I just bought a 1990 Suzuki LT230E and I was wondering where the fuel filter is. It sometimes starves for fuel and dies, but it runs ok when I put the choke on when it is about to quit. It's usually when I am going from high throttle to idle. Sometimes it won't start back up and I just have to wait about 30 seconds, then it starts fine. I am going to go through the carb, but I would like to look at the filter too.

I was also wondering about the lever on the left handle. It looks like a brake or clutch lever, but it doesn't seem to do anything. It has the little button that you push down like a parking brake.

Thanks for the help!

 

The only fuel filter it has from the factory is the petcock pick up tubes that stick up into the gas tank. They have screens with very small holes to filter out junk. There is a short one (for the reserve position) and a longer one for the on position. Turn the petcock off. Then unhook the gas line from the carb and place over an empty container. Turn the petcock to on and see if gas runs out. Also try reserve. If it's not running, or not running very fast, you may need to take the petcock out and clean it. Be careful when doing this. Those screens can get brittle. You may end up needing to buy a new one.

If you want to add a filter, a lot of people put an inline filter on the gas line between the petcock and the carb. There is an inlet and and outlet on those. Just make sure you you have the gas traveling in the correct direction through the filter.

If the petcock works and it's still starving for fuel, your float isn't working properly in your carb and is stuck in the "up" position not allowing any more fuel to flow to the carb. This is unusual though. Usually it's the other way around and the float is stuck down or has a hole so it doesn't float anymore, which causes gas to continually flow to the carb and out the over flow tube onto the ground.

The next time it's starving for fuel, try tapping the carb bowl with a screwdriver. If it immediately fixes it, that's your problem. You might also consider other problems that make it "appear" to be starving for fuel. Maybe your carb just needs to be tuned, or your jetting is off. Also, if the CDI is bad, it will sometimes "dog" as if it's not getting enough fuel. It usually won't cause it to die though, it will just run like crap.

I answered your question about the lever on the left handlebar in your other thread. It's just a parking brake on that machine. If it's not working correctly, a lot of people just take them off to get rid of clutter. That's actually the biggest, thickest cable on the whole machine.You can even get a block off plate for the rear brake caliper if you want to. It's not necessary, but it looks cool. As an FYI, the rear caliper is the same as on a 230 and 250 quadsport, and 250 and 500 quadracers in case you find one advertised for one of those and are not sure if it will fit. It will.

 

Thanks for the reply. A carb cleaning has it running great now.