New guy - buying a kart that's been sitting... need advice

[Andrew Ruiz]

First off,

I'd like to just say hi to everyone. I am a noobie to the world of karting, but I do enjoy doing HPDE's in my car every now and then. The car is a '93 RX-7 with a LS6 engine found in the Corvette Z06. It has a host of suspension, brake, and engine goodies, but boy does it get costly to take this thing out on the track!

For the time being, the car is undergoing a few changes - forged engine, new suspension, roll bar, etc. and I figured now would be a good time to hone and improve upon my driving skills with a much cheaper to maintain and track, Rotax kart.

The kart has been sitting for slightly over a year now. The previous owner put about ~5 hours on it when he did drive it (He bought it with 25 hours, so a total of 30), and really didn't seem to do too much maintanence to it from what he said.

The chassy is an '04 CRG, it's in good shape - no major dings on the underbody, a few scratches here and there, but I'm not looking to be competitive, just to practice.

The engine was rebuilt in '06 and I have the card for it. The top end is sealed, but not the bottom, but it's okay with me, because again, I'm not looking to race it.

As far as bringing this kart back to life, I've made a small list of items I want to purchase in order to make sure I've covered all grounds before attempting to fire it up. The search function works OKAY on this forum, so I've been able to get a list of what I need, I think, but I'd still like to see if there's anything else I'm missing:

Air filter
Fuel filter
Spark plug (IW31 is good for us SoCal guys, right?)
Carb rebuild kit
Oil - Motul 10W30 I heard was good
Brake fluid - ATE Superblue - I use it on my car, why not my kart?
Coolant - Standard auto coolant/distilled water, or is there something better?

Is there anything else that I am missing?

I can finally justify buying a Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner, so the parts will go through a nice cleaning cycle through there.

Essentially I'll give the engine a good run-through, cleaning out any grime and stuff and making sure everything is super clean. I'm mechanically competent and I have read the repair manual a few times, so hopefully, I won't screw anything up

As mentioned, the kart has been sitting for a year, but the battery was brand new just before it sat, will it still be okay, as long as it charges?

He said he attempted to start it, but it didn't turn over - anything to look for there?

Also, one last question - where does everyone buy their parts online? Is there a specific site that has the best prices/parts?

Hopefully I'll get this badboy running within a week or two and meet some of you guys out at Calspeed to get a few more tips and pointers.

Thanks a lot,

Andrew

[Angel ramirez]

MOTUL GRAND PRIX (2 STROKE OIL)FOR THE FUEL AND ANY GOOD 0W20 OR WEIGHT 30 FOR THE GEARS IS OK.
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Racing for the pure art of racing.

[John Savage]

[Christopher Ragan]

+1 on brakes.

Make sure they are perfect before you take off and try to reach 100mph

[Hal Haley]

Anrew,

> The car is a '93 RX-7 with a LS6 engine found in the Corvette Z06.

I've seen that swap, and it can be really well done. In fact it may have been your car that I saw, if you ever get down San Diego way.

> The kart has been sitting for slightly over a year now.

Carb rebuild (click on John Savage's link, find the .pdf on his site with instructions on how to go through the carb, follow them to a tee; by the way, thanks John!), check ALL of the fuel lines to be sure they are pliable, drain the water from the radiator, refill, and then do this a couple more times after you've run the engine.

> The previous owner put about ~5 hours on it when he did drive it (He
> bought it with 25 hours, so a total of 30),

Condition depends on how well it was taken care of. We have a 45-hour Rotax that's still winning club races, with nothing more than a clutch and regular maintenance.

> I've made a small list of items
> Air filter
> Fuel filter

Clean air filter, re-oil. Clean fuel filter. Both should be fine.

> Spark plug (IW31 is good for us SoCal guys, right?)

That's all we've ever used, except for break-in.

> Oil -

Use the spec Motul 2-Stroke

> Brake fluid - ATE Superblue - I use it on my car, why not my kart?

Lots of things don't translate from cars to karts. Absolutely, positively, use what the manufacturer recommends. My son had some brake caliper seals fail one time at Streets of Willow - not good.

> Coolant - Standard auto coolant/distilled water,

We've never used anything but distilled water.

> Is there anything else that I am missing?

Probably eight or ten things - call Andy or Eric at Full Throttle Karting and ask.

>I can finally justify buying a Harbor Freight ultrasonic cleaner,

Have one, and used it to clean the carb, with great results.

> I'm mechanically competent and I have read the repair manual

Go for it.

> As mentioned, the kart has been sitting for a year,

Buy a new battery. If the old one takes and holds a charge, AND it starts the kart, maybe keep it for a spare. It's such a drag to get to the track and not be able to start your kart.

> where does everyone buy their parts online?

Order everything from Andy at FTK - he'll ship it to you UPS ground, and if you're in SoCal you'll get it next day.

Hal

[Andrew Ruiz]

Thanks for the recommendations everyone. I went to kart-specific coolant and brake fluid. I also purchased a fuel pump rebuild kit, and my new battery will be coming soon.

I got in contact with a local shop, Empire Karts, and they set me up with everything I needed

Thanks again!

[John Savage]

[Todd Bellew]

De mineralized (distilled) water. The type with no minerals is perfectly fine for coolant. The Rotax over cools anyways so no need to get tricky.($$$ + PITA procurement)
And you can feel guilt free when you drain the system straight onto the ground.

Some "drinking" water can either have minerals added for taste and health(our bodies need some) or be "purified" in another way that doesn't completely eliminate all minerals.

It's all in the same place at the store. Get a few gallons, its cheap.
_________________
Thank You,
Todd Bellew

[Richard Thoms]

Don't be surprised if you need new exhaust packing material. I usually replace it every ~6 hours. When it get's old/clogged you'll get a drop in performance / top RPM.
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[Andrew Ruiz]

Well, I might as well give you guys an update and ask you a question or two:

So I did a few extra things for preventative maintenance here and there (rebuilt the starter, new fuel lines, rebuilt fuel pump, new exhaust packing material, etc.) and I put it all back together and it fired up on the first try! I'm pretty happy that there weren't any gremlins anywhere else and that I didn't have to track anything down - it fired right up!

But...

Although the kart ran fine on the stand, once I put it on the floor and started driving it - it wouldn't go anywhere... I would give it some gas and it would just start bogging and nothing. There was smoke coming from the clutch area, and I took it apart and noted the contact area where the drum meets the shoes was where the smoke was coming from. I am guessing it can be one of the following things, unless there is another common thing I am missing:

1. I didn't torque the starter gear down enough and it's slipping on the crank - retorque it and go from there.
2. I applied too much chain lube when I was idling it on the stand and it slipped into the drum/shoe area and made them slip against the drum wall.
3. The drum wall is bad and is slightly enlarged, which is making the shoes hard to catch and they slip.

The clutch assembly itself is actually fairly new. I purchased it from a friend of mine and he is very meticulous about maintenance and whatnot - he always took it apart and inspected/cleaned it after every race/practice.

Thoughts? I am almost there! Just one small gremlin left!

Also - now that I think about it, after I lubed the chain, while the kart was on the stand, at first it was engaging the clutch just fine (the drum would spin the chain/wheels), and after a while the drum would slow down, eventually almost not spinning at all - sounds like #2 can be the culprit?

Thanks!