Hi! I’m new to this forum so please be kind and willing to understand that I don’t know everything about how this particular machine and this particular forum works yet. I just bought a 1992 Polaris Trailboss 250 2x4 in the gray and blue paint scheme for $375. The guy I bought it from thought it had a leak in the fuel line. I took the plastics off and the line was not broken, but the hose clamp was fairly loose (I could spin it around the line with one finger if I pushed a bit). The seal around the gas tank is dry but it seems to be dripping down from the top of the petcock to the bottom, although I couldn’t actually see the top (this is with the petcock “OFF”, mind you). Could it be possible that the petcock just doesn’t shut off anymore or that it was only leaking because of a loose hose clamp, or what do you think? Anyone else with similar issues out there that they have resolved? I’m looking for cheap solutions since I have a budget of -$184 (my father loaned me some cash to purchase it). I’m really hoping I don’t have to go through the work and cost of replacing the gas tank, gas tank seal, or petcock. I don’t plan on replacing the petcock if it’s just stuck open and I can put another inline shutoff valve in. I’m just looking for solutions while it sits in the shed because it’s too cold to work on it right now. Thoughts, ideas, suggestions? Thanks guys. Hope you can get back to me.

Okay, when it warms up a little bit I will try this (it’s currently 4 degrees Fahrenheit out and snowing and my shed doesn’t have heat or electric so I have to leave the door open) and get back to you. Thanks for the quick reply! If you don’t mind me asking and this isn’t wasting your time, do you know of any good quality silencers for under $100 that won’t hinder the performance of the machine noticeably? I’m sure the old two stroke sounds great, but I’m also sure it’s loud, even at idle. I have heard it run, I wouldn’t have paid that much for it if I hadn’t, but it was only for three seconds (idle up, idle down). I’m planning on using this for deer hunting when it’s fixed and I’m pretty sure when it’s going down the trail it could possibly even be louder than the old Allis Chalmers WD-45 we have up there. Maybe I could cut a muffler off an old truck in the junkyard and use that? Like I said if I’m not wasting your time please let me know. You seem very knowledgeable about this.
Thanks again!

Alright, my father has been paid off for two months, and I purchased two feet of new fuel line and an in-line filter from Tousley Motorsports. I also purchased a new valve through the link you included. It arrived in under a week, and seems to be of the same quality as the old one, except for one thing. The new one is taller, and has a slightly wider throat on the outlet that the hose slides onto. I was able to fit my new hose on with a bit of force, and I installed the new valve on the tank with almost no issue. When I filled it with gas, it did not drizzle out like it did before, but it still has a slight drip. I don’t know what this could be from. Is it possible the tank has cracked, or maybe the source of the problem is actually the black piece at the bottom of the tank that the valve screws into? I was told to try coating the threads of the screws with gas safe RTV sealant. Any ideas or objections?