Just purchased a 2002 wolverine 350 yesterday. It's in good shape and drives great with the exception of smoking a bit when really getting on the throttle. I pulled the front bumper up to a tree to try and spin all 4 tires only to find it not able to. When under load such as against a tree or on ramps into the truck, the quad has no power and bogs down and doesn't spin the wheels. Not sure where to start. Could this be related to the smoking? Just got it and haven't had time to mess with it, just curios what others thing it could be. Thanks

Eric

 

Smoking is never a good sign. Does it foul the spark plug, start hard? Hate to suggest, but maybe going to a heavier oil might get you some more miles out of her, like a 20W50. Also, might play with the PMS screw, see if it runs better, try turning it in 1/4 - 1/2 turn , if it gets better, keep turning until you find the sweet spot. Same turning out, just don't go out more than 2.5-3 turns out.

 

I'd think about getting a compression test done and go from there...smoking from a thumper means crankcase oil is bypassing the rings...it might run decent without much load, but once you make that potentially tired engine work, well, you get what you got...

 

What is the pms screw and where is it located?

 

Pilot Metering Screw. Small screw on bottom of carb, close to the cylinder head side. Effects the A/F ratio at idle and slow speeds. A dirty or partially plugged pilot jet will make it run like crap, too. I'm hoping it's not worn out, but a compression test would be the best bet.

 

That's the weird thing. It runs perfect. Starts perfect. But under load it just bogs down. Most likely will do rings at least because of the smoking. Smells like burnt oil

 

At idle or putting around the load on the motor is minimal and thus the impact of horsepower loss is also minimal...that changes as you place more demand on the engine...so it's running perfect under no-load conditions...you want it running good under high-load conditions...


The A/F screws really won't impact at WOT as you are on the main jet more than anything else...generally they are idle mixture screws...