I just wanted to share an unusual (at least to me) non-start experience, in
case anyone else finds themselves in a similar situation.
Yesterday morning, my spit wouldnt start. It cranked fine, but wouldnt
fire. When I sprayed some starting fluid in, it would easily start, run for
a few seconds and then die. Further investigation showed that gas was
getting to the carb and when I removed the air cleaner assembly, I noticed
that there was a small puddle of oil in the carb throat. I had just topped
up the damper oil the night before and apparently the o-ring sealing it is
now completely shot. (Ill have to replace it.) The surprising thing was
that when I wiped the oil up, the engine immediately fired and ran fine. My
guess is that the oil had coated the carb needle, sealing the opening and
preventing the fuel from entering the venturi.
BTW, this is a 78 Federal Model with the single ZS carb.
Greg Rowe
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