1) So let's start this adventure or clusterf*&k whichever you prefer from the beginning. Came out one morning and the wheeler was sittin in a pool of gas...still ran fine, went out changed my water(irrigation dams) with it. Then came back pulled it off and figured out that the reason it was leaking was because it was missing a screw at the bottom of the bowl. Fixed that no problem, didnt tamper with anything else with exception of tightening the bowl drain and checking the bottom drain plug.

2) Put it back together and what do you know but another problem arises. The thing bogs down and has no power. Another thing is that i believe that it is running really rich because when i pull the air box out of the connecting tube to the carb its literally wet with fuel.

3) So i read up on it in the service manual that if you want to lean it up then you move the e-clamp from the needle up in order for the needle to go further down. Did that and nothing changed. I also checked the pilot screw adjustment and it was way further out than 2.5 turns the service manual called for. Fixed that and put it back together and again no change. It almost seems the more i f with the dern thing the more it f's up. Also checked the spark plug and it was sort of fouled up and the color was black. So i cleaned that up and again no change.

4) This was on friday and its now sunday evening and ive spent about 14 hours working on the f'in thing. Bout the throw the towl in and let the shop take a care of it but seein as how im the only one on the ranch that really knows what they are doing with a wrench id like to keep my reputation and fix the dern thing right without losing the precious down time it would have at the shop especially that its hayin season and i need my wheelers runnin right.

Any advice on how to rectify this issue would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks,
Tim

 

smell your oil if it smells like gas the needle and seat is out of it where in wyoming are you located

 

Needle and o-ring for your float are bad on your carb. You need to get a rebuild kit it for it.

That 'screw' missing from the bottom...there is no screw that goes in there. That is an overflow for the bowl.

Reason why it was bogging down after you installed that screw is because it is running pig rich because the extra fuel has nowhere to go.

Pull the screw you installed out, replace the needle and o-ring for the float, and return the setting back to spec. It should run like it should then.

 

@ocomg: Well that makes sense, but why would they have designed it like that. I'm not a carb guy nor am i going to argue with you but it seems silly because doesn't that bowl need to seal on the gasket not to leak. and shouldn't the float regulate the amount of gas on its own and not need that overflow(or the screw that you say should be missing from one of the flanges on the bowl). I may have worded it wrong above, sorry, but the screw was missing from one of the side flanges that screws the bowl to the carb body. Is that still not supposed to be there?
I guess we'll be shutting the fuel off from now on or a new bowl gasket should fix that problem of finding it in a pool of gas in the morning?
Thanks for the advice ill check that out, hope to hear back from you soon!

@kerbbirds: Thanks for the advice! and im from the north central part of the state, but currently working on a ranch in colorado.

 

There should be 2 screws holding the bowl to the carb. I thought possibly that you put a screw into the nipple in the center of that bowl on the bottom...if you did take it out as that is the overflow. If there is an obstruction in that overflow it will flood out your carb.

Sounds like the float needle and o-ring needs replacing. Mine was doing a similar thing when I switched from the 34 to the 40mm carb on my Sportsman. It would idle and rev fine but was leaking pretty good from that nipple. Replaced the needle and o-ring and all works fine now.

 

Update: Still don't have it fixed and if anything i believe its gotten worse.

It was back firing through the carb before and now its still doing it. Also it seems the exhaust is going through the carb too or maybe thats just the backfire vapor. Which makes me think the cam isn't opening the exhaust valve. But it doesn't make any sense that it would run fine before i took the carb off and now it runs like dogshit.

Another thing is it will rev up and backfire and have its **** fit just fine with out the air box on but the minute i put the air box on without the filter it decides its not going to run. and the problem becomes worsens if you hook the filter and the top of the airbox on. I checked everything in the airduct and nothing is clogging it up.

I did replace the needle assembly that goes with the float, and that didn't do anything. Now the needle that goes through the top of the carb, i went through every adjustment on that thing and nothing seems to change except the last two slots toward the bottom. Its still running fuel out of the back of the carb and nothing really has worked.

Anymore suggestions?

Tim

 

Update: Still don't have it fixed and if anything i believe its gotten worse.

It was back firing through the carb before and now its still doing it. Also it seems the exhaust is going through the carb too or maybe thats just the backfire vapor. Which makes me think the cam isn't opening the exhaust valve. But it doesn't make any sense that it would run fine before i took the carb off and now it runs like dogshit.

Another thing is it will rev up and backfire and have its **** fit just fine with out the air box on but the minute i put the air box on without the filter it decides its not going to run. and the problem becomes worsens if you hook the filter and the top of the airbox on. I checked everything in the airduct and nothing is clogging it up.

I did replace the needle assembly that goes with the float, and that didn't do anything. Now the needle that goes through the top of the carb, i went through every adjustment on that thing and nothing seems to change except the last two slots toward the bottom. Its still running fuel out of the back of the carb and nothing really has worked.

Anymore suggestions?

Tim

 

did you take the jets out and clean them up at all maybe a piece of dirt got in one of them and is causing problems

 

That wouldn't be causing it to backfire like it is, or at least i dont believe and why do i still keep getting gobbs of fuel?

 

I had kinda the same problem with my 2000 500 Sportsman, mine was a stupid thing and a simple fix. The top of the air box lid slides through some foam and up and under the gas tank cover. On mine when i put the air box lid on the foam got pushed up and was actually plugging the air box from getting enough air. I pulled off the lid and it would run fine. So I would look at the foam and make sure its in the right spot. Its worth a look.