Have you cleaned up the carbs? I can't remember if you have tinkered with the fuel system.
Yeah, I did that last summer. I have also had the reeds out and replaced the gaskets and seals around those. And a new fuel filter. The line from the tank I bought new when I got the motor so it should still be ok I would think.
The symptoms now are that it is difficult to start and I have to give it a fair amount of fast-idle. Once it starts, it tends to run as long as I keep fast-idle up. If I drop it the rpm drops and eventually (within 30 seconds usually) it will stall. If I get it to stay running, the rpm doesn't stay constant. It will vary up and down a fair amount from almost stalling to over 1000 rpms. Not very rapidly but perhaps a cycle over 30 seconds to a minute or so. At the higher rpm it sounds alright but when it drops back down it sputters and shudders.
So perhaps I didn't get the carb clean when I worked on it last? Maybe I need to adjust the float? I need to replace the bleeder hoses but I don't know if they could cause symptoms like this? I pinched them while it was running yesterday and didn't notice any difference. They are in place but I've had the ends by the carb break and I had to shorten them a bit. One thing I didn't think of last night was to squeeze the bulb on the fuel line when the rpm dropped. Giving it some choke tends to help a little bit but in adjusting the low-speed needle I can't seem to get it to a good place.
I am using 87 octane gas with ethanol in it. I don't have a station near me with ethanol-free gas. I have put some additives in the tank for it though.
I guess it can't hurt to take the carb off and do a more thorough cleaning. I'll get another gasket set and see if I can work on it this weekend.
Is there anything I'm missing? It feels like I have looked at a lot at this point... But clearly I'm missing something.
