Exhaust leak

[johncam25]

Hi,

I was just wondering if a bad exhaust leak would effect the way my 3 wheeler would run?

Its a 84 200es

I have cleaned the carb good, adjusted the valves, set the timing, changed the oil and plug.

I got it for free and it wasent running when I got it. It only had 40psi compression, so i took the motor out and apart, cleaned and scrubbed everything and now its back up to 140psi or so.

It doesn't idle that good and if i rev it up fast it will backfire with flames. There is an exhaust leak right where the header meets the muffler and the muffler its self isn't in the best shape.

so all in all, would that effect the way it runs??


Thanks

[tri again]

it can make a difference of there is, say, too much fuel in the exhaust. where it gets to mix with oxygen from a leak, but you shouldn't really have high oncentrations of explosive gasses in the exhaust exhale

it can also backfire like that if the exhaust valve / timing is off.

I'd bet a good carb cleaning would solve 99 percent of it all

[johncam25]

I cleaned the carb twice and tried another one that I have here (it was cleaned also). I put the timing dead on and I went back a tooth and forward a tooth just to see. and it made it worse both ways. I sprayed carb cleaner everywhere to see for leaks and there isnt any. I also changed the tank to see if the was a fuel delivery problem and that didnt help at all. I adjusted the fuel/air screw to 2 turns out and 1 7/8 out and nothing. I can see the flames where the header connects to the muffler so I know for sure that there is a leak there and it sounds like a harley so I know the muffler is no good also.

I am running out of ideas, so I thought posting something here would bring new ones.

Thanks

[83ATC185]

i would try adjusting your valve clearances (.002 of an inch for 200es) my 185s had that backfiring problem and after a valve adjustment it ran great, and i had no exhaust pipe at all. as far as idling, check valve/ignition timing and make sure the carb is spotless.

[johncam25]

i just doubled checked them and they are at .003. Is that to much? or is it going to make that much of a difference?

The carb is spotless and the timing is dead on

thanks

[Mr_RPM]

LOL wow guys im kinda disappointed. to the OP the problems you explained perfectly line up to an exhaust leak. an exhaust leak will cause your machine to run lean and cause the popping. you say its a leak by the header, u need to fix that right away before you damage your engine. if it was a leak around the silencer i would say jet up (this will help you in the mean time to getting a new header/fixing your header) to give it more fuel to compensate for the extra air.

but yeah an exhaust leak (esp a header leak) will cause the engine to run different. bad enough exhaust leaks can cause it to run so lean that it causes engine damage from running so hot. hows your plug look? if its a light grey or white then that means its running to lean.

try to fix it asap if its bad. but if its by the silencer you might be able to get by with some patch work and a jet up. good luck

[johncam25]

ya its leaking where the header and the silencer clamp together, the gaskets gone and i dont think theres a gasket at the head . the plug is black .

im not riding it or anything, i just got it a few days ago.

thanks

[Mr_RPM]

hmmm, well a black plug doesn't make me think its going to blow up from running to lean. still chances are your popping will be fixed by either trying to weld up the exhaust or getting a new exhaust.

[johncam25]

i will try it tomorrow, thanks a lot and i will post the details

[dainpstewart]

on the topic of exhaust...i wish i would have gotten pix of the muffler on my alt185...the seam where it was bent together rusted completely out, the spark arrester rusted out and fell out the tailpipe, and the baffle is just dangling, so i bent a peice of stainless from work with a claw , just working it into a semi circle on a concrete garden barrier and stick welded it on with a little crappy welder...only problem was that the muffler was so far gone that i was just burning holes every weld...got it mostly welded though, and made a huge difference...needs a lot more work, but after that i just knew it wasnt worth any more of my time. now i get to find a new muffler eventually and weld it onto my pipe...VERY OFF TOPIC, but i hadnt told anyone about that til now...sorry for wasting your time. hahaha

[Dirtcrasher]

Yeah, you say "ha ha" but it's your trike pal......

Fix the exhaust leaks and see what needs to be tuned from there........

[tri again]

THE old timer legend is that running a 4 stroke without a header can warp exhaust valves since they need to heat and COOL in a controlled fashion.

or maybe it was their was of saying ''SHHHHhhhhh!!!"

[harryredtrike]

if you have a bad exhaust leak. fix it that will cause alot of the problems you stated.