Idle screw not touching - difficult idle

Spent much of the afternoon working on getting the idle on my 88 Force 125 to become reliable. Prior to working on the idle, I set the timing (static) to 32 deg. BTDC as prescribed in an earlier thread. Also took the time to do the carb synch from the sticky. Right away I noticed that the idle screw did not touch the chassis until it was screwed all the way in. Decided to go back and expande the linkage between the cam and the timing tower rod. Doing so caused the screw to seat against the chassis and I could then back it out a bit. After fiddling with the idle screw and bar, I go the idle down to about 800, but noticed that after 20 seconds or so, idle would drop further and eventually konk out. It looks as though the timing tower rod is slow to return to its full swing (idle position). I had to pull it back to the left with my hand. This makes it tricky to set the idle. If all this makes sense, can anyone tell me what a possible solution to this problem may be. Just got a bit tired and don't want to goof things up. Engine starts very easily, but idle is not stable.

Aaron

Re: Idle screw not touching - difficult idle



Look to your throttle cable quick-connect. The center portion is spring loaded and should pull out about 3/16 to 1/4 inch when the control handle is returned to neutral. This is what causes the timing tower to fully retard. The second two photos show it fully retracted with the engine in gear.

Also, as in the last photo, check to be certain that the cable is set into the clamp or retainer correctly.



After you get this correct, re-do the linc ans sync.