By kshoaps on Unrecorded Date: Edit

About 6 weeks ago, I changed the oil and transmission fluid in my 14 hp Vanguard MaxII. It hasn't been run since then. Today, it started well and seemed to run well for the most part. I drove it about 1/2 hour over some old snowmobile trails--great fun except for the smoke. Every once in a while the motor would seem to shudder and miss for about a half second to one second. Power would be down a bit--maybe 25% and CLOUDS of blue white smoke would come out of the exhaust. It looked like a broken oil ring in a 49 Ford--if you know what that was like you know how much smoke there was. No change in engine sound but only a small power drop. If I continued driving the smoking might last 2 minutes or 10 seconds. Nothing seemed cause it or to make a difference. When the smoke went away everything seemed fine until it stumbled again and it started over.
Any ideas?
keith

By Attex Bob on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Keith: Two things come to mind. 1. You have a broken ring like I did when I bought my Argo. The whole top of the piston was ready to come off when I bought this thing!!!!! But like yours, it would sometimes smoke and sometimes it would'nt. 2. You might also have a valve seal that is following the stem up and down. I have had that happen to me a few times also. Sometimes it would follow the stem, and sometimes it would jam on the guide. One other thing you might check is the plugs. If you are down on that much power it might be a plug. But with that much smoke I doubt it. I would put money on the rings. One more thing; when I took a compression test on my engine it was......well.....ok. Not bad like I thought it would be after seeing the piston after teardown. Good luck and let us all know what you find so we can all learn.

By mr. tinker on Unrecorded Date: Edit

check your oil level. sounds like you overfilled the crankcase. it will eventually burn the oil up but not really good to run overfilled.

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

ooh do be cairfull when adding oil or soon your fule pump may fail!
timm okeefe has bin vexed for monthes by a fule starvation problem,
people kept telling him though a fule pump works or it don't,
however we found that it can work poorly,
the trouble begines when adding oil to a vangard,
you must remove the short little pulse hose from the valve cover that drives the pump, otherwise it will fill with oil and screw up the pump,
we were lucky to run into somone at humphrey during the dice run who knew what the trouble was AND who also had a spair pump on him to let us try.
thats all it took!
so be cairfull filling your vangard engines or plan on carrieing a spair fule pump!

By Wild Dog Machinery on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hello Keith

No, or insufficient, crank case vacuum and Over filling. These things will enable your engine to make HUGE clouds of the loveliest blue smoke you will ever see.

No or insufficient crank case vacuum.

The most likely causes in this instance are missing, pinched, damaged or improperly seated dipstick o-ring (may be square or round in section). Generally characterized by prolonged emission of blue smoke.

Remedy. Replace or properly seat o-ring inside dipstick cap before screwing the dipstick cap back into place, being careful not to cross thread the cap or pinch the o-ring again.

Over filling.

Easy enough to do and will also cause oil to be drawn into the air cleaner bowl via the crank case breather, resulting in blue smoke. Generally characterized by intermittent emission of blue smoke.

Remedy. Remove excess oil from crankcase. Depending on the engine model you may be able to suck oil from the sump using a vacuum-type oil drainer via the dipstick breather or you may need to drain via the drain plug. When checking the oil level, refer to your Engine Owner's Handbook for the method - Dipstick either screwed into the filler tube or just resting on top of it.

In both instances, you will need to clean out the air cleaner bowl to remove any excess oil in the bowl. It may even be necessary to replace the paper element of the air cleaner and also remove excess oil from the foam element. There may be some smoke come out after all of this but it should clear out shortly after starting your engine post-remedies and cleaning.

On the matter of fuel pumps, the diaphragm receives pulses from the engine in the form of vacuum, which causes the pump to work by pulling the diaphragm back and forth. On the other side of the diaphragm, only atmospheric pressure exists. This area, sometimes covered with a little plastic grill in newer engines and by a metal cover with a couple of holes in it in older engine can sometimes fill with debris like dust and other junk. The result? A diaphragm that can't retract fully when the engine vacuum is not present and a pump that either won't work or will work poorly, as Davidrrrd notes.

