Trying to get Spree running again after long sitting

[Cubey]

Hey all. Yep, I'm still around and have my Spree. I Have had a Helix for a long while now but hung into the Spree since no one wanted to give me any kind of reasonable amount of money for it.

Anyhow, I am trying to get it running again. Needless to say, it's needing some help. I put a charger on it last night and so today it was turning over fine. I checked the spark plug and emptied the carb of the old gas and sprayed it with carb spray while taken apart partly, put a bit of fresh gas in it, etc.

It acts like it's not getting any gas. I can't recall how the petcock works on the Spree. Shouldn't it be draining gas out of the hose when it's disconnected from the carb? I tried blowing into the hose and it makes bubbles in the gas tank so i know it doesn't have a major obstruction. A small amount of gas will trickle out after I do that but then stops.

When I had the spark plug out, I gave it a very quick spray of starter fluid. It fired off with that tiny of of spray for a fraction of a second then died, so it seems to be a purely fuel system problem. I did notice the hose between the carb and the oil mixture part had fluid in it and it was a bit gummy so I took it off and had to blow air through it to get the gunky gas out. I suspect I'm gonna have to do major cleaning of the carb if it's all varnished like that one hose was.

Any suggestions beyond giving the carb a major cleaning and probably draining the gas out of the tank? Should I attempt to clean the petcock too? And why the heck doesn't the spree have a fuel filter? I may add a tiny mower one once I get it running.

[odinxxix]

clean that carb again with special attention to all the small passages. and the petcock works by vaccum. suck not blow.LOL

[Bear45-70]

The petcock only flows fuel when there is a vacuum applied to the line coming out of the bottom of the petcock. It is an automatic valve that shuts off the fuel when the engine is not running. Just suck on the vacuum line and fuel should flow. Oh and just because there is fuel in the line does not mean there is fuel in the carb.

Starting fluid and 2 strokes are a major NO-NO. It washes the oil off the cylinder walls. Meaning no lube between the cylinder walls and the piston and rings, a bad thing.

Yes clean the carb, tank and petcock. Oh and there is a filter. It is in the tank right above the petcock. Oh, next time pour fuel stabilizer in the gas and it won't turn to crap.

[Cubey]

I didn't spray the starting fluid directly into the hole, I did it from several inches back so half or more of the spray ended up on the outside of the engine, so just a few drops got in the engine really. Anyhow, I just did that one tiny spray from a distance and didn't do anymore. It didn't do any damage. I just wanted to give it a tiny boost.

I cleaned the carb better and the petcock and reassembled. The battery is too low right now so I gotta let it charge overnight (only have a float charger). I did get it going once but it was throttled open (had it on the center stand so it didn't take off, heh) and was smoking like it was burning oil a bit. Probably was just burning off the carb cleaner and starter fluid and maybe a bit of old oil that was in the system still.

I used the kill switch and couldn't get it going again -- but as I said, the battery is too low right now so that's probably why. But now I have (fresh) fuel flowing to the carb for sure. I siphoned out the old and put it in an old gas can I never use.

Once the battery gets charged up, maybe I'll be able to get it running tomorrow.

[Cubey]

Gotta love a Honda.

I cleaned the carb, petcock and drained the old gas from the tank, but it seems the battery is my problem now/too. I ended up putting my lil jumper cables on to my helix's battery and tried cranking it, after about 2 tries I got it going. I had forgotten how fast that starter goes on a properly charged battery but after hearing it, it came back to me.

I only have a cheapy HF float charger right now so I will just let the battery sit on that a few days then try cranking it on it's own battery. Either that or jump it off the Helix then try to go riding but that would stink if it stalls and wont restart due to a dead battery after I get 2 miles from home. So I think I'll just wait until the battery gets charged up.

I may have to invest in a kick starter retrofit for it so I won't have to worry about such a problem. Although, with all the adjusting problems I had when I rode it all those 900 miles I put on it since I bought it, I never had a battery problem with that new (now 2 year old) battery from Wal-Mart.

Hmm... I wonder what kind of lifespan these batteries have.