New Kitfox owner

[tommg13780]

Mark,
was the carb deal successful?

[inflight]

Tommy-

I did get my carbs and they do appear to be new. I have not installed them yet but I am optimistic that they will solve my problem. Because they sat for a while I'm wondering if I need to try to reseal the float gasket or just try it out and see what happens. There is a lot that needs to be removed in order to get the carbs off on a 914 and I don't want to have to do it twice if I don't need to. Is there a way to test the float bowl gasket before I get them mounted? Anyone know? Thanks.

[tommg13780]

Mark,
My carbs came also. I wish this deal had come along sooner because I spent around $500 on rebuilding my existing carbs. Only difference I can see on the exterior is the throttle position sensor which could be removed.
Tom

[inflight]

Tom-

Since I have a 914 that sensor is an added bonus. It is a 2-300 dollar part on its own so I figure that only helps the cause. Have you installed your carbs yet? I'm worried that the cork gasket in the float bowl may be dried out and leak which will put me back where I started. Anyone have a suggestion on how to test the gasket before I install the carbs? I plan on getting to that in the next week. Thanks.

[Dave S]

Mark,

On the carb bowl gasket...the time honored "motorhead" way of dealing with that one is to remove the gasket....if it comes off in one piece, no breaks and has not shrunk it should be entirely usable ....if it is a little rigid, drop it in some gasoline for a 1/2 minute or so shake it off & go ahead, reinstall the bowl and use it.

A new bowl gasket on a rebuilt carburetor should not deteriorate if left assembled for a period of time.

[inflight]

Dave- Thanks for the response. Based on what you said I went ahead and just installed the carbs, new as is, thinking the gasket should be okay.

Luckily, so far, no leaks and was finally able to get the 914 up to full rated power 39.9" @ 5800rpm. Wow! It really wants to fly. Now I just have to decide how much of the "5 year rubber replacement" I want to tackle as most items seem to be in good shape, with no leaks and the engine is SMOOOTH. I'd hate to introduce a problem as I have read here several times with unnecessary part replacement.

[tommg13780]

Mark,
I also installed the new carbs straight out of the box. My 80hp ran very rough and would only rev up to 3000rpm. Quite obvious that something was wrong so they were removed. Upon dismantling the carbs I found out a couple of things. The main needle and jet are same as the set up for 80hp motor but I had one of the needle clips in position 2 and the other in position 3. The correct position for 80hp is 2, at least that's what has been working fine on the original carbs. The needles have 4 clip "slots" and I count them as 1=top to 4=bottom. They are reinstalled and ready to test fire so we'll see what happens. Just another 20 minute job that turned into 4 hours spread over 3 days. I will report again with results.

[kmach]

Inflight,

I recommend changing the fuel lines and coolant lines while you are getting this engine/aircraft back in service. Done now will possibly save you some grief down the road, and you will be starting fresh with new hose and have a benchmark for future replacements. I'll bet when you remove the old hoses that you will find some problem areas on the removed hoses.

[inflight]

Tom-

I had just read recently that the carbs on the 914 have the needle clips in different positions. I'm not totally sure why except maybe it has to do with proximity to the turbo? I hope getting that straightened out fixes your problem.


kmach- I have already replaced the firewall back fuel lines including the aluminum tubing as it was getting scalloped out by the elevator bell crank the way it was installed. I will replace the fuel lines firewall forward as there is not much of it with the 914. I have everything I need already to do the coolant lines but access is definitely an issue to do all of those. I'm considering redoing the motor mounts as well if I'm going to do the coolant lines as it would be easier to remove the motor, it seems. The motor mounts seem good as far as the rubber being still supple but they do look like they are sagging a bit. I'm not sure how much is too much when it comes to mounts sagging. If anyone has photos of theirs that I can compare to that would be great!

I'm definitely struggling with wanting to fly as soon as possible vs. doing everything 110%.

The outer rudder pedals also seem to be a bit sticky but I'm not yet sure if I can remove them to polish the inner torque tube because the plane is already covered.

[Esser]

The outer rudder pedals also seem to be a bit sticky but I'm not yet sure if I can remove them to polish the inner torque tube because the plane is already covered.

This one is an easy 20 min job. You can remove the pedals fairly easily and sand inside the tubes. The hardest part will be taking the springs on and off