I'm sure this has been asked before, but i couldn't find it and i swear every 'search' tool hates me. so i appoligize for the almost guarenteed redundancy.

I'm gonna give a little background first, incase timing may not be the only cause. Feel free to dis-regard if you wish. It will be quite short-handed though, so as to not bore you.

Pretty much, I sunk my quad in a lake...Long story, stupid idea was involved. i got pulled out by a winch, and rode it home (around 2 miles from sinking location). It was really sputtery and i couldn't get it past approx 1/4 throttle without it trying to bog itself out and dying. a couple weeks later i tried to take it out in the snow, and it would foul the plug in 5 mins of idling, so i didn't take it past my yard.

A couple months later (yes another bad idea by letting it sit, i know) i wanted to go ride again, but i wanted to make it run first. so i pulled it apart, and there was sand and water in my air box...so i pulled the drainage thing, cleaned my box, filter, and carb. cleaned up the plug and tried starting again...nothing.

Well i got around to taking apart my engine to see what's up. it all looked nice and pretty. no rust, no ovalization, looks clean. so i put in new gaskets and tried starting it again. apparently i forgot to tighten down the head (yes, you can say it...i'm an idiot) so i took it back apart and tightened the head, but i realized i didn't know how to find TDC.

So i lined the notch with what i believe was a T on the flywheel to the timing notch on the hole. but now it still won't start.

QUESTIONS: What is the best way to find TDC? And could this be the only reason my quad isn't starting now?


Thank you if you took the time to read and answer this...i really appreciate it!
-cal287

 

The "T" is the right mark in the hole. There is marks on the cam gear that line up with the top of the head. That should have you cam lobes pointed up, but not quite straight up.

If you cleaned the water out of the carb and the fuel tank, it should run. It could be possible that one of the passages in the carb, or a jet is plugged.

 

what is your compression? have you done one? i think i would start there. when taking it apart did you mess with the valves? are they adjusted right?
have you used a new plug? some times even when you check a plug and it seems to get spark, under compression it won't spark. so i would also try a new plug. maybe put some gass in the hole and plug in and see if it trys to fire. if not then well.... back to the compression issue.
as for finding TDC you can use a pice of wire like a coat hanger. put in plug hole and slowly turn over the engine till it's at the top of it's stroke. a better way if you can. is use your finger to cover the plug hole and feel it building pressure. turning the engine over slowly will help you find it this way also. but again if you have compresson issues then you won't feel pressure... back to the compresion test.
if it reads low then add a few drops of oil in the plug hole and try again. remember you need to test with WOT wide open throtle.
good luck.


HR.

 

P.S.
if you try and above and have compression and the timing is right then i would say you have a prob with the carb. there is something in there. maybe you need to take the carb apart and CLEAN with compressed air.

HR...

 

the cam lobes pointed up? this could be my problem...i was under the assumtion the lobes were supposed to be pointed down??

i have no idea what my compression is, i don't have a compression tester as my disposal...but i know i should invest in one. i didn't touch the valves though...nor do i know how to mess with them so i don't know if they're adjusted right. but before i sunk it...it ran very nice and smooth when it was wide open. but yes, it's got a new plug since it's been taken apart. i didn't even think about the carb being the problem though...

But it's been raining here for the last couple days so i can't work on it yet...cause i don't have a garage for my toys, just a little shed that's not big enough to work in.

But thank you for your help guys! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]