Oh yair, Davidrrrd, on your note about removal of the pulse line, otherwise it will fill with oil...

I take it you replace it after adding oil? Correct me if I am wrong here.

The best way to avoid getting oil into this hose is to use a small plastic funnel with a long nose to deposit the oil far enough down into the valve cover to pass by the pulse line. If you do this you don't need to remove the pulse line at all.

Jim Deering

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

yes jim you are corect, it is a good idea to replace that little hose after,
hey if a funnel will help by all means use one, i wouldent know myself as i don't own a briggs,
just tellin yah what i learned from thoughs nice folks who saved our weekend.

By TIM O'KEEFE on Unrecorded Date: Edit

DAVE IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT! I HAVE BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS WITH FUEL STARVATION PROBLEMS FOR OVER A YEAR. THE MOTOR RUNS WELL FOR THE FIRST 5-10MINS, AND THEN IT STARVES FOR FUEL. AFTER IT COOLS A LITTLE IT RUNS AGAIN. THE PROBLEM IS THE FUEL PUMP. I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS DUE TO OIL IN THE FUEL PUMP, BUT ONCE WE CHANGED THE PUMP IT WAS FINE. ALSO I HAVE HAD MAJOR PROBLEMS WITH GASHES IN MY SIDEWALLS. I HAVE TO RUN TUBES IN ALL MY TIRES. THEY EVENTUALLY FILL UP WITH MUD AND WATER MAKING THEM HEAVY (JUST ASK JIM FROM JERSEY) THEY aRE stock RAWHIDE 3S. IT TURNS OUT THEY ARE ONLY 2 PLY! I MUST CHANGE TO 6PLY FOR MY RIDING AREA. I AM GOING WITH THE GATOR TIRES, I DON'T KNOW IF VAMPIRE MAKES A 25X12X9, OR IF A DIFFERENT SIZE WIL FIT.
PS. THANKS TO THE CANUCKS FOR THE FUEL PUMP AND INFO ON OIL FILLING.

By argogeru on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Tim,
They do make a vampire in the 25x12x9, but a stock bigfoot does not have near enough power to turn them. they grip alot more and weigh 33 pounds a piece compared to 12 pounds with the rawhides. I would suggest staying with the rawhides and being more carefull were you ride,because if you spend the 700 bucks on vampires, you will not be happy with them, because your bigfoot will not have the power to turn them. You need at least 30 hp to make them effective, speaking from experience, riding with a regular on this board who has the hp and the vampires.

By TIM O'KEFE on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I FOUND A PLACE ON TGE NET THAT SELLS TIRES PRETTY CHEAP. I ORDERED GATOR'S 25X12X9 FOR 54.99 EACH. THEY ALSO HAVE VAMPIRES FOR 75.00 EACH. MY GATORS WERE 359.00 DELIVERED FOR ALL SIX!

By TIM O'KEEFE on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I TAKE YOUR WORD FOR IT ARGOGERU, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE GATOR TIRES?

By David Keeso (Argomag) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Tim, That was my case a few weeks ago. I found some cheep rawhide 3s for my ARGO MAGNUM, i talked to Ron Bast at ODG and he said they are old models that slip on the wheeles. I recommend carefully checking into the quality of these tires before you buy them.

By TIM O'KEEFE on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I UNDERSTAND YOUR POINT, BUT I NEED MORE THAN 2PLY TIRES. ALL MY TIRES HAVE MASSIVE GASHES IN THE SIDEWALLS, BUT THE TREADS ARE GOOD!!!

