One of the most valuable lessons to be learned when playing with go karts is engine repair. Also, like any big problem to solve, some of the engine problems can be very elusive and frustrating. I had this engine that just would not run right. It would run, but not fast, and it was very frustrating.
What would occur is that the engine would start and run just fine, but when the throttle was opened up the engine would just back fire through the carburetor, out the exhaust, blow black smoke and just would not get past really anything but idle. You can imagine my frustration. I have this elaborate strait tube intake (which really is a high rise manifold) and this oversize carburetor mounted to this 4 horsepower Briggs.
I had that engine torn down probably twice. Removed the head, checked the valve clearances, tore apart the carburetor, added more sealant to the intake runner and the carburetor interface…all to NO avail. The engine still ran like junk. Having just exhausted all remedies, I took off the engine and tore it apart completely looking for the elusive problem.
And after I tore it apart I had to laugh, and be educated. The points on the engine had a spring that keeps the points coming back into position. Trouble was, the spring was on sloppy, and allowed the points to literally float as the rpms increased. So what occurred was the engine was literally losing spark at the higher rpms. The floating points acted like a governor. Old “his and pop” engines actually use this method for slowing their engines down. Instead of playing with the throttle, they play with the ignition to slow the engine down.
Once the engine was reassembled the engine ran full throttle no problem. Understanding the reasons why engines behave the way they do is very important in diagnosing the problem. One of the elusive things about this problem though is the assumption that the points are fine, that the spark is consistent. The trouble shooting motto is question everything and exhaust it at the least cost.
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The Go Kart Guru is a Go Karting Design, Fabrication and Performance specialist. Topics ranging from Turbo Charged Go Karts to Wood Go Karts, the Go Kart Guru has something to say (that will help you!) about it. Visit GoKartGuru.com for more details. Be sure to fill out our Go Kart Building Survey, at http://gokartguru.com/go_kart_building_survey_.php and tell use what you are looking for with regards to go karts and we should be able to help you. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Gamble |
I have worked on this project for approx 5 months,the kart came to me in a right mess. The frame is a Pacer P900 which originally had a 5.5 Honda engine and cost £3.500 + vat.
VINTAGE GO KART HOMELITE CHAINSAW ENGINES
got new 2 cylinder snowmobile engine on my go-kart, and i am testing to make sure everything functions right
the first run after replacing a couple of parts. the oil mixture is a little rich, because it hadn’t been run in a while. This is to become the engine in the go kart that I am going to build. 
So …….sound. This vid has no sound now because I edited in what I thought were a couple of good songs intermixed with the normal race sounds. So anyway, this music that I payed for and mixed in for fun, no profit whatsoever gets me sent some inbox note that says “someone has claimed that you used copyrighted materials in your video” and the only way to repost was to mute the audio. Real classy YouTube and/or whatever artist and company this Copyrighted material belongs to. I suppose honest people shouldn’t actually go out and buy your music anymore as I did. Ok, theres my venting, just makes me mad when I support someone and like to have music I enjoy mixed with my home video as free publicity for them, and no profit for me and they disallow it! Whats the world coming to.
This is me running the engine of my go kart after i replaced the spark plug, did a valve-job, and a carburetor rebuild 
Go-Kart engine 8HP with no mufler 
Here is the First Part of my Go-Kart build. To see the engine running right out of the box, check my other videos.
Wanna make your self a go kart using some junk in the garage? Well first find your self a go kart frame,(we used a little kids’ pedal kart). Then take the axle/ gearbox and engine off of a front wheel drive push lawn mower and bolt them on your frame. If you have any questions about this, i’d be happy to answer them.
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