I don't really see anything major wrong with the sheet metal cover that can't be fixed with a vigorous sanding and shooting a couple of coats of primer followed by a couple of coats of paint won't solve.
Good call on waiting for the oil and filter change and general check up before start up on it. No telling what you might find while giving it a good going over first. Tip it to one side so you can siphon out all the gas into a bucket so you can so what all comes out. I put a larger gas filter on my Bobcat which has the same engine as your Champion. You might look and find one with a clear outer shell so you can see when it starts to stop up.
Pull the plugs and turn it over a few times too, before trying to start it, to make sure there is no water in the cylinders. Check the condition of the plugs while you are at it, or just swap in a fresh set.

 

I pulled the plugs they were bad, replaced the air filter, and bought some 10w-30 Honda brand oil, and a kohler oil filter. I pulled the hood tonight blew it out of with air and dam this thing is dirty. However saying that all the wires look great no rat nests etc. Just years of accumulated dirt and dust. I did start it tonight to make sure it turned over, the welder fired up with a little gas in the carb ran for a few seconds and died. I pulled the carb and the seals are bad along with I believe the float is sticking. So I'm just gonna rebuild the whole thing. The gas was terrible I mean nasty :/I didn't change the oil yet as I don't like the way they have the drain plug. I'm going to get a piece of 3/8 galvanized pipe and run it out with a 90 on the end and plug it that way so it will be a hell of a lot better to drain when needed. The oil had gas in it also I smelled it tonight. Oh and it needs a new battery also. The gas tank was bone dry I threw in a couple of cups of ethanol free gas in it to turn it over. I'm gonna replace the fuel hoses also they aren't terrible but I'll feel better knowing its new. Now I can't decide whether to sand or sandblast it, because your right there's no dents except a minor one where the fan vent is no big deal. I measured the leads tonight also which was 100ft of stinger lead and two 80ft grounds.

 

Do you think it's out of warranty?

 

Willie, if it is still in the warranty period, that broken/bent choke knob voided the warranty. It's an unauthorized alteration to the control features, so warranty voided:nono:. Good thought though.:waving:

You should also take the sheet metal off and check for rodent nests or anything else that should not be in/around any of the rotating parts before you try to crank it over. Blow it out with compressed air and give it a good eyeballing for anything that seems out of place.

 

P.S here's a trailer I'm gonna pick up for $350 looks like it'll be good to just keep this machine on and to haul a 4-wheeler or something what say y'all?.

With the welder working, you can use it to modify/improve the trailer to better suit your needs, like adding lead wraps and making a place to secure some torch bottles, raising the rails and adding more vertical supports to the rails. Make sure to check the tires for age cracking and repack the wheel bearings for good measure, too.

 

Oh I definitely plan to customize it to my tastes first thing is to grind out the ****ty welds on the fenders and re weld and also any other that doesn't meet my expectations. Then I'm going to raise up the sides and build a support for oxy fuel bottles and build some lead wraps that have a locking mechanism some way. I will add some cable to the wench or just replace it with a electric one have not decided on that. But it will be primed and painted after a good grinding and sanding. I plan on painting welder orange and black so may do the same with the trailer.

 

Don't forget to repack the wheel bearings, so you know they are good to go. If it doesn't have one, get a good spare tire for the trailer. Then make a place to mount it on the trailer, with a locking mechanism. You don't want to have to leave it on the side of the road while you go to get a flat fixed.:nono: You might come back to find it's been stripped of everything that can be easily gotten off. Or you may only find the PLACE you left it, and no sign of it anywhere.:angry::blob2:
A wheeled tongue jack is a good idea to have on it too.

 

It does have a huge *** hitch on it and I mean it hs to be over kill for that little trailer but it's nice none the less .! I have never re done wheel bearings or even dealt with them other than maybe in skates? I will build on a spare tire holder don't want it walking or rolling off. Any ideas on a way to keep leads on the trailer without them walking off also ? And if you know where I can get a new faceplate that would be nice too? Thanks

 

You might be careful with extending the oil drain.
Done improperly, the vibration will loosen the threads and dump the oil.

