Stripped mixture screw

#1
Hi all. This is my first post here, so thanks for having me.

I bought a doodlebug off Craigslist for $30. I thought it would be a nice project for me and my son. I noticed the mixture screw on the side of the carb is stripped out. Like a lot of other folks here, the motor will not run with the choke off, but I cannot tweak the carb because of that screw. Any suggestions on how to get this screw out so it can be replaced? I did take the carb off, cleaned it, and replaced the gaskets.

I will be reading up on the other threads to find a solution to the stalling issue.
 
#2
After looking at some pics of other people's carbs, I am not sure if what I think is a screw can be adjusted anyway. I guess on my carb, there was a black plastic piece, missing when I got it. Is this even a screw that can be adjusted?
 

TomH

New Member
#4
The modern carbs are not meant to be adjusted. Big brother, uncle sugar, whatever name you can come up with has decided what mixture you will run in your lawn mower engine. I do not know of a replacement carb that is adjustable for that engine. A replacement carb for that engine, just like the piece of crap that you have is expensive. Hate to say it, but a different motor is the way to go. For a used motor, check craigs list. A three or 3 1/2 HP briggs or a Tecumseh would be more than plenty of HP compared to the 2.8. A new motor the 99CC clone motor from harbour freight works pretty good. The 212CC predator motor from harbour freight is what many adult riders are using, or a 5 HP briggs or tec. That is why there are so many "good deals" on the doodlebug. They don't run.:laugh:
 
#6
The modern carbs are not meant to be adjusted. Big brother, uncle sugar, whatever name you can come up with has decided what mixture you will run in your lawn mower engine. I do not know of a replacement carb that is adjustable for that engine. A replacement carb for that engine, just like the piece of crap that you have is expensive. Hate to say it, but a different motor is the way to go. For a used motor, check craigs list. A three or 3 1/2 HP briggs or a Tecumseh would be more than plenty of HP compared to the 2.8. A new motor the 99CC clone motor from harbour freight works pretty good. The 212CC predator motor from harbour freight is what many adult riders are using, or a 5 HP briggs or tec. That is why there are so many "good deals" on the doodlebug. They don't run.:laugh:

I was hoping to put my son on this bike, so I do not want something extremely fast. I have heard the acceleration on the stock bike is pretty slow, so I think this would be good for him. The HF motor is really cheap though ;)
 

TomH

New Member
#7
I was hoping to put my son on this bike, so I do not want something extremely fast. I have heard the acceleration on the stock bike is pretty slow, so I think this would be good for him. The HF motor is really cheap though ;)
Right now they are on sale at harbour freight here. Sometimes it is regional though. The 99cc is 109$ and there is a 20% off coupon. So tax and all about 100 bucks. It should bolt right up carb linkage, clutch, and chain. Good reports from the members on here that have done the swap. Change out the oil a couple times pretty quickly to catch machining bits and other crud, and the motor should last a long time.
 
#8
One more thing..
I just put a new sparkplug in yesterday. I was curious as to the color after one day and it is really black. Am I not getting enough air at this point?
 
#10
It's a no go on getting that screw out.... The good news is, I fixed the idle problem. Im not too sure if I am using the right names, but I took the main jet out. I cleaned it with a thin piece of wire. It was really clogged. I also took out that black jet, the one by the idle screw, and cleaned that with the thin wire as well. I pretty much got all the info I needed from this site, so thanks!!
 
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