Yea! Warm weather is finally here.

Unfortunately though my 300 stalls out unless the choke is on no matter how long it has been running. During the winter I had to plow snow with the choke on. Needless to say this fouls the plug pretty quickly. I am hoping there is something I can try short of disassembling the carb. I can not find a fuel filter in the diagram since I thought that might be the culprit. is there one?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Harry in PA

 

Dump a can of sea foam into the gas tank, and pour some into the carb through the airbox very slowly. It may just be sticky or dirty

 

Harry in PA,

Your 2001 300 fuel system does not have a filter unless you installed one. Which if you haven't done, you should. Go to the auto parts store and pick up a small inline filter. I think the last one I got was about $5 at NAPA. Place it anywhere between the tank and the carborator and use zip ties to keep it off the engine and exhaust so a hole does not get melted into it.

There is a lot of junk in the high priced fuel we are getting at the pump even if you get the high end stuff. I guess the fuel companies did not get the memo that if they want to jack up the prices they should at least make a better product.

Your choke should be a fuel enrichment system. That means it allows more fuel into the combustion chamber to start (like a primer). So if it will not run with it off, that means one or both of your jets are plugged. You can sometimes clean them with fuel additives but if its a chunk of dirt or plastic its not happening with out taking the carb apart and cleaning them.

If you have a service manual it shows you how to get the carb off to do this. IF you do not have one you can go to brownsleisureworld.com and look at their AC online microfiche parts diagrams to see what the inside of the carb looks like inside.

Once you get it off use compressed air to blow out the gunk, just watch you eyes and face for spraying gas residue. Should take you about 1 hour maybe a little longer from start to finish.

Also, after you clean it, spend the $4 and replace the plug too.

SJ

 

A few years ago I had a 2000 400 with the same issue, I asked my dealer and he recomended cleaning the carb and pay sepcial attention to the air jet or air screw I don't fully remember. It did fix the having to have the choke on all the time

 

Once you get it clean and the idle is fine here is a little tip for you that I use.
I premix my gas in a 6 gal can and I add 1/2 oz of Marvel Mystery Oil, 1/2 oz of dry gas and 1/2 oz of carb/injector cleaner for every gal of gas.
If you want to do it on your bike then add 2 or 3 capfulls of each before you gas up, just don't over do it.
The Marvel Mystery Oil is a great product. It coats your fuel system with a thin coat of oil to stop any gunk from sticking. It breaks up carbon deposits in your combustion chamber. It helps to lube the top part of your engine - valve seals/guides etc. and it helps to up the compression by sealing the rings at the top and it helps eliminate scouring... plus a host of other stuff.
The dry gas and carb/injector cleaner are self explanitory.
If I am not going to be using my bike for a period of time I will add a couple oz of gas stabilizer.
An ounce of protection is worth a pound of cure...

 

say buck, just wondering how you got your scientific measurements for all the additives in one 6 gal gas can lol. Ive never added anything to mine but that sure sounds good , not for me but for the cat lol

 

Off the product cans for directions. They say something like 'contents treats 20 gal of gas', just divide it out by the number of oz in the can. I think I just cut it back a little (didn't want to over do it) and rounded it off. I tried to keep it simple for me to remember, if I add 4 gal to my can then I know I have to had 2 oz of this, that and the other - lol.... Suprisingly condensation can build up even in warm weather, so I use dry gas year around. And a little carb cleaner always running through to help keep things clean before it becomes a problem etc etc....

 

All,
Thanks for the advice. When v2rider mentioned Sea Foam I thought it was a newbie joke like blue steam. But I found it at Pep Boys and put some in the tank. So far its the same. You mentioned putting it in the air box. How do you do that? Won't it just pool in the bottom of the box? Do you pour it on the filter?

I am trying to avoid disassembling the carb until last resort. Swampy's estimate of an hour seems low especially since it will take at least that long to find some tiny spring that I will drop on the shed floor.

Harry

 

Harry,

You can get carb cleaner into where it needs to go by removing your air filter and putting that red straw onto the nozzle of carb cleaner can. Start the machine, let it warm up a few minutes, Rev it up and spray the carb cleaner into the throttle body where the filter used to be. If you do not rev it up the engine may die, I believe the directions on the can say to spray the cleaner in until it dies then let it sit for a while and restart to burn out the junk. Don't be surprised if you get some nasty colored smoke out the exhaust.

If you have to remove the carb, it is much easier than people think. I am not sure how much room is under the plastic of a 300 but on my 400 and 500 there is not much. So I remove the side panels, seat, and fuel tank (this disconnects the fuel line). Then I can get my fat ole hands and a screw driver in to remove the intake clamp, the air box clamp, and the throttle cable. Then with a little coaxing you should be able to pull the carb out either the left or right side of the machine. I prefer the right as the exhaust pipe is not in the way.

Once it is out of the machine, I think ther are 4 screws that secure the float bowl and you are there. The jets should be the little brass circles. Blow air through them but be carful with your face and the spraying gas, maybe even spray carb cleaner through them, check that the float moves freely. Then reassemble everything in reverse order.

I usually install the carb and fuel tank then fire it up to check that the blockage is gone before putting everything else back on. If you have enough room to access the fuel line, intake clamps, and throttle cable without removing the side panels on the 300 then it is even less work.

If you haven't installed an inline fiel filter, given the quality of our gas the problem may come back enev if you do not need to remove the carb this time. I had to clean my carb 2-3 times in the first 2000 miles. Since I installed an inline filter I have not had a problem in over 5000 miles.

SJ

 

If you have never removed and cleaned a carb before, be sure to bring your dictionary of 'swear-words' in case you run out of your own. - lol....

Actually it is not that bad (have not done one in many years - early 70's on my enduro motorcycle), I have never had to remove my carb for cleaning. In addition to my fuel mixture of Marvel Mystery Oil , dry gas, and carb/injector cleaner, I have a fuel filter, (made for lawnmowers etc $0.99), and what could possibly get exposed to any more dirt and other crap flying around than a lawnmower.