Cobra, it seems I've got the same problem you had. I just had a phone call from the mechanic, and he said there was a hole in my piston, because the carb was probably set too lean. This means new rings, new piston, rebore and probably a new crankshaft too. This will cost me a packet of money!

Not really feeling like smiling right now...

 

Most snowmobilers will tell you do not mess around with a dirty carb on a two stroke. Carbs must be spotless or engine burndown will result. All most all of the two strokes bad reputation for reliability can be attributed to dirty carburetors.

 

It sounds like cooked rings?? You should change them every year or two with a 2stroke.. cooked the rings in my polaris and this sounds basically the same, my wheeler was acting reaalllyyy weird when I cooked them, now thinking back to that day I can pinpoint (somewhat) when they cooked, it ran for about 15-20 (weird) miles before it actually wouldnt run anymore, and polaris being automatic you couldnt jump start it..

 

Well, I got a quote for the repair from the dealer today. It comes down to ZAR6,078, which is about US$789 at the current exchange rate, but this doesn't really give you a good idea of what it means locally, because in our economy and with our prices this is a lot of money. As a matter of fact, it's close to two thirds of a month's salary for me, so there goes most of my Christmas bonus! Just to give you an idea of the price of a TB here, I think $789 is about a 1/4 of the price of a new one in the US, but R6,078 is only about 1/5 of the price of a new one here. Of course, I have no idea what this kind of repairs would cost in the US. I just know the parts are ridiculously expensive here.

Anyway, most of this expense could have been avoided if I hadn't stopped riding for too long a time. When I finally got around to riding again, the battery was flat and it wouldn't start with the pull-starter. So we cleaned the carb, after which it started, but it wouldn't pick up revs. After cleaning the carb a second time, it started and everything seemed fine. The engine picked up revs and had lots of power and everything. Come to think of it, I wouldn't even have noticed if it didn't have as much power as when I rode it before the long lay-off. Well, after having cleaned the carb a second time, I had one very nice ride and two aborted rides after which different guys with 4x4s had to tow me back to my car. Now it turned out that we must have changed some of the settings on the carb, because it was set too lean, starving the engine of fuel and, of course, oil.

The moral of this story? Well, coming from someone who knows nothing about engines, don't touch it if it's broke, and ride, ride, ride and then ride some more!! Don't let a week go by without starting it and letting the carb run dry. None of this would have happened if I'd only used it more often.

So I'm not really feeling like smiling today...

 

If I were you Id take that sucker apart myself and see what is wrong.. If you can take the carb apart you sure as h#ll can take the top end of the engine apart, I assume that is what is wrong with it?? needs piston/rings and possibly bore job? I have heard of people charging $700+ to rebuild a blaster top end which is just insane.. shouldnt cost more than $200, 100$ for the piston/gasket 100$ for the bore job.. and thats on the expensive side.. where they put the shaft to you is "dissassembling" and "reassembling" the engine which will probally run you around $150 a wack. which basically is just taking the head/cylinder off.. Whats the worst that will happen?? you'll take it apart and wont be able to get it together?? doubtful, but even if you do, that does away with the "dissassembly" charge.. I dont know about your local dealer but the one up here is a goon, and probally would do more harm then good, Ive seen all kinds of "toothless wonders" doing every kind of engine work, if they can do it you can do it, and alot cheaper. I diddnt have a clue until I tore my banshee apart, then you learn quick, and its EASY, 2-strokes are peanuts to work on. If you do the work youself you know its done right.