I just finished adjusting the valves on my 1999 Arctic Cat 500 for the first time. They say you have to remove both side panels, the seat, and gas tank. I removed the side panell on the reverse shifter side, the gas tank, seat, air box cover, and seat latch(only way i could get the tank off.

The intake valves where pretty easy to adjust cause they are right on top. I went ahead and took off the coil from teh cross member so I could get to the valve covers easier.

The exhast valves on the other hand are very hard to do cause of how they are positioned. You have to look down from where the gas tank was and use your hands from below where the side panel was. And you can't see the valve spring so u have to feel around with the feeler guages to find where the rocker arm meets the valve spring. Then adjusting the valves them selfs is hard cause of the position u are put in. I will admit that the heat(102 in the shade) made things ALOT worsethan I am saying, so don't get scared. just do your valves in the fall.

 

How long did it take you, I have a 400 with 390 miles on it and was getting ready to do it in the next couple of weeks. Also were the valves in need of adjustment. My dealer tells me not to bother but that is not my style, at the very least I need to check them for peace of mind.

Cheers Jim

 

Needed a slight adjustment. Not like I absolutly needed it, but i thought I did.

Not sure how long it took me, cause I still have the gas tank and side pannels off. I'm gonna keep them off so it makes it easier to run the wires for my winch. Which I expect to be in Tuesday.

I would say 2 hours from start to absolute finish, if you take your time.

 

What are the specs for the valves, I need to do mine to, just haven't got around to it yet.

 

I just want to let everyone know that I royaly ****ED my valve adjustment up. I went to pull the recoil starter(good thing the battery was dead) and found no compression. I believe I adjusted my intake vavles too tight. I hate that da** gas tank cause it took a few good kicks to get it to actually line up half a** enought to get the bolts back in. I'm gonna think about trying to fix it my self or I might just bring it to the dealer and let them mess with it.

On a happy note I finially recived my Rule 3300 winch the other day and plan on installing that my self(gonna see if I can go 2 for 2 on messing stuff up).

 

I actually did something right. I got my cat running again. It turns out that the Exhast valves were the real problem(intake were alittle too tight too).

I tried the Recoil starter at first but after spending 2 hours in the heat for that long I just didn't have enought strength(B@ll$) to pull the recoil starter hard enought to start the cat. So I busted out the battery charger(still need a new battery). I hooked it up and pressed the starter button.

I started right up so I let off the starter button and it dies. Did the same thing 3 times. So I started reving the motor with the starter button pressed and it would run un till I let off the starter. So I turned the battery charger off and left it for a while so I could go think.

Came back and put the battery charger on(but did something different) and tried to start her up. Boom first crank and she starts so I let off the starter button and GUESS WHAT!!!!!!! She kept running. I turned her off and DID IT AGAIN.

So I took the battery charger off and Started her up with the recoil starter. And figured out what was wrong.

The first time I set the battery charger on it's highest setting. The second time on it's second to highest setting. The highest setting was kicking some kind of breaker off when I let off of the starter button. Which must have been stopping the CDI from working or something.

Anyways, all I have to do now is put that FREAKING GAS TANK ON. That think is so hard to line up it's bad. My Mechanic at my Dealer said to put the seat latch back on and take a pry bar to try and aline the tank. Thats what he does anyway.