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first time general questions

vtmtnbob

New member
After bringing my 1962 (more or less) snow trac to vermont i finally got a chance to drive it. i confess i had a little trouble (stalled it a few times and it did not idle well (most likely needs a little carb adjustment) I do have a lever that says throttle control (another one for choke) which helped with the idle. My trails are a bit narroiw for its 8'+ width so i need to do a little more widening with my chainsaw (anyone need firewood!). once we get a decent amount of snow i will post some new pictures. but here are my questions (i have looked around the forum but i have not had luck in finding the answers though i am sure they are out there somewhere)

1. it seems to like to run between 3500 and 4000 rpm would that be correct? or is that to
high?

2. today i pulled the throttle lever (next to the choke lever) to bring the idle rpm up
so it did not stall all the time. is that ok? i still experience a loss of power on
occasion. going up a steep hill and making a sharp turn.

3. is it ok to put in dry gas?

4. do you recommend regular gas. premium gas or super gas? should i only use gas without
ethanol?

5. the lever on the left that says left turn, right turn. is that for if you break your variator belt? or just making sharp turns?

6. how come sometimes when i turn it takes longer for the rig to turn than others? i read that you need to start turning early so i worked on that but a few times it just did not want to turn for some reason.

i know some of you are biting your lips and holding back on giving me a hard time (i have read a lot on this forum, :) but any advice is appreciated.
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
sound s like you have had some no stock mod's done to your rig post picks now steering is likely belt adjustment and i would need some pics of your engine to see distributor and carb with hoses and cables i'm betting some one removed the fast idle cam like on mine and added a hand throttle to idel the engine up when the choke is on. pics will help us to help you when dealing with custom mods likely though barring a problem with where the vaccuum advance i hooked up yu just need a good tune up with points and condenser. ps forgot 3 to 4 k is about right if you still have the OE governer it will start shorting out the ignition at 4k
 

teledawg

Member
This Snow-Master has some special mods done to it. Someone seemed to have installed a hydrulic steering brake on it at some time. Here is a thread that contains more photos of it before it went to Vermont: LINK Look at Post No. 4.
 

vtmtnbob

New member
well they did come down in price from that forum but that does show a good picture of the engine. would it be helpful to have another angle?
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
that cab mod is the same one i'm planning on for my rig i wuld love some pics of the brake components also just to see what was done mine has no brakes and i was thinking in the lines of a hand drake because with winter boots there isn't much room for mt feet on the pedals
 

vtmtnbob

New member
pics

that cab mod is the same one i'm planning on for my rig i wuld love some pics of the brake components also just to see what was done mine has no brakes and i was thinking in the lines of a hand drake because with winter boots there isn't much room for mt feet on the pedals

oops i forgot the camera the first time and the second time i had the camera but the battery was dead so i could not get any photos.

does everyone keep there rig inside a garage? someone moved my battery to the outside of the rig which i guess makes make it easier for me unhook and carry home to keep it warm.
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
Re: pics

oops i forgot the camera the first time and the second time i had the camera but the battery was dead so i could not get any photos.

does everyone keep there rig inside a garage? someone moved my battery to the outside of the rig which i guess makes make it easier for me unhook and carry home to keep it warm.
here in nome in door storage is not only expensive to build but also to heat ;5 bucks a gallon for heating oil so no mine resides out side unless i'm on call. Than i take a company vehicle home and put my st inside to thaw out,it always seams to start with ut being plugged in down to -25 as long as my brand new starter works. Thats a sore spot for me i have a bad solenoid and no vw parts in town so no fun for me this weekend .If your rig is parked out side in a remote location i would suggest a battery disconect switch and a solar battery maintainer, you have a lot of extra stuff in that one you ma have a draw some place
 

mtmogs

New member
Re: pics

One nice feature of the 1200-1600 engines is that they can be easily started with a hand crank. Does yours have a "crank nut" for the front pulley? The crank nut is basically the standard nut for the front pulley, but with a couple of tapered ears sticking out beyond the crown. The ears engage the crank handle, then eject the handle upon engine start so you don't get your arms ripped off. There's not too many snow cats that you can start by hand and it's a great feature especially if you spend any time out in the bush. Here's some links showing the crank nut and handle.

it always seams to start with ut being plugged in down to -25 as long as my brand new starter works.
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
asmy motor had been changed the crank nut is missing i was considering making a rope pulley for the crank like the old mil spec generators had so i could rope start it the large fenders provide a good plat form to stand on and might be a little safer with mire than one compression stroke to crank on
 

mtmogs

New member
A rope start should work fine, in fact, VW used to sell a rope start accessory (see here). I'm not sure I could crank over my 1995 cc, but I might give it a try.

asmy motor had been changed the crank nut is missing i was considering making a rope pulley for the crank like the old mil spec generators had so i could rope start it the large fenders provide a good plat form to stand on and might be a little safer with mire than one compression stroke to crank on
 

vtmtnbob

New member
fourth run!

i gave up on the battery and just bought a new one (actually i charged the old one up but the charge did not hold) which so far so good.

Here are a couple of pictures up at camp with the family. it worked great getting us up there but would not start when it was time to go. it would turn over and catch then die, and again and again. finally it stopped starting and i gave up and skied back to get a snow machine to bring everyone home.

i went up today and it started with no trouble. are snow tracs always so temperamental?


today i had trouble with it not staying in first gear. i used second as i was going downhill so it worked fine. it was slipping out of first gear and then it just did not want to go into first. it started to grind going in so i stopped and just used second. the return trip is mostly down hill.
 