 

I would agree. If your engine drain is like mine(very likely), it has a yellow cap to remove and then push in and turn 1/4 turn to open the drain valve. You can get a short piece of hose that slips over the part the cap fits on and extend it out to your catch bucket. I have a clear piece of hose about 5' long and eliminates any mess. I can use the same hose on two of my riding mowers that also have Kohler engines. Look into that before deciding to alter your existing set up, it's cheaper and easier to do, and works just fine.
Repacking wheel bearings is a pretty simple operation. If your unsure of it, get someone who knows to show you how, while you do the work(hands on, best way to learn). A pound of wheel bearing grease only costs $3-4 and can do the bearings at least twice. A wheel bearing failure on the road is worse than a flat to get you going again, an ounce of prevention here is worth MORE than a pound of cure. I've had to deal with it on the side of the road before, not my truck or trailer either, but the guy had no clue what to do and I was riding with him. If your can rebuild a carbuerator and make it run right, then you should do fine with wheel bearings with a little instruction. I can probably talk you through it if you want.

 

The last one that I saw blown up, was a mismatch of the drain plug location and the hole in the frame.
The drain pipe consisted of a 4 or 5 inch pipe an elbow and a plug.
The galvanized pipe vibrated and eventually made the threaded hole oversize,it didn't turn itself out.
The constant vibration made the aluminum sort of flow.
The oil leaked out and an engine with about 50 hours on it, threw the rod through the crank case.

 

Well.. Now that's a dam good reason to not do it! Never thought of the threads becoming oversized due to vibration. Thanks a lot ! Any ideas on how to make it easier to change due to the drain plug being In awkward place specially right at the bottom under the starter in about 8 inches. Right down on the bottom of the floor

 

Gas in the oil is/can be an indication of a DEFECTIVE fuel pump on these Kohler power plants. Ethanol fuel also causes some “rubber” issues.

 

Thanks if the carb doesn't fix it I'll look into that. However the carb had some nasty gas and rubber all inside of it so I'm pretty sure it is the carb.

 

I have occasionally seen replacement engines that ended up so that the drain plug was pretty inaccessible.
Just warmed it up and tilted it a little.
Used one of these to drain the oil through the filler hole.:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Oil-and-Lub...376362?hash=item566dfb592a&item=371212376362&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr

 

Well I'm certain this isn't a replacement engine. That's pretty neat like a reverse grease gun. How long would it take to drain it all and is it possible to get it all out ?

 

A carb issue doesn’t ‘normally’ provide enough gasoline to cause the oil to become diluted and have the gas smell. A broken diaphragm in the fuel pump allowing raw gasoline to be sucked into the crankcase does.

 

Well I'll pull the fuel pump Monday and check it out never rebuilt on but can't be too terribly hard the fuel pump on these looks simple. Kits only like 40$ so I'm not gonna worry to much if it is. Anything else I need to look at?

 

On my ranger 9 which has an onan engine there is a short hydraulic hose with a cap for an oil drain. The hose is only about 8 inches long. I would think that would be the best way to extend your drain.I have seen plenty of pipes and pipe fittings snap off from impact or vibration but have yet to see a hose break on the fitting unless it was smashed directly on the fitting.

 

Thanks I'll try that I've already decided not to use pipe due to blue welder explaining.

 

If you can find a hydraulic fitting cap you will have a hex head instead of a pipe cap which is just round.

 

I can't find any parts for this machine itself hardly I find plenty of kohler parts for the engine though it seems well supported but I can't find crap out about the actual machine other than a write up of the specs on hobarts website. I stumbled upon a product called a fumoto qwik valve. All the reviews I read praise it. It comes with a extension of hose it also opens like a valve on a air compressor it's pretty slick. Ever heard of it and I'll have to decide which is easier/ more safe by Monday.

 

Not entirely familiar with that brand of valve but I have seen others. They usually are like a mini ball valve with a detent that you have to overcome to turn it. On mine the hose sticks out past the frame a bit. I bought the welder used so I'm not sure if its factory or not. I would use a cap since there's a possibility of sliding something into it and maybe breaking a valve .

 

That's a good point I guess the old valve will always be a better option. Sometimes technology isn't the answer oh well it was worth a try. I should have her running tomorrow bar any unforeseen problems.

