speed problems

[Gnarly Dancer 42]

we have a 6.5 hp harbor freight engine and it has been running great but we started having some problems


when we drive normally the engine will rev up and down giving a really inconsistent pull and making it impossible to drive the right speed...

my friend thought we might need to clean the carburetor so we'll probably try that, but any ideas on what might be the problem?



on another note, our gas tank ripped off does anybody know if they sell replacement ones?

[supermanotorious]

luckily for you I am a HF engine master. yes, speed fluctuation could be due to dirty carb, there are many videos on youtube for cleaning "honda clone" carbs, I personally like to boil in lemon juice for 30 min if it's excessifly dirty then spray it clean with carb cleaner. it could also be due to your throttle linkage so make sure all of it is dialed in and doesn't flex back and forth as you're running the engine, check your spark plug too, maybe clean it maybe replace it. HF does sell all parts, go to their site, download the manual then find the part number and 800 number and call it in, takes a few weeks to show up but it works, I've done it many times