hey. prepare for a long read lol.

didnt see an introduction forum, so i figured id post one here, since its where ill be spending all my time.

im in fort drum ny. army, 88m.

im new to atv's. ive ridden motorcycles all my life, but have only been around quads a few times.

i bought a new jeep recently (97 TJ, 2"lift, 31" mud tires,mint condition, teal) and i was going to sell my old jeep (91 YJ, stock, rusty and old)... when i realized i might get a better deal trading for a quad.

put an ad on craigslist looking for a trade for a quad and small trailer. wasnt expecting much.. but ended getting over 150 offers for snowmobiles, quads, dirtbikes, cars, riding mowers lol. everything.

i ended up settling with my new 2002 scrambler 400 2wd - really good condition, a 2008 tractor supply 4x6 trailer - still has the price tag on it, 2 helmets, a new battery still in the box, and a new universal ball hitch.

i rode it today and fell in love. its cold as hell up here in nny... low in the -30s windchill.. so i wont be riding too much till summer, and i want to take advantage of this time fixing little things, and tuning it up for the summer season.

i researched the hell out of it, and although i havent gotten into any details of it yet, i read alot about how the 400 was a solid motor for upgrading.

im looking foward to being an active part of the forums here, learning, and also helping other newbies out with my finds. i am active in a jeep forum, and a dodge intrepid forum (wifes car) as well, so im good about taking pictures and making how to;s when i do work so others can benifit.

anyways, sorry for the long post, but just wanted to get my background in there so you guys know me a little bit..

any links you guys can throw up in this thread on aftermarket parts, stock parts, and how tos or faqs please do..

now for pics!
my old red yj, i miss that old beast already, parked with my new to me teal tj.

the pics of the scrambler and trailer parked at the guys house... didnt look like this today lol, there was 3 feet of snow..

and the scrambler and trailer tucked nicely in its new home in my garage

 

hello and welcome. I am also new to ATV'ng the scrambler looks great. you are going to have a blast when it warms up!


Oh and 3 posts down from yours is a "lets see all the scramblers' post. Put up some pics

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: randymack





Oh and 3 posts down from yours is a "lets see all the scramblers' post. Put up some pics</end quote></div>


i just opened it up in a new tab lol. i only have like 4 pics of it, i just got it today and only rode it for 10 mins..

and these two pics of it here are the best two i have!


but yeah i forgot to add this to my above post, and ill leave it out for the sake of not editing it and making it any longer of a read...

but i love that freakin trailer. i can roll it around in the garage with the quad on it with one arm. its great.

 

it is the perfect size! nice finds.

 

Welcome to the forum
Nice 400 but beware you NEED to pull the cylinder off and change the stock piston out to a Wiesco
before it blows.It is not a matter of if but when it will blow.
Other than that the 400s are very good machines but if you are like most you will want more power
and the power on a 400 is only limited to how deep your pockets are.Oh BTW once you start modding it
it becomes an addiction and you cant stop.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: ftwflh



Nice 400 but beware you NEED to pull the cylinder off and change the stock piston out to a Wiesco

before it blows.It is not a matter of if but when it will blow.

</end quote></div>

interesting.

please explain.

known factory defect? weak rings or the piston itself?

what happens when it blows?

thanks

 

Known factory defect.The skirt will break and if your lucky it wont take the cases with it.It is from the rod angle and a cast piston.A forged piston takes care of it until you mod it to run over 7000
Then they make a cylinder girdle kit.These things are a blast and can be made to out run the big boys

 

now you got me worried because i only ran it for about 10 mins today, and it was about -2 outside so it took a while to warm up enought to idle with the choke off..

what sounds can i expect to hear if its a bad piston, so i can start it up in the morning, let it warm up, then listen for sounds?

also, the battery is dead, and the key is broken off into the ignition switch, but luckily its stuck in the ''on'' position.

so i was just planning on pull starting it until i get the switch replaced.

it did come with a new battery, but no point in even taking it out of the box till i replace the ignition

this thing looks like it was really well taken care of, so hopefully i dont run into any real problems.

any how to's for checking the piston without removing the head?


thanks bro.

 

By the way, I hear it is a bad idea to run without a battery. It is okay to run with a dead battery, but if you run with NO battery apparently stuff starts blowing up. I'm not sure if that issue exists for your model, but I'd hate to wait until you posted something like, "so, I blew all my electrical stuff today" before I mentioned, "yeah, I heard that could happen".

I guess the battery acts as a sort of regulator or buffer for the alternator.

Good luck.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: jchunn

By the way, I hear it is a bad idea to run without a battery. It is okay to run with a dead battery, but if you run with NO battery apparently stuff starts blowing up. I'm not sure if that issue exists for your model, but I'd hate to wait until you posted something like, "so, I blew all my electrical stuff today" before I mentioned, "yeah, I heard that could happen".



I guess the battery acts as a sort of regulator or buffer for the alternator.



Good luck.</end quote></div>

no it has a battery in it.. but its dead