Hello,

I am a newbie here and I would like to ask you all for some help with my 1996 Polaris Sportsman 400. It is over 10 years old now and has around 260 miles on it. The carb needed to be rebuilt about 2 years ago because it would not idle and once you went past half throttle it would stumble and die unless you let off the throttle. It actually ran best on half choke but would sputter and foul plugs quickly.

Now, after sitting almost 6 months without being started it is doing the same thing. I dumped all the old gas and put fresh gas in the tank. I took off the carb and dropped the bottom bowl off and sprayed carb cleaner in all the holes and on all surfaces but this has not helped. I also unscrewed the top part of the carb where the big round tube slides up and down and cleaned everything I could see there. After doing all this it has not helped at all.

I am sure I am missing the root problem so can someone clue me in on what is the real problem here??? I also can't seem to find a carb rebuild kit with instructions for this model year. Where should I be buying my parts like this???

Any help is appreciated.

Tony in North Carolina.

 

Did you spray carb cleaner in all the jet's, the best way is to take it completely apart and spray everything out thouroghly, once you get it running right , try a little STABIL in the gas whenyou let it sit that long , gas goes bad within a couple of months.

 

w/ only that many miles on the machine it really shouldnt need to be rebuilt. if gas is congealled in the csarb then youi need to remove it and make sure to take it apart and clean all the components and make sure you clean the idle circuit as well.

 

Thanks for the advise guys.

I have it running better but I still having problems with the idle adjustment which I have asked for help in another post.

Tony in North Carolina

 

Typically the source of the problem is the pilot jet/idle circuit being varnished after sitting so long with retained fuel. Remove the pilot jet as merely spraying it in place seldom solves the problem and soak it in carb or brake cleaner. Blow it out with compressed air. If the tiny hole still will not clear you will need to pass a fine wire through the opening and then soak it again. Blow it out etc. Make sure your idle circuit is clear before messing with idle adjustments.