Mike's Tune-Up Guide To Keep Your Mini In Shape.

Reminder: When I say engine shop, I mean lawnmower shop.

  • What you should do first is take off your gas tank. If you have access to an air compressor, it will help a lot. After this, empty the tank into a gas can. If the gas in the tank is more than a month old, than it's probably good to put in fresh gas when you're done. Then use that air compressor to blow out the crap in your main intake valve.

  • After that, you should take off your carb after disconnecting your throttle cable from your throttle plate(little thing the cable is connected to on your carb) and disconnecting your air filter. When you've done this, you should spray the inside with carb cleaner and get all the build up out of there. If you're having trouble with your carb because the mixture is wrong then you have to adjust your needle valve. I have a Briggs, so it might be different for a Tecumseh. Anyways, you should take a scredriver and tighten it so it's nice and snug. Then, untighten it one and a half turns and it should run better. If any of your gaskets (little rubber piece that screws go into and separates 2 different parts ex. carb and engine)are cracked, ripped, or just old and useless, get new ones. You'll have to get the code and serial number off your engine housing and then tell the engine shop what gasket you need.

  • If you're having trouble starting your engine, there's a good chance it's your spark plug. To test this, take off your spark pulg and then attach it back into it's cover. Put on some good gloves and and touch the plug to your engine block. Pull your starter cord and look at the bottom of your plug. You should see a healthy blue spark, if not, you need a new plug. Don't worry, they're only 3 dollars, but don't get them at Checker, those are way too big and you should get it at a lawnmower store. Another thing to do is check the outside of it. If it is dirty, wipe off the dirt or get a pneumatic spark plug cleaner(you once again need an aircompresser). If it is corroded you'll probably need a new one. NEVER DROP YOUR SPARK PLUG! If you happen to do this and it lands on it's bottom, you've probably damaged the gap and The plug will not work.

  • Now, the main thing about an aircooled engine is that it's aircooled(duh). If stuff builds up on your flywheel, your engine won't cool down properly. To clean your flywheel, take off your blower housing(thing the pull start is on) and, if you have an air compressor, blow all the dust and grime off your flywheel. You can also clean it with a wet rag, or a rag covered in carb cleaner, but don't touch it to your frame, or anything with paint since carb cleaner is almost all alcohol and will take the paint off your bike like lightning.

  • If you don't have any oil, buy some lawnmower oil from an engine shop. I wouldn't use motor oil for a car since I think it's too heavy.

  • Since your air filter is probably off, you should clean it(only if it is foam). First, soak it in hot soapy water and and then ring it out. Don't pour the oil water down your drain, it will start to collect and you will get a clog. If you want to get the most out of it, soak it in some motor oil(only a little) and ring it out. Nothing collects dirt like motor oil so this is a good idea. NEVER RUN YOUR BIKE WITHOUT YOUR FILTER. This will result in particles getting in you engine and destroying your pistons and cylinders.

  • After all of this, you can put everything back together and ride. The best thing to do is go and buy a Tecumseh or Briggs Repair Manual. This will tell you everything you need to know about your horizontal shaft engine.

  • If you decide to take my advice, I am warning you that I'm not a certified mechanic and if you mess up your bike, it is not my fault.