like change spark plugs if necessary. But don't ever ask me to run the rack on a diesel injection system, or rebuild a carburetor or change a transmission. That just won't happen. And troubleshooting? I can come up with a hundred theories if something breaks down, but seldom the right one. I am guy who swore at his brand new snowmachine for a week when it wouldn't run, only to discover after I had called for help that I had left the parking brake engaged.
We all know the mechanic you tell about a small noise you heard and he immediately goes to worst case: "we'll probably have to pull the engine, might take a total rebuild." Then someone finds a screw loose, tightens it and all fixed.
I'm a worst-case guy. Something goes wrong I immediately imagine the worst. Only I don't tear down the engine, I want to call the guy.
When something breaks out here at the East Pole even calling the guy is a chore and getting the machine to the mechanic is near impossible.
With that said, two days ago, faced with an impending disaster, I had to go out.
I went out to start the snowmachine. It fired up once and quit. On the second try it attempted to go but failed. On the third try it only gave me that horrid electronic click. If you've ever had a totally dead battery you've heard that click. Now, this machine's battery has never gone dead even after a whole summer of lay up. There is a manual start, a pull cord like a lawnmower. That proved to be locked up, and could not be pulled. So, not the battery, something mechanical was jammed.
I tried pulling the machine a few feet hoping to turn the track and free whatever had locked up, but no luck. Thinking it might still be the battery, I hooked up a charger and went indoors to think and read the manual.
Between the two I realized I had not looked at the side of the engine where the flywheel, drive belt, drive wheel and other moving parts are located.
I removed that panel and looked through the assembly, but didn't see a tree branch or errant screw jammed in anywhere. But I did see a large nut on the assembly for the lower of two pulleys that together transfer the action of the drive belt to the track. I picked up a wrench to fit and gently but firmly tried to turn the nut. Immediatly I heard a metallic click and looked quickly enough to see a shaft and small cog wheel withdraw from the lower pulley and retreat into the housing for the shaft that rotates the track. Whoa, that had to be it. I sat back and thought about it for a minute. Then I gave the recoil starter cord a gentle tug and woo hoo it was free. A minute later I used the elctric start and the machine fired right off. But O.M.G.
The engine caught but immediately raced to full rpms; almost getting away from me and diving over the edge and down the hill. I managed to hit the kill switch to stop it. That happened again and then somehow in reverse and it backed up until it dug itself a hole. In one of those starts there was a huge backfire as well.
So back indoors again. The book said bad plugs can cause backfires and then I noticed something in the startup procedure; you're supposed to operate the throttle lever several times before you start then engine. Long story short, new plugs and squeezing the throttle lever several times and the machine started properly, ran the way it was supposed to and engaged the track and I could drive it away.
By that time it was too late in the day to start a major trip out the trail and a short shopping run. Despite not getting the job done, I felt pretty good about the day. I left everything there feeling proud of myself, but slightly fearful I would encounter another problem when I started up the next day. Still, a day with a major mechanical success is always a good day.
The next morning everything ran perfectly. I went out, hit the gas station and the grocery store and made it back home in good time, and, with that major catastrophe averted.
And what was that catastrophe that caused this monumental effort? I managed to run out of seed for the bird feeder. I had left a 40-pound bag in the truck and had to retrieve it. You just don't want to piss off an army of chickadees and redpolls.
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