My Governor Adventures

[ChickenWing]

Hi All,

I finally got a new governor spring, so I took the governor off and did a thorough cleaning. There was alot of gunk build up, causing the levers to be very difficult to move. So I totally disassembled the levers and cleaned them as well. After they were put back together, they were moving like new. I reinstalled them with the new spring in place. Then I put the governor back in. Lining up those dots really is hard to do, cause you cant see in there, and you have to spin it, so you cant really see where you are putting the gears. Anyway, I got it back in and bolted the cover back on it. I wanted to start it, to make sure it was timed before I put the rockshaft together. So I tried to start it, and it wouldn't fire. Must be timed wrong. Took it out again, and tired again. This time, I took the dist cap off to see where it was pointing, and reinserted. I was sure I had it this time. Then I tried to start it, and it wouldn't start. All I could think is that I had it timed on exhaust stroke, so I switched number 1 and number 4 plug wired, and she started right up. Then I switched 2 and 3. I will redo the governor another time. Not sure how I got it backwards?

Then I was putting the rockshaft into the governor lever and the key fell to the ground. I said "oh fffuuuuuuuudddddgggggggggeeeeee!!!!" Picture Ralphie from the Christmas Story when he dropped the lug nuts. I couldn't find it, so I had to make a trip to Lowes for a new one. I quickly tried it when I got home, and now I see what a Governor is supposed to be like. I havn't had a chance to try it under load yet, because it was getting dark, and the mosquitos were eating me. I'll probably get West Nile now. Tomorrow, I will shim and loctite the rockshaft, and after some time for it to set up, try cutting some grass again. I have my fingers crossed.