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Asymetric
10-01-2014, 07:53 PM
So I was gifted a 1979 atc 110 that had been sitting in a barn for a good 15 years. I went over everything I could think of. Gas tank cleaned. New fuel lines wi th filter. Carb cleaned (have done tons of car carbs. Pretty sure I got it good). Air filter had turned to paste, replaced that. New brake cable and cleaned/re greased the brake cam thing. Sandblasted & painted the rims before putting on new tires. New front wheel bearings. New plug. Set point gap and timing. Adjusted valves to .003. (They were really tight before)

It runs great. Starts with one medium effort pull. With th e needle adjusted 1 turn out, it revs good ad pulls about as strong as I would expect for such a small 4 stroke.

But the idle is all over the place. It will be high, then low and want to stall out. Sometimes it will idle right where I want it for a minute and then either quit or Rev up.

There is a "clackety" noise in the engine that sure sounds like a loose chain running over a sprocket. I tried adjusting the cam chain tensioner but there was no noticeable change. It doesn't sound extreme, but you can clearly hear it.

Could a loose cam chain cause what I am experiencing? I really don't want it to be that. I am already over budget at about $350 invested and might just drive it as is since you can goose the throttle when it starts to idle down too low. It gives you about 2 second warning when it's going to die.

I would really like everything to be "right" tho since I was thinking about giving it to my nephew for Xmas and finding a bigger one for me.

DohcBikes
10-01-2014, 08:35 PM
Forget the mechanical noise it has nothing to do with your idle issue. Start by cleaning the carb. Yes again. Be sure to get the idle jet and its circuits clean. Then check for air leaks.

Asymetric
10-02-2014, 08:23 AM
Well you got me. I got up early to get the carb off before work. The pilot jet is clogged. No idea how because the thing was squeaky clean when I put it together.

Anyways, whatever is in there just does not want to come out. The first time I cleaned it with a single strand from a piece of wire. This time it won't poke through.

Just replace it? All of the pictures online show jets with threads on them. This one presses in. Also, I don't see a number anywhere on it. Looks like it's been pulled out and put back in a million times. What would be a good size to get. I am only a few hundred feet above sea level.

Asymetric
10-02-2014, 08:46 PM
Well I have no patience so I worked it wi th my strand of copper for about an hour before a little grain of somthing popped out. Purrs like a kitten now.

Thanks.

DohcBikes
10-04-2014, 08:03 AM
Awesome.

Now, this isn't necessarily for you but for all the suggestions in other threads to just buy a cheap carb instead of finding the issue. Doesn't it feel a lot better to know that you found and fixed the issue, regardless of what or how long it takes?