Argo creeps forward at idle

[BW3]

Our last run out to the swamp I had a great time running the Adair tracks. I went to park her back in the shed after shutting her down for a bit to cool her off she started and ran fine and seemed to idle down. I am not sure if she is idled to high or what the issue is but if you put her in gear she creeps forward at what seems to be idle or has been up until now ...I have not checked to see if she will do the same in reverse or not , but she will not stay in place if in gear at idle ...Is this an engine idle issue with it to high in that she has or seems to be very hard to idle down and shift at times with out her grinding the gears to engage or is this a clutch issue? With 126 hours on the clock could it need to be slicked up with silicone spray?
I have picked up a can of silicone spray tonight and earlier today picked up a 808626 adjustable carburetor for the Vanguard 23hp B&S... opinions, thoughts, help please ,,,Thanks
Bill G.

[kghills]

Most of the problems you are describing can be caused by a slightly too high idle.

Keith.

[BW3]

What and how do you fix such a problem ? ....or do i go ahead and try the adjustable carb B&S # 808626 ...hopefully it is not just fuel mix adjustable but idle also?

[brushcutter]

There should be an idle adjust screw on the butterfly. They will sometimes vibrate out of adjustment, a drop of blue locktite on the threads should keep this from happening. DON"T use red locktite, unless you like the thought of using the required torch that close to your carb.

[BW3]

Did not have much time today to figure out what is going on but it seems like the idle RPM's are to high and what really has me wondering is that the choke does not seem to be working now , it starts hard and after it is running it has no effect on how it idles / runs ... hope to get a chance to see what is going on ,, but I do know this Vanguard 23HP has the non adjustable carburetor .... Factory sealed via the EPA ....

[Noel Woods]

The 23 B&S has a tendency to surge when the valves need adjustment, mine did the same thing, then I did a valve adjustment and things went back to normal. The other issue is that the Adair tracks require less power to move forward than the tires do, which may be part of what you are experiencing.

[BW3]

She has a fair rate of creep and the B&S does not seem or sound to be surging ... looks / sounds like a high rpm idle but again I/we ( my much more knowledgeable friend have not had time to really check / verify things like like how or if the throttle assembly is working correctly or the choke for that matter ...we already know she runs a bit to rich ...and up until I gave in and cut the hood and added vents she ran hot and still does but not as bad ...The only other piece to this is on our last run in the swamp was run in low gear due to my current driving ability or lack there of ...I will added this also to the check list ...Thank You Noel...All so far ..

[BW3]

We finally got a chance to see what was/is going on with the Argo ... Thanks Brushcutter found that screw you told me about .. it was not what I was expecting but so figured it out ... we think we have it idled / adjusted the best we can and it no longer creeps forward but we felt that it is/was not shifting very well ...One thing we did not do was check the transmission fluid condition when we first got it we checked only the level .... Today we took a good second look and found it did not look / smell very good ... so we have changed it ... I hope that the very green ,,,brown ,,,,gray... light weight oil (?) does not mean we have a major problem and that the correct weight oil will improve the shifting ...It almost looks like the oil got to hot ....time will tell ...

[dogteam]

Take a look at your throttle cable. Something as simple as rust preventing it from moving freely could cause the high idle condition. I only mention this because I just had to replace the cable and had the same problem because I had it adjusted too tight. Sorry if this is "too obvious" but I'm new at this and that was my first lesson.

dt

[BW3]

Ok ...short trip but I am at my wits end .. it idles good and does not creep ... let her warm up and the idle increases and the creep comes back ...What am I dealing with ...engine issue ,,, clutch issue , worn belt at 126 hours on the clock or ????????? we do hear a cling from the front clutch (smaller clutch) at idle and if left on long enough the choke on full will let the engine cough a bit as it runs ..a bit rough but still runs ...


HELP !

[BW3]

Well still no joy have spent the last couple of days on and off trying to figure this problem out ...got to looking at things and noticed that the drive belt seems tight ... it is a CVTech # B3221AA0900 .... is this correct ? have not found a cross reference to the Argo part # 127-159


I am about ready to pull my hair out of my head ....and I aint had any up there since I was 19....a.k.a a long long long time ago

[swfleur]

you may have belt and drive issues but - you mention choke acting strange and idle - I had machine that would act strange when the air filter assy got loose or if it got even a little bit dirty in the air intake- then it was a loose carb sucking air in -the it was a dam crank seal leaking bad enough that it messed with the pressurization inside the engine - I found this by spraying the choke cleaner around the engine while she was running -( not into the carb ofcourse but just around it where it attaches ) if you have a leak - it will suck the carb cleaner in and surge up the revs as the carb cleaner burns off- maybe this is a no brainer but worth mentioning. But as was already mentioned - that dam sticky throttle cable has got me a few times also - good luck and stop pulling your hair

[BW3]

Well we got it to idle as low as we can ... still can't find as yet why the choke does not seem to work .... at this point we are going to run it and see if something becomes more apparent.... for now I have been able to run it in high gear at a very low /slow ground speed and it handles well with just a bit of creep and not the 2-3 MPH creep as before , have also leaned out the gas mix as much as we could the only issue I have other than it shifts hard still is that after she warms up the creep ,,,very slow creep now returns if you shut it down and turn the secondary pulley by hand it is much harder/tighter than when starting cold ...wonder if I dare put powdered graphite on just the shaft area of the drive pulley and not the sides if that would work .... it almost seems like the belt is sticking to the sides as it heats up .... either way I am going to run it as it is and see if we must adjust anything again


a.k.a hairless

[brushcutter]

Find out if your belt is tensioned correctly. I tried replying here a couple times but my pc has been trying to get throwed out in the yard the last few weeks by repeatedly telling me it "can't find server at" and other lies. Anyway like swfleur said try spraying carb cleaner or wd-40 on places such as all intake mating surfaces, or any other vacuum areas while listening for a change in engine sound, usually it will "smooth out" for a few seconds if you hit a leak with it.What can you tell us about the machine's history? In other words do you know if anyone ever tinkered with the float? Have you cleared all the jets especially the main jet so that you're certain there is no obstruction there? Did you install the carburetor with the adjustable jets you mentioned earlier? Why do you think the choke isn't working right? That should be easy enough to figure out, is it cable operated? If so, remove the breather cover so you can see into the throat of your carb and see if the choke butterfly moves when you pull the cable. If you are having to run it with the choke partially closed, then you have fuel supply issues, which can be caused by the vacuum leaks mentioned above. Be careful about leaning it out too much, that can blow a hole in the piston or cause other equally nasty things. Sorry to ask so many questions, just trying to rule out things to narrow the probabilities down.

[BW3]

Choke has no effect on engine RPM.. open or full close ,, No noticeable changes in engine operation when we sprayed Carb Cleaner around all intake areas ... will relay the lean info to the real small mechanic tomorrow we will adjust it back a bit ...as for belt tension it is easier to turn by hand if it is cold .. let it run and heat ? up and it seems to stick more to the drive pulley idle seems stable at this point but not sure of the RPM's ...


Thank You for your help I /we ..(my friend Bruce has a 2000 Argo Bigfoot ) enjoy running the local swamps to much to give up or to damage the beast due to not knowing enough and comparing it to the Bigfoots operation