Awesome Speed & Shut Off

EvilCrayon · Post by **EvilCrayon** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:45 pm

So today, I was riding my spree just like normal at 25mph, because my engine has been acting weird, on a flat road. I wanted to pass by a biker so I gave a little gas to see if I would accelerate past the biker faster. After I had passed the biker, I looked down to see that I was going 28mph. I gave it a bit more gas because I had never seen it go this fast ever since the oil went low and I couldnt' get a hold of any till 2 days later.

Anyway, I was going 28mph and then I slowly went to WOT. At WOT, it sounded beautiful and I went to 35mph and then 40mph. After about 10seconds of 40mph+ speed, it suddenly gave a pop, fire shot out my exhaust and then my engine lost power like the gas was giving out. I had a 3/4 tank so it shouldn't have been doing that. I was giving it WOT and trying to rev it but it would only accelerate in small bursts and the gaps between those got longer and longer until half a block later, my engine shut off and I pulled over.

I couldn't get the engine to start again and then I called my friend and he said he had the same problem before and that sucking on the vacuum line to the petcock should get it to start again. I did this for 15 seconds and started it. It ran normal again, maybe a bit nicer actually, but it was running normal in 2 minutes again, not getting past 25mph.

It did this 3 times over the course of the day but I just cranked it for a good 5 seconds straight and it would start right up.

Anybody know if my petcock is broken or something?

Bear45-70 · Post by **Bear45-70** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:54 pm

It is leaning out and will soon seize for good it you don't quit doing it.

Kenny_McCormic · Post by **Kenny_McCormic** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 11:23 pm

Your motor is runnig lean AND TAKING INTERNAL DAMAGE BECAUSE OF IT!!! Lean is mean.

EvilCrayon · Post by **EvilCrayon** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 11:27 pm

Well, on the way back home I hit 40mph but it didn't cut out this time. and it was downhill so I guess that was part of it. I think it might be my petcock giving out.

Can anybody recommend me a good guide to making a vacuum shut off? getting a new petcock is 60 bucks.

Kenny_McCormic · Post by **Kenny_McCormic** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 11:29 pm

THIS IS NOT THE PETCOCK!!!! Clean your carb and check you airfilter. Check for intake leaks, replace vacuum line and DO A PLUG READING!

EvilCrayon · Post by **EvilCrayon** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 11:39 pm

The vacuum lines are brand new, I already ran a plug check and it's cocoa-brown. my airfilter is clean and is oiled like it should be. I have yet to clean my carb again but this is the 7th time in the past 3 months.

Kenny_McCormic · Post by **Kenny_McCormic** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 11:41 pm

The petcock is work/dont work thing. You probbly have piece of trash in the bowl, add an in line lawnmower fuel filter to the fuel line.

EvilCrayon · Post by **EvilCrayon** » Wed Sep 24, 2008 11:49 pm

got an in-line filter already.

Dac · Post by **Dac** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:33 am

kenny, are you mad because someone has a faster spree then you???

honestly dude, do another plug chop. if your plugs are coming out the right color, and you are able to pull 40mph everywhere, i got to say, that's going to be the first i have heard of this.

EvilCrayon · Post by **EvilCrayon** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:37 am

It only pulls to 40mph if I hold the throttle in the exact same place and slowly give it more gas.

vinnie · Post by **vinnie** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:50 am

Man I am not an expert on engines but it does not sound healthy what you are doing!

Does it have a stock standard exhaust? An expansion chamber would cause a powerband kick in at a certain amount of revs I imagine, also has there ever been any work done on your engine e.g. cylinder rebore and larger piston?

I read somewhere on this forum that running a '85 piston in an '84 spree will give you more power?

Trust me you don't want to seize it, I did that and it's costly to repair!

Dac · Post by **Dac** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:54 am

yeah, something is clearly up. i would start with your carb. its the biggest point of error for these sprees.

EvilCrayon · Post by **EvilCrayon** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:30 am

Besides drilling out one baffle in my exhaust, it's stock.

I want to rebuild the engine soon just because it's never been looked at and there's probably tons of carbon inside. Anybody know of a guide?

Something tells me it's the petcock cause it's been slowly getting worse. The beginning of summer, it was getting 31mph, and then 27, and then 25, 28-29mph again, and now it's at 25mph.

vinnie · Post by **vinnie** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 5:59 am

Well if I ever buy a spree, one of the first things I will do is pull off the top end just to check the condition of it. That would then give me a good idea as to how badly I can treat it. It's probably a good idea to do that I guess, provided you know what you're doing. Maybe there is such a huge buildup of carbon that you are getting more compression from that haha

EvilCrayon · Post by **EvilCrayon** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 2:17 pm

How should I clean off carbon from the head if I do take off the head?