350X engine build questions

[camoweasel]

If you can't hear the restriction:

I'd take off the right cover, check the pump. Pull the primary gear and see if it's a crank/top end issue or a countershaft/mainshaft issue.

Isolate it, take that portion apart and you'll find it.

In neutral with the chain off, does the front sprocket spin freely?? Nice and smooth??

Or is it like pulling one of those 5' long lawnmower cables rigged up with the damn safety

As of now, I haven't installed my chain, but I DO know that the countershaft does spin freely. Basically the best way to describe it, is about after 15 seconds of idling it starts to die on it's own. If you hold the throttle open a tad to keep it running, it will still bog and bog as if the engine is "seizing up" because once I let off the throttle, it dies immediatly. The more you hold the throttle open, the louder the knocking noises come from deep inside. By that I mean no more piston movement; dead in the water.
When I try to kick it again, for about the first 5 kicks its really stiff then it starts to loosen up again.

I mean the oil pump was working fine before i took the motor out, and never once did the right side case come off?? The only thing I did was take of the oil lines. But I'm pretty sure there were no blockages when they were reinstalled. If the timing was off, I doubt it would even fire up. If the it was starving oil, I would bet that it would stay locked up after it shut off.
I wonder if maybe there's a vac hose thats not hooked up right or a breather hose? After it runs for so long, it builds up to much pressure in the crankcase?? I'm lost and will probably just take the whole trike back to the engine builder and let him figure it out. I just hope there isn't any damage done.

[Dirtcrasher]

Sure sounds like damage was done.....

[camoweasel]

This afternoon, I popped of the return oil line coming from the cooler back to the filter and the line that goes into the head. Both had flow when I kicked the engine over with the switch off. So my pump must be working. It just seems like after about 20 seconds it starts to load up and shuts off. Right after it's very hard to kick, but within only a couple of kicks, it returns back to normal where it's easy once again. For some reason, maybe I cam chain is to tight, or maybe it's building up pressure in the crankcase??

[Dirtcrasher]

I wonder if the carb has an issue and is loading the cylinder with too much gas. That would make it tough to kick.

I hope you have a decompression cable hooked up to it and adjusted too.......

[camoweasel]

I wonder if the carb has an issue and is loading the cylinder with too much gas. That would make it tough to kick.

I hope you have a decompression cable hooked up to it and adjusted too.......

I do have the decompression cable hooked up and adjusted as per the manual. I did consider the decompression lever being the problem, so I disconnected the cable from the head. Well even with the cable disconnected it still loads up and is hard as hell to kick over! But I like said, if I give it 10 seconds after it shuts off, it will kick freely. But in those first 10 seconds, there is resistance in the kicker.

I never considered the carb? I took it off, and it sat in my outside basement for abot 3 weeks. I wonder what would cause it to load up with gas?

[Dirtcrasher]

^ Ya can't compress a bunch of gas. I didn't build the motor so it's just a thought.

Have you pulled the plug to see if it turns over freely right after it gets tough?

Lots of things can happen to a carb to flood the motor with gas but keep it in mind.