New project

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1500ram12

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Decided to take on a project that hopefully isn't to far gone and get it moving.

My father in law has a couple of quads that have been sitting for some time (13 year's) outside uncovered. He said I could take one and see if I could get it running for my son.

So, I grabbed a 1987 Polaris trail boss 250 r/es 2 stroke. I don't have before pics (I suck at taking project pics). Going into it I new the carb was going to issue. The brake lines were seized, throttle cable and choke cables were seized. Electric starter is froze. Pull start was acting weird. Once I get it running right I'll replace the starter. (Would love to do it now. My arm is sore from trying to get it started.

So I've got all the plastics off. Removed the brake and throttle cables drained and cleaned the gas tank and oil tank. Sourced used brake cables ( just a single lower brake cable new is $40-60) found a used carb with throttle cables and choke on eBay off a 93 250. Replaced the oil and fuel line/filter. Replaced the rewind spring in the pull start ( if you don't get it in right on the first shot it's a pain). I also pulled the exhaust off to check for mice. Haven't put it back on yet.

Was able to get it fired up yesterday. But will only idle. And she smoked and was spitting some nasty brown oil/gas out. After it sat for a minute gas starting spilling out of the overflow and possibly leaking from the bottom half where the floats are. And a little was coming from the carb air intake side. So I pulled the carb out and removed the bottom bowl cleaned it. I put the original bowl back in because the floats seemed to move more freely. Then couldn't get it to start again. Almost seemed like it wasn't getting fuel. Then I moved to replacing the brake line's. Easy fix. So now it has front brakes.

Today I picked up some clear tubing and a new filter so I can see how the fuel is flowing. To me it almost seems slightly air locked but maybe that's how it is. Fired it back up. Smoked for a second then cleared up. Stopped spitting stuff out the exhaust. But still will only idle. Bogs out and will stall or will stumble and go back to idle depending on how fast I let off the throttle. And once again after shutting it off I had gas coming out the vent/overflow. So not sure what's going on there. After looking for something on one of the work benches I found a little plastic washer that I'm pretty sure goes to the replacement carb. The needle sits on it. Must of fallen out when I was looking to see if I could swap the origin cap where the throttle cable goes through. I'm hoping that help with the bogging issues.

I have a carb rebuild kit coming So Saturday or Sunday the carb will be coming back out and replacing a few thing's and try again. I do have new spark plugs. I left the original one in so if it got fowled up during the first starts I wouldn't just be throwing money away.

Here's how she sits currently. The gas tank and oil tank are just sitting on top for easy removal

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MADDOG

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Ahhh...yeah, that would be more expensive.
 
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1500ram12

1500ram12

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Have you checked the timing and the valve clearances?

Not yet. I wanted to see if it would run first. Once I get the carb squared away as much as possible and if nothing changes I'll dive into that next. The way it acts (I'll get a video tomorrow) it's similar to my 05 sportsman I had. The c clip let go and let the needle drop and was bogging the engine down. I think the plastic washer I found is part of the problem and I feel like I'm not getting enough fuel when needed.

I am no means a mechanic. I can find my way through things fairly well. Carbs are a little bit of a new thing for me. Simple things are not to hard but rebuilding and tuning is out of my wheel house.

I'm open to any and all comments and suggestions.


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kellgp

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One simple trick to check your float needle is to remove the carb (drain the gas out of it) and blow in the fuel inlet with your mouth and then flip the carb upside down and blow in the inlet again. You should not be able to blow into it upside down if the needle is functioning properly. You might want to check the floats to make sure they float and have no leaks. Also, make sure all the little holes are clear in the main jet, which is where the bowl nut bolt screws into. The metal inside from a twist/tie off a loaf of bread bag is usually the correct size as the holes are tiny.
 
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1500ram12

1500ram12

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One simple trick to check your float needle is to remove the carb (drain the gas out of it) and blow in the fuel inlet with your mouth and then flip the carb upside down and blow in the inlet again. You should not be able to blow into it upside down if the needle is functioning properly. You might want to check the bowl to make sure they float and have no leaks. Also, make sure all the little hole are clear in the main jet, which is where the bowl nut bolt screws into. The metal inside from a twist/tie off a loaf of bread bag is usually the correct size as the holes are tiny.

Definitely will try that this weekend


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1500ram12

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Here's a quick video of it running and trying to throttle up



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1500ram12

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I put the exhaust back on. I can now get to1/2 or slightly above half throttle before it bogs out. Tomorrow I'll toss the air box/filter on to see what that changes. If I can get to 3/4 throttle I'll strap everything down and take it for a spin.


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kellgp

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It sounds to me like you have some restrictions in the carb still. I'd make sure the main jet. idle circuit, etc are clean. Unfortunately I believe the emulsion tube on this carb is not removable and not able to be cleaned thoroughly. All it takes is one on the tiny holes to be clogged and you'll get the symptoms you describe.
 
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1500ram12

1500ram12

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I ended up ruining the throttle cable. So waiting on a new one. Hopefully it works. Went with a aftermarket one. I think part of my problem is not having the cable adjusted. Carb kit will be here tomorrow but won't get to it until Tuesday. Going to do my best to clean the carb tomorrow. If it still is giving me problems then I'll have to get a new one. But will have to go aftermarket. I don't want to throw to much more into it and find out something else is bad.


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kellgp

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You can usually get a knock off China carb off of Ebay for <$50. A 30 year old carb may be impossible to bring back. You'll probably save a lot of time frustration just replacing it.
 
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1500ram12

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Yeah I've been thinking about just ordering one to have it on hand


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1500ram12

1500ram12

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While going over the carb again I decided to pull the choke out and clean it. It was seized in place. Not exactly sure if it was open or closed or in between. Took a good amount of effort to pull it out. There is some build up around the top of the housing. Going to clean it up the best I can and see if the choke will go back in. Going to order a new carb anyway. Just in case. Carb rebuild kit came in today so I'll hopefully get the carb back together tomorrow. Waiting for a new throttle cable to arrive. Hopefully by Friday.


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1500ram12

1500ram12

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Was able to get the carb rebuilt. And used the parts from that carb to rebuild the original (no way the original would have run without tearing it apart). New cable came today. Only had time to install it on the carb. Maybe Sunday night if not definitely Monday I'll have time to get it installed and see how it runs. New carb will be here tomorrow as a backup/replacement if needed.


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1500ram12

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Is it running any better?

Still fighting it. Rebuilt the carb and it seemed to be running rich (by the smell). I could get to 3/4 throttle before it would bog out. Took it for a quick ride. About a minute into it, it started smoking out the exhaust and could only get a 1/4 throttle before bogging out.

Tossed the China carb on yesterday and same thing.

Swapped out and the needle to the one it came with and raised the clip up 1. So it's on the second notch from the top. Swapped in the original jet.

Decided to test the compression. If my tester is correct, the max I could get is 62 psi. From what I can find out I need somewhere between 100-115 psi. And left it at that.

Today I decided to start it up and see if anything changed. Now it idles really high and if a give it any throttle it acts like it's hanging. So pulled the carb back out and swapped in the original pilot jet, went to start it and broke the pull rope. So I'm done until I get a replacement.


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kellgp

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I'd check the valves and adjust as needed. Hopefully you can find the clearance specs online.
 
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1500ram12

1500ram12

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This was from yesterday

Idle


Revs


Revs after driving


Short drive



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