Harbor Freight 50cc Engine Carb Alert.....Heads Up !

Porkchop

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Apr 13, 2009
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Upstate SC
Heads up to all that are using the 50cc engine from Harbor Freight's auger, water pump or the look alike engine from monsterscooter and others. I have the engine from HF auger on my friction drive. I've put about 250 - 300 miles on it with no issues. Yesterday I put the engine back on the auger to dig a few holes. First 14" deep hole went without a hitch. Got about 4" down into the second hole and the engine just stopped like it was out of gas. Pulled the rope and immediately noticed the carb cover was loose as a goose. I couldn't understand why since I had just put it on and tightened the hold down screw. The carb was hanging on by a thread. There are 2 screws that hold the breather assembly onto the carb. They appear to have thread locker on them. There are 4 screws that actually hold the carb onto the engine block. All 4 were so loose that they all required at least 4 complete turns to tighten them up. I don't know how the engine stayed running as long as it did. The carb was literally dangling on the block. My thought is because no thread lock on the carb mounting screws, the big time vibration from the auger worked them loose. This is also the very first time the auger has been used. Anyway, I tightened everything down and it fired right back up and ran like a charm for the rest of the day. I was away from home and had no thread locker. I bet I remove those screw and put thread locker on them before I use that engine again though. To make a long story short, all who are using this engine check those screws before you get to far from home and have a break down. I was lucky !
 
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