I own a 1999 400 explorer.Last year before hunting season I had the carb. gone through and the both clutches rebuilt.I hunt at roughly 7900 to 10000 feet.The bike ran rough the whole time at one point I had to use the choke feathering it to keep the bike running.Also the high temp light kept coming on.It wants to die when going down the road at speeds of about 30 to 40 mph like it is running out of gas so I have to nurse the throttle to keep it going.I have about 3600 miles on this bike and I am thinking about getting a new one but I wonder if it would be worth it to fix it.Also the transmission has a tough time staying in high gear.Low gear is still strong and the bike seems to perform well,in fact I had a 750 lb cow elk on it for 7 miles last season in low gear and snow and it ran strong.Any help with this would be very appreciated.

 

is it jetted for the high attliude or clutched for it? is the air filter clean, good fuel filter? check to see if you can adjust the linage on the shifter. just a couple of idears. welcome to the forum.

 

I questioned the jetting myself but a dealer did it and he new right where I was hunting so I would hope they did it right.I guess even the dealership can make mistakes though. Fuel filter , and air filter were new at the time. Thanks for the help.

 

if you releied on the dealer to make the right decisions about the jetting you have more faith then i would. i would find out for sure. it will run like crap at that high attitude w/ stock jetting.

 

here are a couple things to check. pull the carb check the drain bolt on bottem of carb. make sure no hole or loose. if hole use jb weld. had this happen to mine. started running rough again and loosened the choke and this helped. make sure your spark plug is tight and not fouled

 

Actually that was the problem, that bolt had a hole in it and I did J B weld it and it worked great I also replied to another guy on here who had the same problem.It must be fairly common in those explorers.Another guy wrote me back saying the previous years around 96,98 did not have the rubber block under the carb and the fuel would foam up causing the bike to run bad and almost quit. That is why they put that rubber block in, to dampen the vibration,but that caused our problem. I guess it isnt that big of a deal,easy fix.Thankyou for your feedback,Have fun riding!

 

that would rick ritter who is very knowledgable in the polaris 2 strokes.

 

I had some bad luck the other day I was riding it around and I started to hear a .rattling in the motor and it died then I noticed a pool of oil leaking out .It was counterbalance oil .Right before it quit it sounded like rocks were rattling around inside the head and it quit.It did start again but it sounds real bad and is leaking that oil out .I wont run it anymore but I fear an expensive fix is coming. May be time to give up the 99 explorer any ideas?

 

i think it's too late to be fearful of the expensive fix cause it is here...w/ 3600 miles on that 2 stroker you gonna have to have the motor redone....if i was you i would just update...i'm sure you could find a good used polaris 500 that would suit your hunting purpose much better than the explorer

 

its hard for me to give up on my explr. Know the 2 stroke is not the most popular out there but they are easy to work on and fix. If you are looking for engine parts and want to get an idea of prices, check big buck atv, they have everything you would need to rebuild. Paul the owner died and he was a good source of info for expls. I have also dealt with Rick ritter who is real helpful and could get you started the right direction. im not trying to talk you out of stepping up, I did today with an 05 700 sportsman. My son gets the explr. It will be a good one for him to learn on.

Good Luck