BX24 engine shroud cracks

[RayBo]

Hello All,

Has anyone else experienced cracks in the orange plastic engine shroud at the top edge (just under the hood, about 1/3 back from the grill) where there is a bit of a jog? Most of us have dealt with the fender issue, but this is a bit disappointing once again.. That shroud does shake like a mother #%#$ at idle (why does that motor idle so **** rough! It's like it want's to jump out) but still.. the molding of the plastic should of had a radius because both sides cracked the same way.. I epoxied it for now with an band of aluminum on the inside to reinforce - hoping it won't get worse. 500hrs on machine..

My replaced rear fender also has a stress crack between the back of the left grab handle and ROPS mounting flange.. hope they will be making replacement plastic for these machines for as long as I hoped to keep it!

 

[GolfAddict]

I haven't experienced any of the cracking issues I've seen on various threads, including this engine shroud problem you've seen, and have almost 500 hours as well. Hope my luck continues...

I only experience a nasty shudder/shake for a split second at initial start-up and for a split second at shut down. At idle (or any other engine speed) it runs very smoothly. I don't think yours should shake hard at idle speed, but due to my lack of mechanical knowledge I don't have any idea why yours would shake like that. Perhaps others will give advice for that.

 

[GolfAddict]

btw, what RPM does yours run at idle speed?

 

[RayBo]

I'll check the idle speed and post it... but I think it is about 800-900. When it is warming up or otherwise idling, I bump up the throttle a bit (~1200) and it smooths out. When I shut mine off, it also does one violent shake, like it wants to pull itself out of the motor mounts! Been like that since new and am assuming it's the nature of a 3cyl diesel. I have a VW TDI, 4 cylinder and that diesel is smooth - but it has balance shafts - I don't think these little 3 cylinder diesels have balance shafts though..

 

[GolfAddict]

Wow, mine idles at 1400 something, almost 1500, and I think that's about the correct range. Maybe the rough idling is from too low an idle speed.

Yes, mine does the little violent shake on start up and shut down, otherwise runs very smooth.

 

[keyman1808]

Mine idles around 1100. It does shake alot but if I bump it up slightly it all goes away

 

[radioman]

Mine idles around 1100. It does shake alot but if I bump it up slightly it all goes away

not during shutoff...

 

[keyman1808]

not during shutoff...

Correct

 

[GolfAddict]

I went out to search for correct idle speed for a BX24. I got a lot of hits, and lots of different values people said they had. Seems that those that had low idle speeds (in high hundreds) also said their engine runs rough at idle and consistently said the engine smoothed out if they bumped the throttle up a bit. Others reported a higher idle speed (anywhere from 1100 to 1500.) Then I ran across a post that said "the correct setting is right on top of your engine" so I had to go check mine.

Sure enough, right on top of the valve cover is a label with some specs, including low idle speed. It says 1300-1400 on mine. May want to check yours. It's possible your idle is set very low if you're remembering your idle RPMs correctly, and the excessive shaking of the engine that results is contributing to the shroud cracking

 

[thavil]

My idle RPM is 1340 and no cracks on the engine shroud or hood.