Some rancher have oil coolers, the es models and 4wd model,if the your has an oil cooler in front of engine and has an fan. check the cooler to see if it packed full of mud..

 

are you sure you adjusted the idle with the black knurled **** - or did you adjust the mixture screw underneath the carb? Just thinking - you might be running it lean

 

Hogg scoot: Good suggestion, I'm going to pulling the oil cooling lines this weekend and see if there is any coking going on inside the oil line going to the radiator.


Zitaron: I acutely did turn the screw inside the black ****, I bet I did adjust the fuel mixture, it’s just a matter of adjusting it back to make it mix the way it should; however I might be getting fuel in the gas. I’m going to drain some oil out of the 4wheeler and see if I the oil will catch fire quickly, if so this is probably an indication I have gas in the oil. I Might need to have my carburetor rebuilt or a new float put in.

thanks for all the help!

 

The black **** is for idle only and not for air/fuel mixture setting so you should be fine and as mentioned,I have seen alot of atvs exhaust glow at night or get hot enough to melt plastic due to improper jetting,clogged jets,incorrect mixture setting or timing issues.There should be reflective heat resistant material behind the plastic "on most atvs" and if it's damaged or missing plastic damage will occur,it is usually the only heat barrier.It is normal to feel heat at slow riding conditions on air cooled as well as liquid cooled ATVs

 

Thanks 79hugger, I looked into engine jetting and came up with a few good points on what too trouble shoot. I heard that to can tell a lot by replacing the old spark plug and how to read the new one, so I’ll try that first and if that doesn’t help me pin point the issue I might take it to an ATV service department and let them go through the carburetor for those are not my forte.

Matt.

 

As examples,Back somewhere around 2000 Wifes dad and her uncle both bought new 350 Ranchers at the same time,only difference was the color.They went on a night trail ride and BOTH overheated with glowing exhaust,her uncle continued riding until his damaged the valves and cylinder,wifes dad had his towed to the trailer.Both took them back to Honda on the same trailer within 7 days of purchasing,If I can recall they were either under jetted to meet emissions or the air/fuel mixture was off, of course the uncle had a top end job and the other had some adjustments.I bought my 400EX new 2 years ago,it was perfect during the summer but when the weather got cooler it began to lean as most will, it had glowing exhaust and got super hot just idling in 40 degree weather,being under warranty I could not tinker,Dealer charged $166 to turn the mixture out from 1 5/8 turns to 3 1/4 turns from seated and check the carb,it solved the problem.90% of the time it is fuel related.

 

hey im new here I have a problem with my honda 400 rancher hondamatic,when i ride for about 20-30 min .it sound like the clutch is sliding.but the clutch is new,just thainding oil. 4hp 15-40 .pleas help

 

You can tell if it gets really hot, sometimes it will shut off in its own.

 

All the more reasons to run a full synthetic oil, especially in aircooled engines! Full syn oil will handle extreme high temps far better than dino oils. For the few extra bucks your engine may depend on it !!!