Yes, I saw the piston before this situation. There was ok, like a new, there was still a MoS2 layer visible. It was about L 45 ‘H 45/50’. I have these settings after the last ride on a different gear and spark plug.
That sound very lean on the low speed needle. I have typically run the Low at 75’-90’ (assuming"45’ " means minutes on a clock face) depending on air temp/pressure.
Yeah, I mean minuts open. How You have high speed needle? Can You show me photo your spark plug?
Your’s looks very clean, if not brand new. What plug are you using?
This is the plug I have been using since last winter. Only a handful of races and practice days. (Thank you Covid-19)
Last time engine was run was on the stand and never got up to temp so that is why there is so much oily residue. This is also the stock plug SKUSA runs in the X30 NGK r6252k-105, which I am sometimes forced to run with. Ideally you want to run the NGK BR8EG, BR9EG or BR10EG depending on air temp. The 8 in hotter weather, the 10 in cooler weather. The difference is how far the electrode insulation extends out of the plug. Less to cool, more to warm.
Careful, it’s the opposite of this. In NGK, lower numbers represent hotter plugs. 8 is a hotter plug compared to 9 (The 8 retains more heat) for colder conditions. That said, 8 is a little too hot for my personal taste, emphasis personal.
My mistake. I would expect you would only use a hotter plug in very cold weather. In Texas, I only ever ran the 9 before being told I had to run the Spec X30 plug.
That’s a decent amount of oil alright. Sorry to see that the engine is damaged. Can you post some pictures of the piston, cylinder head. It can be hard to diagnose these things over the internet, but we can hopefully give some pointers.
1 Like
Add more pictures please. Top of piston and the combustion chamber. Do you know what the piston to cylinder wall clearance was? Did you allow the engine temp to get to operating temp before pushing it hard?
My first guess here is the piston ring stuck during the breakin process. This caused poor compression and incomplete burn (all the oil/fuel not burning and passing through the exhaust). Looks like a cold seize after that. Piston to cylinder wall clearance may have been too tight to start with.
1 Like
Piston to cylinder wall clearance 0.10mm. After run in must be 0.11/0.12mm. Yes, first I warm up engine. Its my fault, I wrong carb adjusting. The grinding of the cylinder and the fitting of the piston were performed by a very good engineer from Poland. After rebuild, exhaust have the same oil leaks. Before engine stuck, he runing 2.3mth
1 Like
My opinion is that 0.10mm (.0039") is too tight. I’d say 0.14mm (.0055") minimum would be better.
I know this is more than suggested in the owners manual.
Again, this is my opinion and others may vary.
@Christian_Fox @Rapid1
Yes, .10 is way too tight. You want a minimum of at least .13mm
How about those oil leaks? Has anyone from the forum had a Leopard, or has anyone seen what it looks like in kart other people?
It leaks on stand to, and makes a lot of smoke.
I set carb with jetting app. This foto is after engine run in procedure.
@wsalisbury3 @tjkoyen @KartingIsLife @GregF ???
I am asking about it, maybe I have some other fault? Although everything is after the service, there should be no problems. On Youtube, I see movies with this engine, no one is smoking that much. Nobody has such oil leaks, even when the kart is in the stand.
1 Like
Honestly the amount of oil is not unusual for an a Leopard or similar (racing) two stroke that’s being operated below it’s correct RPM for a long time, or not being driven very hard. Smoke on the stand is not unusual either. Since you’ve confirmed your popoff is holding it’s probably not getting a bunch of fuel.
I’d be more worried if there was no smoke. At lower RPM a lot more of the fuel and oil escapes out the exhaust and leaves oil deposits. Also, if they engine is not being used hard and has longer times off full throttle, the oil accumulates in the crankcase and is then expelled when power is added again.
To seal it, usually wrapping the flex part between the header/manifold and the pipe will reduce the leaking at that point. Securing the exhaust wrap with safety wire can help it stay in place.
Come to think of it, it might be worth checking the flex for cracks.
0.10mm is going to take a long time to break in I think, pretty tight for an iron bore. Is the builder familiar with the leopard in particular? If they are, then they should understand the difference between the dot colors on IAME pistons. This chart is worth reviewing…
While we’re here, here’s the Leopard Owners Manual
MY09-Assembly-Manual.pdf (3.4 MB)
Agree with James, it’s a lot of oil, but impossible to say if it’s too much since you’re never getting the engine up to racing speed and RPM. Lots of 2-stroke engines will load up and be really rich on the bottom end if they never get a chance to rev and clear out.
I have Tag engine. Not RL, but carb jetting is similar. This is manual for my engine. leopardmanual2003.pdf (3.2 MB)
Both models are TaG (Touch and Go, ie electric start), you have what’s sometimes called the pre-09 leopard. They are very very similar.
One thing to note, and you may already be aware… but jetting recommendations are based on a specific oil ratio (and popff). The manual recommends 6% oil and you mentioned you’re on on 5%. Something to keep in mind as you begin to tune the engine for performance as currently it will run rich on the fuel side for a respective jet position.
My '09 Leopard spits a lot of oil also if I run it on the stand too long and then smokes on the grid waiting to go out. Generally I only try to warm it up a little on the stand until water temp comes up to 95 F or 100 F then take it easy on my out lap until water temp hits at least 105 F. If you have cooler weather, you can cover the radiator with rows of tape and peel them off as needed to regulate temps.
Like James said, you may need more break in time.
Are you suggesting me make a 6% fuel mix? I have a pop off of 10.5psi.
I don’t think I fully understand you.