 

That’s great! How long did you let it run? Keep an eye on the oil level and smell just in case the fuel pump also has an issue.

 

About 10-15 min I'm gonna run it more throughly to make sure everything's good im hoping the gen is fine it has no aux power either

 

Does it have weld output?

 

Not sure gonna grab some rods at work before I leave today and hook the leads up but I put it on a volt meter last night and it went from 35-70 erratically then no volts cleaned the studs tried again same thing. The open voltage on that machine should be 75. Also a red light was solidly on in the upper right corner of the pcb

 

I don't know how good a video would do. I guess it depends on where you have the camera pointed and whatnot. It's better when doing something to be able to look at it directly, and check and recheck things back and forth if you know what I mean.

 

Yea I do I feel the same way. I checked the choke cable and throttle both are nice and smooth so I'm not sure what it can be I'll try and adjust screw tomorrow. Never had anything that wouldn't idle down im not sure if that board could affect it

 

If you look you should be able to find an idle solenoid that pulls in to bring it to idle. it's about the size of a "D" cell battery, with a linkage sticking out the end. Make sure the wires to it are connected good and the solenoid is free to move, it may be locked up. Check for voltage to the wiring to it when running.

 

Yea I saw it its directly on the carb the jet is behind it when you pull it. It has a red wire which I assume is the hot but no ground also there's no place to plug s ground just the red wire. The solenoid moved when I pushed it directly from behind when I pulled it so I assume it's good? It moved in and out anyways. I don't have a volt meter I'll have to see if I can borrow one from my neighbor. Or buy one I just never have much use for them until now

 

It grounds through it's mounting point, no need for an extra ground wire. You could apply 12 V power to the red wire to see if it activates. If it moves when you do that, then it is working. If that checks out, then you need to see if you are getting voltage through the red wire to it.

 

I'm no electrician what would be around the house that I could hit with for the 12v?

 

You would run a jumper wire off the welder battery to test the solenoid.

 

That's the way to do it for sure. A little ole piece of 18,16 or 14 gauge wire would do the trick for testing it. Long enough to reach the positive post on the battery. The engine don't have to be running to do the check. Just put 12v power to the red wire and see if it reacts.

 

Is this the manual? http://www.hobartwelders.com/om/0900/o945v_hob.pdf

 

Yes, that's the manual I got when I put it into Hobart.

 

Maybe a dumd question, but is the switch on the front of the machine in the run/idle position?

 

Yes, I've switched between both.

 

I know the real raggy looking line is just a cover but your fuel lines look pretty rotted. Did you check the 2 white colored fuses on front of the machine.

 

The ones up top are brand new fuel lines so they can't be rotted and the others don't have any cracks etc the very bottom one isn't that great though. I need to get some new line for it anyways I'll grab some tommrow. And there isn't any white fuses ? There is the cb 1-4 with white buttons but no fuses ?

 

And does anyone know a good way to get the dust off the coils I've got some coil cleaner spray for my ac its copper spray. But I didn't know if it would hurt it

 

Here is a post that might interest you regarding the cleaning of your rig. Read post #7.

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?313271-Cleaning-your-welder&highlight=cleaning+engine+drive

Contact member 7A749 with a PM to ask about his recommendations on doing this. I believe he buys, cleans/fixes up welding machines and resells them. Hope this helps. Here's another one you can check out about cleaning.

http://weldingweb.com/showthread.php?320211-Washing-welder&highlight=cleaning+engine+drives

There is another link in that link too. So look at it while you are at it.

 

That coil cleaner is a mild acid. I would try electrical contact cleaner.

 

Ok where can I pick any up? I've googled and can't find crap specific to cleaning welder/gen coils

 

The orange fuel in the cup may have been some residual old fuel left in the tank/lines that has now cleared out. I don't understand what you are referring to as something not spinning. Do you mean the idle solenoid? Does it get power to it when set for idle/run? electrical contact cleaner can be purchased at electrical supply houses, think about where electricians shop for their supplies.

 

Yea the idle solenoid that's why I posted the video to see what you thought. Sorry I misread it I thought it was supposed to spin my bad. Also any idea of why the light would just magically go off and give aux power? And yes it gets power