Thanks for the reply.

I happened to be near the dealer this morning and picked up the choke cable. I took off a couple of hours early and piddled with the rancher. There's a lot of plastic to remove, btw.

In any event, the cable is the lesser part of the problem. The cable was somewhat oxidized near the carb such that it was hard to move and it does need to be replaced but the bigger problem is the choke piston/plunger assembly. Unfortunately, I didn't know I should have bought that part so I will have to make a parts run in the morning.

Anyway I called the honda dealership and this part comes as an assembly. It includes: 1) the plunger or piston/O-ring/needle (this is the part that rises to let in more fuel when you pull the choke cable); 2) the spring (this should be what keeps tension on the plunger to stop the fuel supply when not choking - also what keeps the choke cable "locked" to the plunger) and 3) the "elbow" (this is what finally directs the cable to the plunger and the carb and what screws to the carb).

The biggest problem (it appears) with mine is that the plunger had oxidied somewhat. It would not slide all the way into the carb to cut the fuel supply. Also, the spring had rusted and a couple of spring curls were broken off. I'm hoping when I replace these, the problem will be fixed. I'm thinking I should put a small amount of silicone grease on the new plunger.

The cable was $15 and the entire plunger assembly is $40. The parts are cheaper via internet such as hondapartsword but this is quicker and more convenient.

Also, when I removed the plastic and the gas tank, it appeared that the plastic clips and gas tank bolts had no tool marks on them. So, I guess that the valves have never been adjusted. I will check the clearances while I'm at it.

Anything else I should check while I'm at it?

Thanks
Rodney

 

I made a seperate post about this, but thought I should put it here too.

As to adjusting the valves, I know from searching this forum that valve clearance should be .006. Likewise, I know that you can see the chisel marks for TDC on the flywheel by removing the chrome Allen wrench plug near the footbrake.

What I dont know is what mark to line up with the "window" when the plug is remove. There's a chisel mark with a "P", one with a "T" I think and a double chisel mark, at least.

I could feel slight play at a the rockers at the P and double mark, I think. What is the appropriate mark?

Also, the engine hasn't been cranked in about 24 hours but it is about 90 deg F outside. Should I wait to set the clearance until in the a.m. when its around 70?

Thanks
Rodney

 

The T mark is the one to line up it's the top dead center for valve adjustment , when they are correct alinement both the intake and exhaust valves will be closed with no pressure on the rocker arms and push rods you should be able to get your filler gauge between the gaps if they are close to specs. with little or just slight pressure on the filler gauge. I found with the spark plug removed it was hard to get the timiing mark's from going past top dead center, so i used a pull hanle the turn the crankshaft nut ; when i tried using a ratchet i couldn't get it to stop at TDC . it was a tight squeese to get to the valves so i had to use an offset boxed end wrench and a subby screwdriver for adjusting the valves, you most likely knew this already but i just thought i'd add this to the post.. with 20 yrs in small engine repair i tend to add as much instruction's to help... don't mean to sound like a know it all are anything like that, i'm sorry if it sounds like that; meaning no disrepect on this end..........williebee

 

Oh i forgot to say you don't need to wait for am or pm to adjust the valves, what cold setting means is when the engine hasn't been started and is at or near normal operating temp. so it doesn't matter if it's 90 degree's or 32 degrees out side temp. just don't start the engine before adjusting the valves.........williebee

 

Wow! That made a difference - no more smoke, quieter (less lumpy), more power and feels/sounds like a new one. Thanks for the help. Replacing the choke cable and choke assbly was a simple job - the worst was removing the tank etc to get to it.

As I mentioned I'm pretty sure the valves have never been adjusted (930 miles), but they were very close to spec. The .006 was a bit loose but an .008 wouldn't fit.

Rodney

 

That's great new's i.m glade you got it going and i know what you mean about tight space's the tank on my old 86' Foreman was metal and mounted under the seat. But i still had to remove a bunch of bolt's and screw's to remove a metal plate so i could to get to the carb and valve cap's. my hand's were skin'ed so bad i couldn't ride the machine without alot of pain for a few day's !!!Ouch.....About the valve spec's it's better to have them a little on the loose side than tight, when the engine get's to normal operational temp's they will expand closing the little gap, Now if you find the time ride it as much as you can; like my dealer told me.....use it or lose it!!!! Nothing worse than letting them sit idle for long interval's, have fun but be safe................williebee