Have a 1971 Lightwin 4 hp that I ran for the first time on the water today on my 12' jon boat. Two issues, which I'll describe in laymen's terms:
1.) The recoil starter does not "recoil" - you have to use your fingers each time to re-"notch" the recoil gear on the moving arm (by this I mean the vertical gear on the "arm" that moves fwd. and back when you pull the rope) into the horizontal flywheel gear, so that pulling the rope will rotate the flywheel. Anyone know which springs need replacement? Or is there another "fix" for this? It's a real pain to have to push the 2 gears together every time before you pull the rope. I've also heard these recoils are a nightmare to work on.
2.) Even when fully warmed up, this thing will not re-start without starting fluid (and even then it's difficult- like over a dozen pulls). I've replaced the points, condensers, plugs, coils and gapped everything properly. Think it could need a carb kit? Or maybe a nice heavy dose of card cleaner while running wide open? It's even worse starting it cold, even on choke and with good spray of starting fluid. How to fix this hard starting?
Other than that, this little thing works GREAT once it's humming along. Pretty decent power for a small boat and very little fuel consumption. Once running it is pretty responsive and a lot of fun to play around on the water with.
Of course, already hit a rock and broke the shear pin (with no spare, of course) so it was a nice long float downriver to the boat ramp LOL. I've heard welding rod trimmed to size makes handy shear pins for about a nickel a copy
1.) The recoil starter does not "recoil" - you have to use your fingers each time to re-"notch" the recoil gear on the moving arm (by this I mean the vertical gear on the "arm" that moves fwd. and back when you pull the rope) into the horizontal flywheel gear, so that pulling the rope will rotate the flywheel. Anyone know which springs need replacement? Or is there another "fix" for this? It's a real pain to have to push the 2 gears together every time before you pull the rope. I've also heard these recoils are a nightmare to work on.
2.) Even when fully warmed up, this thing will not re-start without starting fluid (and even then it's difficult- like over a dozen pulls). I've replaced the points, condensers, plugs, coils and gapped everything properly. Think it could need a carb kit? Or maybe a nice heavy dose of card cleaner while running wide open? It's even worse starting it cold, even on choke and with good spray of starting fluid. How to fix this hard starting?
Other than that, this little thing works GREAT once it's humming along. Pretty decent power for a small boat and very little fuel consumption. Once running it is pretty responsive and a lot of fun to play around on the water with.
Of course, already hit a rock and broke the shear pin (with no spare, of course) so it was a nice long float downriver to the boat ramp LOL. I've heard welding rod trimmed to size makes handy shear pins for about a nickel a copy