By TIM O'KEEFE on Unrecorded Date: Edit

IF YOU HAVE ENOUGH HP TO RUN, WILL THE VAMPIRES AND THE GATOR'S FIT ON BIGFOOT? 25X12X9

By argogeru on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Tim,
I do not know much about the gators, but RI put some 27x13x12 gators on their prototype buffalo truck on display at humphrey, and the factory guys said they dont swim to good but they do well in the mud. again I beleive horsepower will be an issue with these also, I would find out how much each one weighs and the # of ply before you buy.

By TIM O'KEEFE on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I JUST FINISHED CHANGING ALL MY CHAINS ON MY BIGFOOT, IT RUNS LIKE GREASED LIGHTING NOW. I CAN'T WAIT TILL I GET MY NEW TIRES NEXT WEEK!!! MY STEERING LEVERS BROKE OFF TODAY, THANK GOD I WAS CLOSE TO HOME. MY WIFE IS GETTING TIRED OF RESCUEING ME!!!

By TIM O'KEEFE on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I SNAPPED OFF MY STEERING LEVER BRACKET YESTERDAY. I HAD TO GET IT WELDED, IT COST ME 45 BUCKS!!! I WONDER HOW MUCH IT COSTS NEW??? DOSEN'T 45$ SEEM LIKE TOO MUCH MONEY?? THANK GOD IT DIDN'T BREAK OFF AT HUMPHREY WHEN I WAS GOING DOWN A BIG HILL!!

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

YAH THANK GOD, HEH HEH HEH
I THINK YOU STARTED THE CRACK ON THAT HILL AFTER THE SKI SLOPE, YOU KNOW THE ONE WE BOUNCED ALL THE WAY DOWN,
IM SURE YOUR WIFE DOSENT MIND RESCUEWING YAH,
IT'S AMAZING THAT SHE ALWAYS FINDS YOU OUT THERE,
I GAVE UP ON MY 440, BROUGHT IT TO ANOTHER SHOP.
THEY ARE BACKLOGED TOO, IT'L BE A FEW WEEKS,
BUT FOR ARROUND HERE I HAVE THE TERRA-JET.

By TIM O'KEEFE on Unrecorded Date: Edit

WELL I HAVEN'T GOT MY NEW GATOR TIRES YET. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO COME MONDAY. THEY TOO ARE BACKLOGGED AND I WON'T GET THEM FOR THREE WEEKS. THERE ARE A BUNCH OF PLACES THAT HAVE THEM IN STOCK OR SHORT DELIVERY,BUT THEY WANT 150.00 MORE THAN TEES OFF ROAD IN LOUISIANA. IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE I CAN GET THE GATORS FOR AROUND 400 BUCKS IN A WEEK' PLEASE LET ME KNOW?

By TIM O'K EEFE on Unrecorded Date: Edit

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU DROVE YOUR 6X6 WITHOUT THE TWO MIDDLE TIRES? WILL IT DAMAGE THE FRAME?

By TIM O'KEEFE on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I DON'T KNOW IF THE 6PLY TIRES WILL HELP ME??? I HAVE SO MNY ROCKS HERE IN RHODE ISLAND THEY TEAR APART MY TIRES!!! THE GATOR'S CAN'T BE THAT TOUGH TO TURN, IF THEY COME STOCK WITH THE MAX BUFFALO!!! WHAT SIZE MOTOR DOES THE BUFFALO COME WITH? A 20HP? THE ONE ON DISPLAY AT HUMPHREY HAD 27 INCH GATOR'S ON IT!!!

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

TIM ARROUND THE YARD TO PUT YOUR TRAILER AWAY OR SOMTING IT'S OK BUT IF YOU GO OUT ON THE TRAILS YOUR CENTER AXLES WILL GET BENT UP LIKE PRETZALS

By dukhntr on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Tim,

I have run the Gator tires, and they are one tough tire. They pull fantastic in the mud! The only down thing I can say is they do not swim very well. I didnt find them any diffent as far as turning, on my Max IV, 18hp.

Paul