WD45 back together after manifold stud problems (l

I had a big stream of oil out the exhaust which indicated bad spark and failed exhaust manifold gaksets. I replaced the plugs with Champions as suggested and the oil out the exhaust went away. I then removed the carb and manifold, rebuilt the carb and installed manfold gaskets, replaced broken and stripped manifold studs, painted the manifold with high temp paint, and took the gas tank off so I could get the rust out. I put new battery cables on and got a new battery.

Now it's all back together. It started after a few cranks, ran great with no exhaust leaks and no air-sucking sounds at the manifold, no oil stream on the engine and a nice light gray smoke. Pushed the choke in 1/4 inch and it started to die, same as before. I have the main jet (the one at the top toward the front) turned out to 1.5 turns, and the load adjuster screw (the one at the bottom toward the front) turned out to 1 1/4 turns. Runs great with the choke pulled all the way out but starts to die with it pushed in even a little.

One thing about the new carb kit is the nice shiny new throttle shaft - I could see when the engine started to die that the throttle shaft was moving quite a bit, as if the throttle were being increased, like the governor was kicking in or something, then when I pulled the choke out to keep the engine from dying, the throttle returned to the idle setting.

So, I'm in much better shape but still have the original problem; engine won't run unless the choke is all the way out.

The onliest thing left to do is get a new coil, points and condenser. Anyone have advice on the electrical part of it? Is there a special way to tell what ignition coil to get? I figure I'll take the old one in and it'll have a part number or something on it.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. You all have really helped me out so far! It felt very good to get the thing back together and actually have it run. Now I just need to get the choke issue figured out and I'll be in good shape.

Thanks for all your help.

vic

It sure sounds like a "Lean" condition...

The WD-45's are real cold-blooded, and don't like to be too lean ( especially when they are cold)... Open it up until you see some light black smoke, then you can lean it back down..don't go too much by the number of turns..!! The Idle mixture setting is usually not as critical.. For general work, I set the power valve to where it will take fuel without stumbling, and for heavy work I open it up another 1/3 turn.. That really makes a difference in power, too...

I bought the AC rebuild and tune-up videos (they are great) and the video says what other sources say - 1 1/2 turns on the top screw and 1 1/4 turns on the bottom (load) screw. So, if you suggest I put more fuel into the mixture, do I use the top screw or the bottom?

I'll do an experiment - after I get the engine warmed up, I'll start with the bottom screw, and turn it out until I see blackish smoke, and then push in on the choke to see what it does. If it dies out I'll turn it back in and turn the top one out until I see a black smoke, and repeat the test. Then I can post the results and maybe they'll make sense to someone here. ":^)

I've tried running the engine with the air cleaner hose disconnected, to see if the air cleaner might be clogged, but it died when I started to push the choke in, so that's not it.

I have a stream of fuel from the bottom of the carb (I opened the little valve), so it's not a lack of fuel, unless I'm missing something.

I don't know anyone who has a WD or WD45, so I can't swap parts. But I can get the new electrical parts for less that $40 so that might be worth a try.

Right now I'll focus on the fuel/air mixture, and try to figure out why the governor is opening the throttle when I push in on the choke.

Thanks for all your help, folks. I'll keep you posted.

vic