Hi guys i was wondering how do you tune a a-14 without any special meters and goodies to be perfect any of you masters out there that can give me a tip or 2 because if you run on leaded fuel and your mixtures and timing and stuff is right the exhaust should burn white right?

hey bud,

what set up are you running?
carb, cam , exhuast???

you might need to change your main jets, go smaller, unless your carb is flooding.

anyway have fun

nicholas
south africa

For a few tune-up tips on stocker motors, see the Tech Section article Tune-Up Information

If you have a modified engine and need to tune the carb, see section Tuning -- Making your Carb run right for YOUR engine in the article Which Carburetor?

Quote:The spark plugs shouldn't be white, but should be tan/light gray.

White means too lean. Black means too rich. Oily black indicates engine rings are worn.

If you remove the cylinder heads, the piston tops and valves will show color as well.

Im not sure if its rings or valve stem seals because if i travel in town it burns black and if i put a bit of foot trough the gears i notice quite a bit of grey/black smoke but if i had it on the highway smaking it abit she burns grayish

Oh, smoke. With good tune, and engine in good shape (good ring sealing), you should see nothing coming out of the exhaust pipe.

Unless its cold outside, or engine isn't warmed up. Then you might see water vapor (white smoke). This white smoke should disappear into the air quickly unless it is cold weather.

OK, so no smoke is good smoke. The black smoke out the tailpipe means unburned fuel. Choke might be stuck partway open, carb not jetted correct -- or very commonly, engine needs a basic tuneup (points, plugs and spark inspected).

Start by getting rid of the black smoke. Then see what is left.

For oil burning (bluish-white smoke that doesn't quickly dissapate into the air), a compression test is in order to see if the rings are sealing well.

Valve stem seals and/or worn valve guides will cause bluish-white (oil) smoke. But usually only for a few seconds after starting the engine.

Its time for its service anyway so ill try it and see what happens
Thanks