Snowmobile Help??

[Byron/PA]

Well, my fellow IS members have always helped me out before, any motorheads out here??
Please keep in mind that I have the mechanical aptitude of a three year old .

I have an 1982 Polaris sled (no idea what size) and cannot get it to start/run. I have spark to the plugs, and the pistons are getting gas(perhaps to much gas?)

With the plugs out and pulling the starter cord, fuel gushes out the sparkplug holes, is this normal?

Since I have spark and the fuel pump seems to be doing it's job, I have the feeling it has something to do with the carbs(2) or fuel/oxygen mix.

On the carbs, there are adjustment screws that regulate how far the carb pistons(like flaps on a car carb) are open. Should these be closed, open or in between when trying to start it?
Perhaps it is something else altogether?

Any advice?

[Traxion]

First off, with that much gas spewing out, it sounds like it is wayyyyyyy flooded.  Let is sit for a few hours, or even overnight if it is real cold.  Put a fresh set of plugs in, leave the choke and throttle CLOSED.  Pull and see if it fires.  Also, make sure the plugs wires come from the proper coil.  They should not cross, the coil on the left goes to the left cylinder, etc.  I am assuming you have butterfly type carbs??  The butterfly should be closed when trying to start.  Make sure there is not a choke lever/butterfly that closes to choke the sled as well.  I wouldn't mess with any adjustments on the carbs yet.  More info on the sled, model and engine size would also help. 

Eric

[farmer ted]

Hello, It sounds like you are getting too much fuel. You prabably have a float that is stuck, or debris in the needle valve. You will have to remove the fuel bowl on the carb. You may first want to see if you have good spark, if you dont repeated pulls on the starter will keep pulling in fuel and if no spark is present the fuel will accumulate without burning and be purged out the spark plug hole as you desribe. Take a plug loose and ground it against the engine and have someone turn it over, the spark should be bright blue, not orange or yellow. Also use a pair of insulated pliers to hold the plug or you could get a shock.

[big big rdg]

If i were you i would ask on a site like hardcoresledder.com or snowmobileforum.com... .they always have quick help. I suggest you try hardcoresledder.com first they have lightening fast responses. They have always been a help with all of my snowmobile needs. Goodluck finding out whats wrong!

[stumper]

Start by disconnecting the fuel lines or shutting the fuel off.Then remove the plugs and spin the motoer over till there is no more fuel spraying out.Lay a rag over the plug holes to keep dust out and let it sit .This will help the rest of the fuel to evaporate out of the cylinder.What type of carb is it? Does it have a bowl?or does it look like a bunch of little plates stacked together?Once the motor is "aired" out.Put NEW plugs on the wires and set them in the plug holes,spin it over,any fuel left will burn up at this time.Put in the new plugs  and give the  carb a shot of starting fluid.see if it trys to start.If it does you know you have the motor cleaned out.If you want,you can hook up the fuel back up and see if it was just flooded,But i would suggest pulling the carb and checking it out first.
Always keep a fire extinguisher handy when working on sleds with fuel problems.

stump

[killitandgrillit]

I've fought many a battle with Polaris sleds.

I won't go over what everyone else said, but it's good info. Speaking of which, we could use a little more...

Does it have good resistance when you pull on the starting cord, or does it spin easy? Are you using fresh gas?

To answer your question, the flaps should be only slightly open when you start it. At WOT (wide open throttle), they would be all the way open.

Keep in mind, that if it's 70 degrees outside, your sled might not start at all, and for good reason. In colder temps, the air is more dense, which changes the required fuel mixture dramatically. The newer EFI sleds can compensate for this, but older sleds cant without a qualified mechanic changing the carb setup. Your sled is set up to run at one outside temp- COLD. Once temps hit 40, the air/fuel mixture will be close enough to produce a decent idle- any warmer and you'r liable to flood it out.

[APU GARCIA]

All very good tips!! Some sleds have drain holes in the front of the crankcase under the exhaust manifold, if there is lots of gas in the crank case remove the bolts and drain it out. It sounds like a carb problem to me, like a stuck float. Take the bowl off the carb, remove the main jet and clean it all with carb clean, don't try solvent or anything else, they make carb clean for a reason. Make sure the float moves easily.

[bigredonice]

Had this happen many times with sleds, other 2 strokes and 4 strokes.  Change your plug and gap it before you do anything.  Alot of times the plug will spark when checked against the block, but will not spark under pressure.

[Robb]

That thing is way flooded!! If it has a fuel shut-off use it, also let it sit and clear out, with that much fuel it may take  while. To run an engine needs Spark, Fuel and Compression, too much fuel and your plugs are no good. I have a Polaris sled and wheeler and it sounds to me as if something in your carb(float) is stuck, both mine run all the time with no problems. Good luck.

Robb

[Byron/PA]

A very sincere THANK YOU to all who replied, that's what makes this such a great site

I removed the fuel bowls and checked the floats, they seem to be fairly clean and slide freely. Double checked to make sure I was getting a good blue spark, and then it started to rain.
I figured it would probally not be a good idea to be messing with it in the rain, so I put it back together and gave it a try..................

I'll put some new plugs in it this weekend and tinker a bit more, but I'm afraid it is going to need to go see the doctor.

[Phoenix]

If this is old gas in the tank, I would replace it with fresh.

[Trevor]

If your float is moving freely it could still be a worn seat and needle.  This would cause fuel to continue flowing even though the bowl is full.  I would pull the carbs.  Screw out the jets and give all the orfices a good cleaning.  Ether works well as a carb cleaner because it evaporates faster than actual carb cleaner.  Also fresh fuel and plugs is a good idea.  Maybe time for a new fuel filter as well.

You can pull the carbs and have a repair shop pressure test them.  This will verify any leaks such as seat as needle.

Below is a link to a recent thread pertaining to your problem:

http://www.hardcoresledder.com/forums/index.php?
showtopic=104046&hl=flooding

Trevor