top so fuel doesn't drip out but the primer doesn't work. I put the same cap on another carby with a new O ring and the primer worked well. These primer caps were second hand .
As we know the fuel bowl is sealed and the air vent is the small hole in the rubber primer bubble ,pushing the bubble pressurises the fuel bowl and fuel is forced into the main jet.
Not sure why so many are leaking for you Norm ,I put a metal needle and clip into a Victa 460 Utility today and it worked well but I did notice some floats are different ,one float looked almost bottomed out with the needle closed so I used a different float and the float looked in a lot better position.
Hi Max, I am very particular about the floats and check everyone up to the light so I can see exactly where it is sitting. I have worked on motors for 60 years so I have a rough idea how things work but these things just smash my head.. I would not be complaining if I was having trouble with old primer caps, I have used plenty of those and if I get a problem one I then use a new one and that is a 50/50 anyway Hi CM, thanks for the offer but it is not worth the trouble, I am just about done with these carbs, great design but so badly let down by float needles and primer caps.
Yes Norm there shouldn't be a problem with these new parts but there has to be a reason why the new caps and needles are leaking.
If it was me I'd be putting all the assembled leaking needles ,caps and floats aside and testing and measuring everything, comparing them with working caps ,needles and floats to see any differences.
I didn't think you can assemble them wrong Norm as they are new parts as you say but something somewhere must be different with the caps to get this problem.
I'd be interested in comparing the ones that don't work to working ones Norm ,If you keep the leaking primer caps with needle and float together.
Hi Max, Problem is I keep trying, then I mix needles and caps till I get something that works. Then I ended up with a small container that I put needles that don't work, either sticking or flooding so really now I don't know what is what. Once I get a pair that work they usually are good and I don't often get people coming back with problems, I do get them but hard to tell because I haven't sold many over the last 12 months or so. They have driven me mad and I don't think I have the interest in fighting with them anymore, they are just too problematic. It is very hard to tell what the seat is like but they look almost flat with no taper on the seat which can cause either the edge to grab the viton or vise versa not seal. I polish them all but I'm not sure if that is enough with the flat seat
