OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions On Victa Two Stroke Engines Victa Corvette 500 2 stroke won't start

Hi guys,

I'm hoping somebody here can give me some valuable info as my local mower shop is down a mechanic and the wait for a service is 5 weeks! Well by the time they can fix the red rocket I'll be living in a jungle with all the rain up here in Brisbane at the moment :-)

Back on track, the mower was running ok, but over time the throttle position didn't seem to agree with the placade on the lever, eg stop it didn't stop, and I had to move it towards run about 1/2 way to get it to stop. The last time it ran the lever was just beyond the stop position to get it running ok, any other position and it would go to idle or not run at all.

The throttle cable seems to get stuck as I move it from full off to on, it just doesn't move smoothly at all, but seems to unstick and go full travel after a few off/on movements.

Well now I just can't get it started. It occasionally coughs ONCE but will not run. I've pulled the fuel tank off and had a look but to be honest, I'm not really sure what to do. I've also managed to frey the starter cord quite badly trying to get the bugger going so that needs replacing.

I'm quite capable of doing the work myself with guidance as I'm mechanically minded, however I have zero 2 stroke experience. Any help very much appreciated.

My guess is the throttle body or the cable path is either sticking, bent, or well out of whack, and a new spark plug wouldn't hurt probably either.

I'm happy to post pics as I progress so u guys can see what the problem may be, and would be EXTREMELY grateful for any mower tuition/mentoring you guys would be happy to provide :-)

Cheers
Homer

Hi Homer, and welcome to Outdoorking.

We need to get the attention of one of the Victa 2 stroke enthusiasts around here - as soon as the problem involves a plastic Victa carburetor, I stop listening. Bruce, Joe, or one of the other Victa guys can probably sort this out in seconds.

Meanwhie I agree the throttle cable is likely to be implicated in the problem, and needs to be fixed. When you move the speed control lever, the cable inner should move and the cable outer should not. If that is happening, the problem is at the engine end of the cable. If it is not happening, obviously the problem is at the lever end of the cable, and should be easily visible.

thanks Grumpy,

I'll pull the ole girl out and have another look and update shortly :-)

EDIT: OK the cable is moving inside the sleeve, although not as smoothly as it should. The sleeve remains in place with no movement.

Hi homer,i am not an expert at explaning things but here goes,pull off the top of the air cleaner-pull out the round filter and squirt some wd-40 or the like down the inner wire cable.not too much and gradually work the throttle lever to work the lube down.the rubber hose that joins on to the carbyis where the other end of the cable is,you can twist the carby about a 1/4 of a turn and pull it off the little black manifold,undo the clamp holding the black hose-gently pull the hose back and you will see where the inner cable with a knob on the end sits in.try to remove this so you can lubricate the whole cable...ken

Continued-if you want to go the whole way,remove the brass screw(main jet with filter) where the fuel pipe goes,remove the white plastic cover which holds the float and needle(dont lose any parts)now you will see a white star shaped plastic part.take note how it all comes apart so you can clean the internals of the carby and re-install,it is rather basic and look after the "o"ring on the white cover where the fuel goes in.hope this helps a little...ken

Sorry I have been over in wagga for last night/today.

By the sounds of it the throttle cable may have popped out of the carby end, this can be confirmed by pulling the air snorkel off at the back of the carby and looking in, it should be located in a litle socket in the grey throttle slide.

Thanks joe,you make it sound so simple and straight forward.cheers...ken

Cheers guys,

I'll have a crack at it tomorrow arvo as work takes precedence today.

Thanks again!

Guys I've pulled the air snorkle off the back of the carby and it did indeed appear to have come out of the throttle. I've put it back on (not that easy but got it in the end) but still no joy.

The two wires coming off the carby are now my next source of problem solving as they don't seem very secure. I took the cap off the end and the wires just seem to be hanging in space and not actually attached to anything. I may have buggered them up stuffing around with the throttle.

I took the spark plug out and checked for spark....none seen.

Thanks for all the help so far.

Cheers
Homer

hi homer,the first thing i would do is remove clean all muck off the out side of the carby then remove both wires going into the grommet of the carby,make sure they dont touch each othet or any part of the mower(fold a bit of tape over each end) then remove the spark plug-connect the plug leed and some how hold the thread part of the plug against a good earth/metal part of the mower.pull the cord which should be easy and observe if a spark emitts from the end of the plug.if it sparks replace the plug back in the hole but at this stage keep the two wires taped up.see how this goes and let us know...ken

Will do. The grommet for the wires looks a bit stuffed too. Worth getting a new one or will it cost me a kings ransom?

I also need a new pull cord now as I've frayed it to bits and it's getting hard to make it retract :-)

Guys I've taken the carby apart and given everything a really good clean. My only issue, I think, now is the starter cord broke this morning and I've put another one on, however the cord no longer self retracts :-(

You pull and the cord stays hanging out.....

I think Joe Carroll has made a video showing how to replace those cords on Victa 2 strokes and posted a link to it on this site. I suggest you have a look - it will probably take care of your problems, so long as you have patience and prehensile fingers. If I recall correctly, Joe's time is under three minutes. He's done it a few times.

spring as well? Link?

This is SO frustrating after getting so close to having a mower.....

EDIT: Found the link, but my spring is broken now so not much help
https://www.outdoorking-forum.com.au/forum/u...amp;Main=4527&Number=16328#Post16328

Spring is broken.....I've read up how to change it, however I'm having real issues getting the pulley nut off to change the spring.

Hi homer,just a tip-on viewing your photo of your clean carby,i noticed that where the fuel hose goes in to the white cap-you need to turn it 45 deg anti clock wise so that the float level line is horizontal.you might need to undo the main jet-remove the cover and make sure the float needle has not dislodged...ken

Thanks Ken,

I wondered who would have sharp eyes and pick up on that :-)

I ended up taking the pull start assembly to my local mower shop who said they would fix it on the spot for $35. They pulled it apart and the spring seemed fine, however they put in a new spring kit, put it together but it kept getting stuck during retracting. They tried a second kit thinking the 1st may be faulty, same problem.

Next the boss took over the job, tried it a few times, same issue, ends up telling me I need a whole new unit. When I queried why it would suddenly not work when it was working fine this morning before I broke the pull cord all I got was a "dunno mate."

He had another couple of goes, then went looking for the cause, deciding it was a bent bolt. So he told me I'd need a whole puller assembly costing $80-$90 and he'd have to order it from Melbourne.

Not convinced, I gave them my details, picked up all my old parts, as they were now in bits, and went home.

20 mins fiddling and after a couple of times having the spring shoot out I had a smooth working pull start.

I put it all back together and it started 2nd pull, ran for a few secs then dies with fuel pouring out of the carby, and yep, u guessed it, the float wasn't horizontal (actually it was when I refit it off the mower but it turns out not so horizontal on it) lol

Thanks again to all who helped, the mower runs fantastic now starting 1st or 2nd pull every time!

CHEERS!

good to see you got it going,did you still have to pay $35.00 for the so called (experts)...ken

No thank goodness. They were pretty nice though, shame they couldn't fix it and just resorted to the "new part required" option.