Just purchased a 1980s model Bayou 300 with known flooding problems. If the fuel line is not disconnected from the carb (even when the engine is off), the carb will flood with gas. The airbox will flood as well. This happens fairly fast and gathers a good size puddle quick. Once I remove the fuel line and let it sit for a bit, it will fire up and I can ride it (until gas runs out because the fuel line is still disconnected.) It seems no matter what....if the line is connected to the carb, it's flooding.

If I let it sit for a good period of time, connect the fuel line, it will start right away and I can ride it for about 5 min before it floods out. Any suggestions on what the problem might be? Depending on the cost, I may just take it to a shop and have the carb replaced. Any idea what that might run?

Thanks.

 

Sounds like the float is not floating.Sounds like a carb kit would do the trick.

 

Some possibility could be...
1). Carb float valve not sealing and flooding the carb. Remove the float bowl and clean the float valve seat area. Also, make sure the float is moving up and down smoothly.
2). Check to see if you have vacuum operated fuel petcock or not (is vacuum hose attached to the petcock?). If it is, the diaphagm in the petcock might be deterioated and not doing the job. Needs to rebuild or new petcock.
3). Fuel line might not be connected to the carb correctly. If the quad starts good, this is not the case.

 

Thanks fellas. I appreciate the advice. Do you have any quality links to general carb maint that include diagrams and instructions?

I didn't mention in the post because I did not want to clutter it with too many questions, but the petcock could be a problem. The carb seems to flood regardless of the position of the petcock. I don't think it's attached to any vacuum. It looks like it comes straight from the tank, through the petcock and into the carb.

Thanks again.

 

If it leaks even petcock at OFF postion, yes that's the part you want to look at.
I don't know the website, but it is pretty straight forward on cleaning/maintenance on carb works. Just becareful not to lose parts and remember where they go. Take digital photos as you BEFORE you take things apart.
Buy a genuine Kawi service manual - the BEST investment you will ever make on your quad. If you don't want to buy one... I will fax you the pages that you need (I think I have one for 300 that I don't use anymore some where in my garage). Just give me your fax number.

 

Oh yeah. Another question. If the petcock is a problem (fuel passes even in the off position), it shouldn't matter for short-term storage as the float valve should keep fuel from flooding the carb correct? I understand that for longer-term storage I'm going to want the petcock off position to function properly. Can I leave the ATV sitting overnight with the petcock still passing fuel without damaging the float valve?

Just want to make sure I'm understanding the fuel flow prior to entering the carb.

Thanks!

 

That's a kind offer. Thank you. I actually just purchased a repair manual (Haynes). I know it's not as good as the manufacturer manuals, but they seem to be OK for my vehicles. I think I'll get a rebuild kit and give it a whirl myself. I'm a bit worried about properly adjusting everything with no experience though. I need to have it up and running reliably by the end of the month (first camping trip.)

I would definitely appreciate the faxed pages though. For one thing, it would allow me to get a start right away and will also give me a good idea of the quality of the official manuals. I'll PM you.

Thanks again!

 

Here are some tips on adjusting fuel/air screws on carbs.
1). Using a permanent marker, mark on the screw head so that you can always come back to original position.
2). Turn in (CW) all the way. But do it slowly and gently, if you do it too hard when screwing in, you can damage the tip of the screw when it hits the limit/stop. Then slowly turn CCW and start counting how many turns.
3). When you take out the jets (fuel screws), squirt in some contact/brake cleaner into it to clean out.

Leaking Petcock...
I would not recommend leaving like that over night. Not only it's fire hazard, you can damage the engine. Fuel can hydrolock your cylinder. It can bend the rod if you crank it or try to run the engine with fuel in combustion chamber. Fuel can also pass through the rings and dillute the engine oil in crankcase - more trouble. In fact, you should check engine oil right now and see if you can smell any fuel in it. If you do, change oil/filter immediately.
If it's not a vacuum operated one, then you can cut the fuel line and install a T-valve (from HomeDepot?) and make your own petcock instead of spending mucho $$ on Kawi part... just an idea.

 

jukeit,
I just PMed you back.

 

OK, just dismantled the carb. Hayashi, thanks for the pages, those were clutch. iIt appears the float "pin" moves freely up and down and the tip is in good shape. What I'm not sure how to do is tell if the float level is OK so that it's shutting off at the proper time. It also looks like the only way to adjust this is to bend the metal tab?? Am I missing something there?

Two other things jumped out at me, but I'm not sure if they have anything to do with my original flooding problem. The first thing was the diaphram has a small tear near where it's seated. It appears someone tried to patch it with some of the goop you use to seal the pieces together (nice).

The other problem is when I unscrewed what I believe is the pilot jet, the tip broke off and is still in the carb. I believe the tip broke off because the jet looks all jagged and doesn't come to a fine point.

I suppose my questions are:
1. Since my float valve appears to move properly and easily, could my float level be the culprit? When it was flooding real bad and I disconnected the fuel line, gas came out of the carb/fuel line connection for what seemed like a long time.
2. My choke cable was not connected to anything in the carb; it just pulled out. The choke itself seems to seat ok when closed and opens ok when opened. Is this a problem?
3. Could the other two problems (small tear in diaphram and broken pilot screw) cause the original problem. I may have been the one that broke the pilot screw (didn't use much force.)
4. A rebuild kit is obviously the minimum here, but does it matter because I'm screwed with the broken jet and have to get an entire new carb anyway? Any suggestions on how to remove the broken tip?

Thanks for kicking some knowledge to the rookie!