Idle speed?

[Laird]

I was thinking about the problem and what i may do is pull the governor arm off and drill a hole in the arm a 1/4 in or so from the original. That would lengthen the rod somewhat as the pivot point would change. How that would effect the top end will be seen.

[Laird]

Just did a double check on that and that won't work. Thinking about this stuff lying in bed without the engine in front of me, not remembering the configuration of the arm. Back to the drawing board. Maybe the governor not set right yet.......?

[john swenson]

yea .. lookup on the internet how to set that governor arm on that vanguard . there are some good videos on it. i got mine out of adjustment and when i started it up it went full throttle . readjusted and it worked fine . j.b.

[john swenson]

also ... one repair site said to bend the tab up on the larger of the 2 springs to lower the rpm. that lessens the tension on that spring . hope this helps . j.boy

[Peterac]

Yeah I’ve been all over the internet. Bending the linkage to governor arm won’t work for me and bending tabs for springs won’t either. At this stage it’s off to the local dealer…….but it’s a 2 week wait for them to start the job. Have to get in queue.

[Peterac]

Hope you have better outcome Laird!

[Peterac]

Update, mechanic looked at it straight away. Haha he said he was not keen on skid steering it into the workshop. Suited me��.
Downside is he did everything I did including bending the governor arm slightly and then adjusting the static governor while idling. It has dropped to 1000rpm.
He commented that there is no more adjustment in the linkages.
He then said take it home and see if that rpm will work for me otherwise bring it back and he’ll look internally.
Thoughts? Note the engine sat unused for 7 years in a shed and only has 40 hours on it. I then bought it.
It now shifts into gear with one or two crunches. This concerns me, should it? Does yours shift into gear without crunch.
Mechanic pointed out the drive belt is moving at idle, is it suppose to? Measured it and is 29mm and sits 1/20” above driven clutch. That’s all within spec.
Thoughts?
Learning lots, many thanks.

[dirtdobber]

"It also has a crackle when I put on throttle"
You mention the machine sat for 7 years. If you haven't done it, pull the carb off and clean it very thoroughly. That means taking out all jets, gaskets, orings etc. and soaking the jets, bowl and body in cleaning solution and running a fine wire through all passages along with compressed air and carb cleaner. Put it all back together and correctly adjust the air/fuel mixture. Hopefully this will solve the crackle and maybe the idle issue.

If it doesn't solve the idle, make sure its not partially choked. Look at the butterfly for wear. With only 40 hours it should be fine but you never know. Wear (or damage) to the butterfly will allow more air than expected and thus create more engine speed. Check for vacuum leaks where the carb meets the manifold and where the manifold meets the block (although vacuum leaks usually pull the rpm's down).

[Peterac]

Idled well today after taking up driveway to put on trailer. Crackle gone, think it had to do with continuous blipping throttle to check idle.

[trevorakm1]

also shifting into reverse and then shifting into gear is part of the manual on my bigfoot and that helps at times. I've had your issue through two motors now and I'v e gotten used to pulling the choke to slow rpms even though I hate to have to do that. s my B&S 23 hp warms it idles a little faster causing the issue. a blip of throttle does cause it to slow a little but my belt still spins but I can get her to shift easy when it happens. Oddly enough I also found I wasn't always lifting the shifter lever high enough to shift smoothly.
This thread has been a good source of tips though that I will check especially that governor tab bend. Keep us posted if the mechanics fiddling/ resolution lasts.

[Peterac]

Will do.

[Peterac]

Quick update, took Argo to farm. Had to get a job done then was going to pull motor and take back for service. The idle is going from 800 to 1200 to 900 too 1100. As it idles for a pprox minute it drops to 8-900. Haha all over the shop but the gear changes are mostly minor clunk. Apart from that I think I’m happy. Probably won’t pull motor if it stays like this! Woohoo!

[Laird]

Hope to get back to my engine sometime today. Still sitting on the floor. Someone was supposed to come look at the engine that's in the Argo now but no message as when he was going to be here today. HOPEFULLY, and that's a big maybe I might actually get to my own projects. Probably end up pulling the Argo engine this weekend. can't wait much longer....Bow season starts Oct 1 and would like the machine for then. Some guy may have to wait on his lawnmower......priorities you know. Hopefully you have the idle situation in hand. Got a couple of 16 Vanguards here for parts so i may play around with an extra governor arm. Same part number as the 23 governor arm. so we will see.

[Laird]

Update.WAHOO!!!!! FINALLY got the idle down to 800-850 range. Took some advice from a previous author.......put a light spring on the return. And I sold the opposed twin to a young lad and his dad for a project they have on the go. best to them. And got the 23 sitting in the hole left by the removal of the opposed.

[Peterac]

Congratulations, it’s a good feeling!