T80 choke not working

My T80 has not been starting well these passed few weeks, the choke did not seem to have any effect. So took a look at the carb today & found that the spring (under the plastic cap) that tensions the choke butterfly was broken. This caused the butterfly to remain open even though the choke lever was in closed position. Luckily I had another carb body with a good spring, so swapped this onto bike. The spring is not available as a separate part so when it breaks you need another carb. Also I noticed that the screw that holds the butterfly to the spindle had worked loose,luckily it had not come right out otherwise it it would have been sucked into engine. The bike is now back running as it should.

Lucky you found that loose screw in time John, reminds me of a time back in the early 70's, i had a Mk1 Escort that was rattling from the engine like a small end had gone, took the head off to find a small ball bearing on top of the piston, and the piston pock marked like the surface of the moon, don't know how the ball bearing got there. My Townmate doesn't need choke when cold on warm days, could be running a bit rich, i'll have to check the plug colour.

Mine did not need choke in the warmer weather, just a couple of twists of the throttle to activate the accelerator pump. But with colder days now & only using it every other day, its starts better with some choke. I think the ethanol in the petrol does not help in cold weather.

Hi Dose the ethanol in the petrol destroy the petrol tap diaphragm?or attack the split the rubber hose's?

Admin drgaz wrote:Hi Dose the ethanol in the petrol destroy the petrol tap diaphragm?or attack the split the rubber hose's?  

Not as yet with my bike, all pipes & tap ok