hi, does anybody know if any aftermarket cooling heads would fit this engine?
thanks

ntloser. If you have only run two tanks thru it your not even close to being broke in. all the sts motors I have had take at least 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon before you can lean it out to drive it.

Ryan thanks for your reply.. I have been following the break in procedure as stated in the manual however the engine goes from super rich to super lean (no not the 1/2 tank lean). I wasn't sure and didn't want to do anything wrong so I brought it to the LHS. I let them know I only had 2 tanks through and they said only negative things about the carb and that it wont hold a tune. I assumed they we taking that into consideration. Where should my needle settings be at 2 tanks? Should they be at factory still?

Your LHS is just pissed cause you didn't buy it from them. The carb is great.
Check the HSN, it may be moving ( from vibration ) sounds crazy but, mine was. Also, don't run it so rich. I know it is not what others say but it is very hard on the conrod. Lean it out some, then run it. You are NOT going to hurt it. There is more damage done in those first two tanks running excessive amounts of fuel than just leaning it and not overheating it. Break-in is just fitting the piston to the sleeve, that's all. Don't race tune it, just lean it enough to drive it. It WILL break-in faster, run better and last longer.

Also, check that glowplug. The first few tanks create a lot of tiny particles (of metal) and they stick to the filament. If in doubt, change it.

I agree with 8man check your needles if they are very easy to turn you may have a problem there. but after the heat cylce bit lean the hsn maybe 1/8 of a turn and the same to the lsn to drive it around also check your temps you want the motor to be able to reach close to 200 now but dont go over 230.
drive it around at those temps for a tank or two then check your breakin by removing the plug and rolling the motor over by hand you shouldnt feel the piston grab at the top if it does you need to do a couple more tanks.
do that till you cant feel the piston resist at the top or feel just a tiny bit of resistance. then you can tune it for performance. have some patience.
all my sts motors have held there tune very well and can run all day long without messing with the needles

I am starting to think my LHS is full of it too. Unfortunately I do not know enough to diagnose things by myself. I read and read and whenever I try something that has worked for others it doesn't work for me. My last and first engine lasted 2 and 1/2 gallons it will still run but the piston head is brown,( AWW YEAH BUT IT WAS RUNNING LIKE A RAPED APE WITH OUT ANY HEAD SHIMS), and has tiny holes in it. I do NOT want the STS to turn into that. So I though bring it to the LHS.. Anyway, this things appears to be making crazy power. I think the LHS adjusted the needles a little so they could adjust the werls 4 shoe clutch. I tried but after taking the engine out 3 or 4 times and still not getting it right I decided to let a "pro" handle it. Much to my surprise the clutch is no different then when i was adjusting it.

Anyway.. Here is my problem now.. You'll have to bear with me if it is an easy one but I just want to get this going to have fun for once.

I brought the truck to a desolate parking lot and it fired right up with only 2 blips of the pulstart. Not even one full pull. I gave it a little gas and it died.. No big deal I started it again and let it warm up more then start blipping from 1/16 through 1/2 throttle. And besides the wierd clutch thing. I am actually thinking wow it is running good. Then at about a 1/16 of a tank left, it just dies. And it is hot so I let it cool down. I fill up the tank and try to start it again but it wont start unless I give it some throttle while pulling it. OKay no big deal I think I take it for another lap and it dies and I cannot start it. Fuel appears to be getting into the carb. I took off the air filter and there seems to be a gap when the throttle is all the way closed but the gap is not as wide as the width of a penny. But if it was a problem with the idle setting, why did it start the first time?
This also happened with the 4.6 towards the end. I know this is going to sound stupid but.. This started with my k 4.6 right around the time I installed the new era tank. Eventually I had to set the idle so high to keep it idling that it wouldn't stay still.

I guess what I will do is set the needles to factory. (I think they were adjusted by the LHS in order to set up the clutch.) Then if that fails to resolve the stalling problem put on the original tank to make sure I don't have some wierd problem with the New Era. I am open to other suggestions. Of course I can't find my temp gauge so I don't know how hot it was.

I don't want to be a little **** that goes to LHS but on the same token I don't want to find my piston head brown and full of holes

There doesn't appear to be any leaks in my fuel line or tank. I had the LHS seal the carb and back plate ( another thing that I do not trust myself to do)

Oh btw yes the needs are tight

What are the factory settings for the needles? I am looking at pictures and my HSN is black, it was also not flush with the brass piece when i got it. Are there different HSN needles that shipped with this engine?

I dont think you need to go back to factory settings I think you need to richen the lsn about 1/8 and try again. go back thru this thread and read what mine was doing when I first got one see if that is similiar to what your prob is. I just had to keep it rich and blowing tons of smoke and it ran great then after about a gallon of fuel it quit smoking as much and really started to haul a$$ . also there are factory needle settings in this thread somewhere.

Sweet. I think my break in is done. There is no resistance at the top. It seems like there is a little at the bottom.. but like suction or something. I am going to run a couple more tanks through just to make sure.,

Hi guys.. I am pretty sure i got an air leak somewhere in the engine. I am going to try to take apart the carb and check the orings. Is there anything I should look out for. Any tips?

allot of times there will be a fuel leak showing up at the same place you have an air leak

When I took off the pullstart, there was fuel one the oneway bearing shaft. But thats it.. I sealed the carb throat and the backplate but I am not sure what I can do about it leaking through the shaft.

EDIT

I also checked the O-rings on the HSN and LSN they were fine

if its just a small amount its ok , just out of curiosity what fuel are you using

Byrons RACE 30%

BTW the idle problem seems to have subsided for now.. with some adjustments. The main problem now is a 1/2 tank lean type issue. I am using the new era tank bracket and a 125cc tank that just about eliminates the 1/2 tank lean. My current running situation is like 1/2 tank lean x10. It goes from running rich to extreme lean where the motor revs up real high.

I am hoping the reseal of everything fixed it. If not I am out of ideas.

I think I already posted about this.. I am very tired from being up all night. Sorry for the double post I gotta get some sleep then goto the LHS to get some new aluminum shoes. I am going to ditch the werks 4 shoe for now until I get the engine issue sorted out.