I recently picked up a 2001 (I believe it is a 2001) Trailblazer 250, however I cannot get it to start. It cranks over fine (put in a new battery) but refuses to start. I managed to get it started once, but when I went to shut the choke off it died and the only way I have managed to get it started since is using starter fluid. Since I knew the gas in it is getting old from it sitting, I decided to drain the old gas out of it in order to put in some fresh gas with a little SeaFoam and see if I could get it started. However, when I disconnected the fuel line before it goes into the fuel filter (about 10" from the petcock) the fuel is trickling out really slowly, as in 10 minutes of it draining and I managed to get about a quart of old gas out.

So, assuming the gas should be flowing faster than that, I suspect that to be the main cause of it not running all that well. I may still remove the carb and clean it, but for now just want to get the old gas out and try to fix the fuel flow issue. In order to remove the gas tank does the entire front plastic bodywork need to first be removed? If so is that just a bunch of screws and it lifts off? I am hoping to clean the petcock, but may just pick up a new one and replace that, as well as the fuel line if that also appears clogged.

Is my logic in thinking the slow fuel flow is preventing it from starting sound? I am assuming the carb is simply not getting enough fuel to start / run and may also be dirty. The combination basically preventing it from getting fuel.

Thanks.

 

not sure on that model but the petcock may have 3 settings where one on he settings should be a free flow or maybe just a reserve. did you try it in all positions? either way it this bike has been sitting not started w/ premix gas and oil the carb should come off and be cleaned either way. also would hurt to do a compression test to make sure it has enough to run the bike. I do think the plastics have to come off to remove the tank as its been along time ago for our 01 TB.

 

Yep, the petcock has 3 positions, tried all of them and anywhere in between, made no real difference where I had it. So, today I set up a funnel and drain pan beneath the fuel tank, loosened the valve and drained so the fuel that way, then removed the petcock....




As you can see, it's a bit of a mess! Thankfully I had already gone ahead and ordered a new one that should be here Tuesday. Looking inside the fuel tank after it was empty it looks pretty clean, not sure if I should do anything with it.

With that removed I went ahead and then took the carb off and cleaned it as well. Little nervous as I have never worked on the before, but it was not that bad of a job. Of course, I won't know if I screwed something up before getting the new valve and putting some fuel in it, but fingers crossed!

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yep that is an issue for sure lol. that's the problem when gas set in somewhere too long now with this crap ethanol gas. as long as you reverse the disassembly to re ***. you should be fine. hopefully you took out both piolet and main jets to clean them as well as the needle and seat. good luck.

 

Yep, cleaned all the jets, needle etc, luckily I found a 2 part video on YouTube of someone disassembling and cleaning one so it was fairly easy to follow along removing everything.

Frustratingly, the new petcock was delivered today, but the holes don't quite line up with the old one so I cannot attach it to the fuel tank. What a pain in the rear. I don't want to play trial and error with different petcocks, so not sure yet how to find one that will fit the tank. The one I bought said it fits a 2001 Trailblazer, it's only off by around 1/8" or less so I may try to drill the holes a little and see if I can then get it to seat. Had really hoped to try and fire it up today.

 

If you can find the VIN the 10th digit is the year code. Y=2000, 1=2001=1, 2=2002. It helps when you order parts as different years may have different parts even if you're only off by a year, half a year on some other models.

ATV Vin Number : Check and Decode Your VIN

 

The VIN is what I used to verify it was a 2001. What I think happened was the petcock was already replaced at some point with an aftermarket one, which was modified slightly in order to fit (screw holes drilled out a little in order for them to be wide enough to fit the tank).

I am going to see if I can make the same modification to this new petcock, otherwise will end up ordering an OEM valve and hoping it fits. It looks like the same part number 7051006 fits multiple years.

 

That kind of part usually stays the same for several years, and it's probably the same thing Scramblers used at the time too. There are a lot of common parts between them.

 

Got the gas tank sorted, put everything back together and now gas is just pouring out the bottom (assume overflow) vent on the carb bowl.

So i took the carb back off, removed the bowl and everything looked good. I filled the bowl with gas to make sure the floats were moving as expected, which they were. Reassembled it and mounted back on the ATV, turned the fuel valve on and within 30 seconds it's leaking out the bottom (I assume the overflow) vent again. With the carb apart I noticed the needle and hinge piece did not seem to move that freely though. If I am understanding how a carb works, the float should rise as the bowl fills with fuel, which then causes the needle with the rubber tip to rise into the fuel inlet and stop more fuel flowing into the carb. If that's not closing properly, fuel will continue flowing into the carb bowl and eventually into the overflow pipe and out that bottom vent? I'm somewhat guessing, but if that hinge is not seating the needle fully, then that would explain why the fuel continually fills, and overflows, the bowl. Does that make sense?

If that sounds right, then I think the best option will be to find a carb rebuild kit. Partzilla do not have a rebuild kit, that I could find, are there any recommended kits or there that will work with the Polaris carb? The part number appears to be either 3131301 or 3131323.

Had hoped to fire it up today, 65F would have been perfect to take it for a quick ride!

 

All ***** Racing has a kit for it, or you can get one from a local dealer, these other distributors, Amazon, or eBay.

Carburetor Rebuild Kit Polaris Big Boss 250 4x6 89-92, Big Boss 250 6x6 91-93, Scrambler 250 86, Trail Blazer 250 90-06, Trail Boss 250 2x4 86-99, Trail Boss 250 4x4 87-95, Xplorer 250 4x4 00-02

https://www.allballsracing.com/26-1007.html