Hey there, I'm brand new to the forums and was wondering if anyone could help me out!

I've recently acquired a 1985 Trx250 Fourtrax (utility quad). This ATV's been sitting for about 10 years and I recently bet my grandpa that if I could get it running, it was mine. Guess who won! It's been about 6 months since then. I have noticed if the petcock isn't shut off the gas leaks into the crankcase, I'm not the only one who rides the machine which is why it makes this such a big problem. My elders have told me that the float is probably being kept open by something, most likely something from the rusty gas tank. Would a carb kit stop this?

Here's a photo of the quad. When I received it, my grandpa told me he put an old tractor muffler on it. I have recently put a light on it and changed the oil multiple times due to the issue I mentioned earlier. I've also painted the wheels black and the lug nuts red. It's getting to be a pretty old quad but it beat my buddies 2001 trx350 and my cousins 1989 (I think) trx 300. I'm also sure this number is a little off but my buddy drove beside me on his 2017 Renegade 570 and clocked me at about 87kph, I live in Ontario.

I hope everyone's having a great night (or day wherever you live) and thank you in advance for the advice!

 

Welcome to the forums.

I've moved this over to the Honda section. You should get more replies over here.

 

I must admit I have a "soft spot" for those old 250s, much smoother engine than the current one, and the front suspension was Honda daring to be different, though the ones I have repaired have lots of slop in both suspension and steering. I think the 85 had that strange pivoted diaphragm carb, also used on 350Ds, and I haven't worked on them much, so I can't be certain, but any Honda I have come across has a pipe running from the bottom of the float bowl downwards to let fuel run onto the ground if the float sticks, this stops it going into the crankcase. Float needles can go bad, if so, you would just need a new needle, not a whole kit, but if you think the problem is rust from the tank, fit an in-line fuel filter to catch debris before it gets to the float needle. Paper element ones can give problems with air-locking if they are run dry.

 

If you're gonna tear the carb open you might as well replace what you can with a full rebuild kit..they aren't very expensive.


In reply to OP;

As for the gas getting in the crankcase it is most definitely a bad float needle valve, sometimes you can tweak the floats and bend them "downwards" so the fuel has to fill less to close the valve.

Also sounds like your carb bowl overflow drain is clogged, all in all sounds like you really need to tear into the carb and clean it up/rebuild OP, best of luck!