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Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
starting and nit staying running sounds like an ignition problem you may have a resister to drop voltage to the coil in order to preserve the points or you could have a fuel problem mine had a needle valve leaking with a little cleaning i got it to work but i replaced the carb be cause i had the wrong one for the engine .i would look for a good vw mechanic tthat could tune it up for you also your transmission dosn't sound too healthy
 

alaska120

Mayor McCheese
SUPER Site Supporter
I had some problems with my trans in 1st originally. Take a look at a VW book. The two bolts that hold the shift lever on the floor are also adjusting bolts for the throw on the shift shaft. By loosening the bolts and shifting the cover around you can adjust it so 1st is nice and tight. Check them all though!
 

mtmogs

New member
A common problem with the PICT carbs is a stuck float needle valve. There's a little bowl in the carb that is filled by the fuel pump. The float "floats" in the gas in the bowl and actuates the needle valve that supplies gas to the carb. When the bowl is full, the needle valve is closed so no more gas to the carb. It's much like the float valve in your toilet tank. If the float gets stuck, then snow trac no go. A tap on top of the carb can dislodge a stuck float valve. The needle valve passage is also a great place for a tiny piece of crud to lodge and give you heartburn.

Check the basics (fuel,air,spark), but do give the carb a good cleaning. Are you getting any fuel into the carb throat? You can check by taking off the air filter on top, holding the butterfly open with a screwdriver, and moving the throttle linkage. You should see some gas squirt into the throat. Do you have an inline fuel filter? Is it clogged? Frozen?

Awesome looking snow master and great little cabin by the way.
 

couchloafer

Member
SUPER Site Supporter
Check your track and chain tension as well, it looks like the track might be a little loose.
dds a member here (jasper) has done a disk brake conversion and uses a hand lever and reservoir inside the cab. Here is a link to his album with the pictures. Send him a pm, I am sure he would tell you about it he is a really nice guy and did some very nice work on it!
http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/album.php?albumid=63
 

Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
Check your track and chain tension as well, it looks like the track might be a little loose.
dds a member here (jasper) has done a disk brake conversion and uses a hand lever and reservoir inside the cab. Here is a link to his album with the pictures. Send him a pm, I am sure he would tell you about it he is a really nice guy and did some very nice work on it!
http://www.forumsforums.com/3_9/album.php?albumid=63
thats a good idea never thaught about a clutch master cylinder i have atoyoya going to the dump i will be snagging the master cylender before it goes .
 

vtmtnbob

New member
Thank you everyone for replying. I had a VW mechanic come and take a look. we did try alaska120 approach as the transmission does have about a 1/4 inch play for that reason. unfortunately it did not stop it from slipping. we did determine that if you held it hard it would stay in so i am going to rig something up to help hold it in first gear and keep my fingers crossed it will last till seasons over (only two more months here anyway).

we looked over the engine (1600) and found the [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Electromagnetic cutoff valve (part 14,15,16 in diagram link below) to be broken and most likely the cause of my engine troubles.[/FONT] he has some and once he finds one this week i will put in it.

When the weather warms i will try and get some more pictures for everyone. maybe a few more of the inside of the cabin as well :)

links: carb adjustment seemed pretty good:
http://www.vw-resource.com/34pict3.html
diagram of carb:
http://www.vw-resource.com/carb_41.html

oh i forgot to add i do have the hand crank but i have not tried it yet but will. any suggestions?
 

mtmogs

New member
Ahhh, a fuel shutoff solenoid. I've heard of those on PICT carbs but have never seen one. It's useful if your fuel tank is mounted on the fender above the level of the carb to prevent fuel from draining into (and out of!) the carb while the machine is not in operation. I installed a hand valve in the fuel line to do the same.

As for hand cranking, do you have a much coveted crank nut (it's actually a bolt) for your crankshaft pulley? It looks like this. If not, you can make a crank nut to replace the one holding your alternator pulley on as shown here.
 

vtmtnbob

New member
yes my fuel tanks are on the fender above the carb.

i also have the coveted crank nut and i when i read that post early i notice you rig is the same yellow as mine. they did put teh industrial 1600 in mine before i purchased it, i will have to see if the opening in the front grill area is still correct to use the hand crank, i did not check that. i figure once i get the carb working better i will give the hand crank a try :)
 

mtmogs

New member
Actually, you should look for a hole in through the fender probably. If you install a crank nut for your alternator pulley, then the corresponding hole will be in the front grille.
 

vtmtnbob

New member
agh i understand. i am pretty sure there is a hole down lower. i will take pictures when i give it a try :)
 

vtmtnbob

New member
just a heads up.

i replaced the [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Electromagnetic cutoff valve (part 14,15,16 in diagram link above)[/FONT] mag jet as the mechanic called it and what a difference that made, she idles good and has lots of power.

now i just need some more snow, all the storms are all going south of us (i live about and hour drive south of canada here in vermont.

this summer i will tackle the transmission.
 

Snowcat Operations

Active member
SUPER Site Supporter
Welcome to FF. Glad to see another Snow Master brother out there. They are the best deep powder machine ever made in there size catagory. 0.32 PSI! You should also have a spring setup on the transmission lever. This alows you to change gears when stopped and left in gear on a steep incline. The older style would not come out of gear until the pressure was let off. If your VW trans guy is working on it make sure he keeps that part in place!
 
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