[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] My Honda fourtrax was unused for over a year. With a new battery, it runs great, "pops" occassionally from the tailpipe (what would do that? by the way, should i be concerned?) Anyway, it does NOT smoke from the tailpipe, BUT after it gets hot, the dust and grime from sitting up uncovered does smoke up from the stuff on the outside of the engine. How do I go about cleaning that? Thanks.

 

Just wash it off gently with a hose. I wouln't use a power washer or anything like that, as you might get into the electronics...

 

Is there a cleaner product I could buy and wipe with a paper towel? It's kinda' grungy and just a rinseing might not be enough.

 

There are some products like this around, but I have never used any of them: http://www.maximausa.com/products/cleaners/cleanup.asp


I might try UNI air filter cleaner, if I needed to cut oil or grease: http://www.unifilter.com/onlin...ilcleanermainpage.html

 

If it's all oily on the outside, consider that you might have a leaking gasget or something????

 

I'd hit it with some Simple Green, followed by a good hosing off, maybe followed by a wash with some Dawn dish soap... Normally I won't use Dawn, as it tends to strip wax, but it does a good job of removing oily residue.

I'd also avoid the pressure washer, or at least keep your distance. They can drive grit/water past seals, as well as get into electronics.

Regarding the poping, that could indicate the engine is running lean. If it has been sitting a while with gas in it, I'd suspect partly gummed up jets in the carb and/or that the gas in the machine is starting to go bad. Get some fresh gas in it, and if that doesn't do it, take the carb aprat and hit all the passages and jets with some B-12 chemtool, and compressed air.

 

I would agree....A classic thing that happens with engines that sit for a while, is that the stale gas gooes up the pilot jet. This will make you lean, and deceleration backfire is a symptom of that.

 

I read a post a few days ago form a member who suggested using Engine Bright for cleaning baked on dirt to clean the engine , then just hose it off after letting it setup 15 to 30 minutes ; i don't know if it would work as good as the product reconranger or JeffinTD suggested !

If it's oil and dirt buildup when i used to detail cars for a used car dealer (a job i did from 15 yrs old until i was 17 i used a mixture of engine degreaser and MR Clean it really made an engine shine , and it didn't hurt painted sufaces ) however automobiles didn't have plastic fenderwells back in the early to mid 60's ; so i don't know how safe it would be on the plastics of a quad !

For the rubber like CV boots and seals i haven't found anything that worked better than Son Of A Gun , and for the engine popping from it sounds like old or contaminated fuel in the carb and combustion chamber i use Sea Foam mixed with my fuel ; it does a very good job for the fuel system and also the combustion chamber i wouldn't use anthing else because it has really worked for me i just followed the dircections on the can for the correct mixture to gas ratio !

Hope this is of some help , just my 2 cents !........

 

sae foam was a great idea, running good and clean now; also used greased lightning blast for the outside. I might need to turn the idle up though as it won't idle, but don't know how or if I should do that. As long as I feather the throttle I can keep it running. The good news is no more popping, or smoking.