on my LT230, I replaced the clutch. After the kickstart gears fell out of the cover, and I think I figured out how to put them back in, I used blue gasket maker-something I NEVER use, but this project is on a tight budget. The kickstarter will NOT return on its own, if the case is tourqued down. The only thing I can think of is the space that the factory gasket takes up is essential to the fit and mesh of the gears. Is this possible?? Im pretty frustrated at this point. IF the bolts near the kicker are not tourqued down, the kicker returns properly. What gives????

 

Looks like you answered your own question. Buy the $1.00 gasket and be done with it.

 

well, thanks for the reply, but basically the question was "is it possible that a GASKET could add critical clearance to an engine that was assembled en mass, and if so, dont you think that is a pretty crappy way to shim 2 machined parts?" but yes, I do believe this is the problem, as unbelievable as it seems. anyone know for sure??

 

To answer your question, Yes - when the engineers design these things they have to allow for gasket thickness of say, .020 to get the clearance they need to make the function work properly and still be durable. If they design in a clearance of say,.005, and you take out that .020 gasket you have a .015 deficit and ultimately a bind between parts. This is common practice to have such small clearances.

 

thank you very, very much. I was positive that was it, but just wanted some clarification, otherwise, I would have seriously doubted my alread mediocre, at best, mechanical abilities!

 

No problem, my pleasure