Terramite engine failure?

I got the electrical wrapped up, and the hood back on. When I was at the hardware store I forgot to get a pipe for the oil drain, that will have to wait Until tomorrow. Once I can get oil in the engine I can do the spark and smoke test on the electrical, as well as see if I have the throttle hooked up right, I am not too sure on it.


Here is a picture from the other day, you can see the coupler. The coupler is a double U-joint that goes over the output and input shafts about 1” on each side.
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When I put the engine in I did not check how far in the shaft was to the coupler. I slid the engine back as far as I could until the air filter barely touched the battery tray and marked the holes.
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When I put the engine back in after drilling holes I noticed the coupler did not go on very far, about 1/2” at most. I was able to cheat the coupler forward a bit, as the pump input shaft extended through the coupler, and than some. I now have 3/4” or so on each side, and i was confident at the time, but I am starting to wonder. I could have either made a spacer between the output shaft and the flywheel, or cut the battery tray to slide the engine back farther. I am considering making a spacer, do you guys think that it is necessary?
 
I think as long as your set screw sits inside the end of the crankshaft you should be ok. It it has to set screws, one above the keyway and another on the crank itself, I think I'd drill a dimple into the crankshaft on the one not above the keyway, so that the set screw will be secured well to the crank preventing it from working off, if indeed it even would. Leave that set screw out, slide engine in place, then put a burst of spray paint to mark the spot, or if you can get to it, center-punch a mark. Then you can remove engine and drill a dimple about 1/8" in for the setscrew to embed into.
 
olcowhand said:
I think as long as your set screw sits inside the end of the crankshaft you should be ok. It it has to set screws, one above the keyway and another on the crank itself, I think I'd drill a dimple into the crankshaft on the one not above the keyway, so that the set screw will be secured well to the crank preventing it from working off, if indeed it even would. Leave that set screw out, slide engine in place, then put a burst of spray paint to mark the spot, or if you can get to it, center-punch a mark. Then you can remove engine and drill a dimple about 1/8" in for the setscrew to embed into.
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Good idea Dan! I will do that, thank you!
 
I just had it running! I do not have the governor springs right, because it idles at almost operating speed. I will look a truck the manual again and see if I can figure it out.

Also, when I unhooked the battery it stalled, so I was thinking the engine was not generating its own power. After I thought about it, the backfire solenoid needs battery power to stay open, so even if it is charging it would still stall. I will do some more tests tomorrow.
 
When the engine blew, I could not move the machine. To get it to roll, I had to take the hydraulic motor off of the axle, and take the key way out. Luckily it broke down on a nice fresh new dry driveway, and I just put it back, in my dry driveway. If I ever break down again I probably won’t be so lucky, and I would like a way to move the machine without having to take the hydraulic motor off. If I put a 1/4 turn valve between the two hoses that feed the hydraulic motor, would it allow the motor to turn when the engine is not running? Here is a picture of the motor. Also, I tried pressing the pedal when it broke and it still wouldn’t roll.
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Thanks guys, I am going to put a valve there. Even if it is hard to move when the fluid is cold, at least I have a second option for moving it in the case of another breakdown.

As for the charging system, I think it is working. I spent another hour trying to figure it out, removing engine covers to trace them and double check where they went. I decided to check the voltage; when the engine is off it had 12.5 volts, running 13.8 volts. I am not sure why it stalls, maybe something with the backfire solenoid, I’m not sure, but it seems to be charging. I also added a return spring on the governor linkage, it operates well now! I just had it running for about 30 minutes and all seems to be working!
 
I am happy to report that things have been working well! This engine fires up as quick as any, and is a smidge quieter than the magnum. I also seem to have more power at lower rpms, I don’t have to wind the engine up near as high to do the same operations. Also, the issue I talked about HERE has gone away.

After I got it squared away, I started work on my neighbors truck. Typical northeast 7.3 with rotted oil pan. While it is out I did a list of other things also. The terramite works alright to move the engine, but I wouldn’t want to go on any uneven ground. Here I was just moving it away from the other vehicles and house so I could wash it.
 

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