Hello all,

My friend owns a 2003 Kawasaki Prairie 360cc quad. He bought it used about two years ago. It's always had slight issues, that we never we're able to figure out. We did do normal maintenance (oil changes, air filter cleaning, spark plug, etc.) but his quad always had difficulty starting, and staying on in neutral or in gear with the choke off. Now I've been researching how to adjust valves for my Yamaha Warrior, and figure it might be a good time to do the same for the Prairie. As I've been researching it, it seems like a lot of my friends symptoms are in fact due to valves needing to be re-adjusted, which is great since it makes me want to do it now.

Now, I'm not exactly a mechanic, with the exception of simple stuff, I don't have a whole lot of experience, but I understand how an engine works, and I have tools and time. I have a very good idea of how to check the valves, and adjust, it's just I've never done it before, and have a lot of little questions. I apologize in advance if some of these questions are 'stupid' or 'dumb', but I want to be sure I do it 100% correct.

Referring to the Prairie now, I know the first step in any valve adjustment is to set the piston to TDC, via the crankshaft. My first question deals with the cap to view the punch marks. Is it a threaded screw, or does it just pop off with a little force? Also, I have to turn the engine, and prefer to use a wrench, does anyone know what size socket it is? Also I'm lining up the hash marks with what? One DIY site said there is a "F" or "R", but I though I'm looking for a "T"? The "F" and "R" marks I believe we're for a Brute Force, and I know thats a V-Twin, so its more than one cylinder.

Next there is the issue of the valves. This quad is a single cylinder, so I'm assuming there is only 1 intake valve and 1 exhaust valve? How will I know which one is which? I'm assuming the intake will be more by the air filter, and exhaust more by the exhaust? I know I need to use the feeler gauge to measure the specs. Does anyone know the specs off hand? I believe they are as follows, but want to confirm...
Exhaust: 0.20~0.25 mm (0.0079~0.0098 in)
Intake: 0.10~0.15 mm (0.0039~0.0059 in)

The system to adjust requires me to loosen the locknut, then go up or down with the screw and a flathead screwdriver? Or is there another nut, and I need to use an open ended wrench? Also once I have the valve clearance in spec, and tighten the locknut what is the torque? Or does it not need to be torqued down?

Finally, what parts of the bike do I need to remove to access the areas? I'm assuming the seat, as well as the plastic gas cover? Anything else? I want to know what I'm up against, and would hate to remove more than I need to.

Any help to my questions would be GREATLY appreciated!!!!

Also if anyone knows of any links or good DIY sites with pictures on this operation, I'd again be greatly appreciated.

I know some of you guys may suggest to buy the service manual, but I find the service manual very vague for my Warrior, the pictures are really bad, and I don't want to spend the money for another one, especially since the quad isn't mine, and I'm just helping out my friend.

Thanks so much again in advance!!!!

 

Hi, I successfully adjusted the valves on my 05 Prairie this past weekend and it immediately corrected my starting and stalling problems.
I'm more than happy to provide a detailed overview. Do you still need this information?
dave

 

Yes, if you don't mind it would be greatly appreciated. Either post in this thread or through PM.
Thanks again!

 

Hi, I bought a used 2005 Prairie that would start right up when cold but would be very difficult to restart and would continually stall out. Hard to restart warm or cold.

Adjusting the valves completely resolved my issues! It now starts as easy as the 2009 Prairie that I bought new last year.

*****************do the following on a cold engine*****************
Here are the steps:
1. remove front fender, fuel tank and recoil starter cover
2. first attempt to remove the timing inspection plug and see if you can see the "T" mark mentioned in Step 5 before removing the exhaust pipe. It is a pain to remove the nuts because of the rust.
remove exhaust pipe in order to remove timing inspection plug (black plug on left side of crankcase - this thing is threaded and you need a very large flat screwdriver) and to set TDC of the compression stroke.
3. remove the exhaust and intake valve adjusting caps. The intake is the one closest to the carb.
4. place a socket (I forget the size but it was a normal 1/2 drive 6 point socket that I used) on the large bolt located on the alternator rotor bolt (the only bolt located behind the recoil starter cover that you just removed.
5. start turning the socket counter clockwise, while looking inside the timing inspection plug. You'll see the crank rotating. Eventually you'll see some lines and then a "T" mark. You need to align the "T" up with the slot that is at the bottom of the timing inspection plug threads.
I rotated it several times and manually felt the valve springs. I noticed that both valves were closing, as the "T" mark became visible.
I went past the "T" and rotated clockwise to obtain a perfect alignment.
At this point I loosened the valve stem adjusting screws (small flat screw driver and open-end or box end wrench) until I could comfortably position my .178 mm feeler gauge (Exhaust) and .127 mm feeler gauge (Intake) between the valve stem and the rocker arm.
I then tightened the valve adjusting screw locknut (104 in-lb).
*****************recheck with the feeler gauges. If the gauges don't slide in with a little bit of "wiggle room" to spare then redo the adjustment.
*****************the first time I attempted to fix my starting problem, back in March, by adjusting the valves I realize that I had set them too tight. That is why I'm stressing that the gauges should slide in and out easily.
*****************the manual states that the valve clearance (when cold) is:
exhaust .15-.20mm intake .08-.13mm.
6. Put everything back together!
-valve adjusting caps - torque bolts 78 in-lb, apply small amount of grease to the o-ring and ensure that the "UP" mark is facing up.

Lastly, I alluded to the fact that I had previously attempted to fix my stalling/hard start issues back in March by setting the valves with no luck.
I reattempted the process and the only difference was that this time I had enough slack to enable the feeler gauge to comfortably slide in and out of the slight space between the valve and the guide.

 

I'll tell you what "dilogdp", your solution and steps were just about right on the money. I thought it was a little easier to take the gas tank all the way off, and remove the front plastic. By doing so I didn't have to remove the exhaust.
Were you ever right on how the valve settings were WAY out of adjustment. I bet you they've been that way since purchase.
Just wanted to say thanks for your steps and solution!

 

I'm glad that I could help. Lord knows that I've been helped on this site and others.