Was testing my compression gauge to see how bad it leaked and see if it was accurate. It leaks like a sieve, and is very inconsistent on the readings it gives. After a bit of this, since I did not have the compressor on, it had drained the reservoir to 85 psi, and I decided, what the heck, why not, and did it again, and got a HIGHER reading with less pressure. That gauge is no longer being trusted, so that is why I temporarily am going to assume it is not low compression, until I get in a new gauge.

I have a habit of needlessly overdoing descriptions of things.

 

Just get a new compression tester.This one is similar to the Snap on kit I have.Auto Engine Compression Pressure Tester Kit w/ Extend Hose M10 M12 M14 Adapters | eBay Or a cheaper one from Harbor Freight for 25 bucks.

 

Oh god, Horror Fright! I jest. Anyway, I already have one on the way, a better one. It probably looks similar, but I bet if you took them apart, they would be quite a bit different :P.

 

Harbor Freight and Northern tools aren't Snap on or Mac quality,but good enough for the average home mechanic.Most people don't want to shell out 240 bucks or more for a good kit like the one I have for a one time use.https://store.snapon.com/Compression...e-P650745.aspx

 

Nah, I just got one with a massive set of adapters. And a point in the line that rotates, unlike the ones I now USED to have. It already vanished on me. I left it on my bench, was gonna dismantle it for laughs this morning. Stuff came up, then I get out there at 3, the thing was gone, and nobody else had been in there in the meantime. Darn thing is possessed. Now I REALLY wanna find it and dismantle it! :P
Wasn't but $30, but I need the spare adaptors, my I-forgot-where-that-goes drawer is getting unusually empty. Gotta have something to put in there, otherwise the drawer below it will slide open and not stay shut, the box is not level, and I have nowhere to put all the darn wrenches, ratchets, sockets, and the like while I try to level it, just too much in there. What's 5 bucks more when it is gonna save me a trip to the hospital from tripping over the darn thing!

 

Then put it to good use and check what the compression reading is.

 

Okay, gauge just came in, I got it VERY much warmed up for the test. I even got the damn little fan working again, so I am sure I warmed it up enough. Did the test, it is about 120-125ish Psi. While warming it up, while it was still not at running temp, she backfired a couple times, and it would send smoke out of the air intake for the carb. It still bleeds down somewhat quick, but it is nowhere near as bad as before. Could it be a valve that isn't seating well? Note that I ran it to warm it up without the air filter box mounted, just in case that was the reason it was rich, not getting enough air, but until it got to the point where the fan was running, it smoked just as hard. Once I got it up to temp, it ran alright, but still very much heavily smoking, but considering the temp, it was probably partly the fault of the oil residue in the exhaust pipe burning off.

 

No valves on a 2 stroke..That's good enough on compression.You've eliminated that as a problem. Yes the oil burning can be from an oil soaked exhaust system. You can soak it in kerosene for a couple days to remove a lot of it then see how it does.Again leaking crank seals are the most neglected items also if the carb is set up correctly,runs good at higher speeds but doesn't want to idle.

 

Well, okay. It runs good enough once it warms up proper, but it is just a donkey until then. I think I have the carb about right. After a little choke, she starts, and sometimes needs a bit of tapping on the throttle to maintain idle, sometimes it doesn't. Would take it out and try to see if it still goes flaccid while under power, but the rain of course has come back. Will look into crank seals.

 

Well, I took her out today on a gentle ride. Warmed her up the same way I did yesterday, just progressively managing to squeeze out higher and higher RPMs without choking it, then dropping back down a bit, maintaining for a few, then repeating. For probably the first 1/4 of the ride (it went about 2 /12 hours!), if I came to something that would give resistance, like a moderate hill, by the top of it, it would be pumping out grey like a smoke generator, but after about 30-45 seconds of smooth ground, it would be clear again. Didn't give a noticable loss of power, but I wasn't exactly paying attention to that, I was focused on not losing traction (pine trees everywhere, massive thick blanket of straw on a good chunk of our land, sometimes keeping traction isn't exactly easy :P). After a while, even that stopped. It ran great. Occasionally, I would get to a hill and nearly kill it, because the tank was pretty close to empty, so fuel starvation. So I just stuck to level ground, until I ran it out of gas, finally. Ran well. Then again, it has been about 2-3 months since I actually took it out for a proper spin, so it was a little vague on my mind about what revs I should be getting for the current throttle position. Then I just put it on reserve and headed back home. So we now know that it runs great when I get it warm. So that narrows the possibilities down a bit, I would hope. If it had started to lose power at the beginning when it would smoke, or if it had otherwise acted out, I would have called it a day, and not just forced it on. I wasn't going to force it to do anything it wouldn't do.