At 15 mph and above I hear what sounds like something rotatiog out of balance, I can feel a slight vibration as well. I thought it was coming from the front differential but I'm not sure anymore. Any idea what it could be?

 

Man, are you sure I didn't buy your quads twin brother. We have been having identical problems lately, Funny!!! At least we know that these problems are quad specific, lol. I can't figure it out either... I just know that it is the front differential, it's gotta be. Sounds like kind of a friction noise??? Wobbly, yep.
Gets even worse for me when in 4x4. Everything is working fine though, I know it's just a matter of time before it's not. I think that I am gonna take my "stimulus" check and get the whole thing looked over due to my lack of experience with working on quads, or anything with an engine for that matter.

I've been meaning to ask you. Sometimes my oil window will show no oil, other times it will be 3/4 full...? Does yours do this or have I installed my oil filter wrong? Or is this normal, I mean I know it is just a "guide" for your oil levels. But I want to make sure that I have enough oil running through everything, but at the same time don't want to overfill it either. Do you get any smoke out of your exhaust? I do not for the most part get any smoke, so I don't think I am burning lots of oil. ALSO, do you have any problems starting your 300? Here's how mine goes, it takes about five minutes of full on pressing the start button and pumping the throttle. Maybe even longer. Then, after starting it will not idle without stalling (until warmed up, then no problem at all). After starting I can turn it off and start it right back up over and over again. If I stop to have a cig or something (20-30 min), it all starts back over again. Hmmmm, carb problem? Crack in the manifold? You sound like you have been learning lots about your quad, so if you know of any remedies for these problems, please, I repeat, PLEASE let me know. Thanks

 

The hard starting sound's like a carb problem , it could also be that the intake to carb tube or carb to air box tube could be loose or have a hairline crack in it causing a leak also the rubber boot's that connect them could be loose or have a crack from dry rot ; to test this you can use Deep Creep or carb cleaner and spray some around where the intake tube's connect there will be an increase in engine RPM's if there's a leak !

And another thing is the plastic nut on the choke cable could be loose , one more thing it could be is the pump diaphram may be going bad ; i hope not because this Diapram isn't sold seperately it come's with the entire cable to carb slide assemble !

And the cost of the carb slide assemble is over $150 at most Dealerhip's , your best bet is to pull the carb for a good cleaning first because you could have a sticky float inlet needle or a parcially clogged main jet !

Get a can of Seafoam and a can of Deep Creep to clean the fuel system , it will also clean the combustion chamber of builtup carbon deposit's that can cause the valves to gumup and the ring's to stick thus causing it to smoke on start up or when it get's hot ; you can get Sea Foam and Deep Creep ( Same product as Sea Foam only comes in spray can ) at most Auto Parts Stores for $6,99 + tax Walmart has the Sea Foam i just bought a can of the Sea Foam yesterday for $5,66 + tax at WalMart !

And on the oil filter the open end should be facing toward's the engine crankcase , and the closed end toward's the the access cover , be carefull when you remove the access cover so you will see where the filter spring is located making the reinstalation of the oil filter and access plate easier ; the Suzuki LT4WD 250 Quad Runner and the LT4WD 300 KQ's had a vibration from the 89' through the early 90's later model's were given a counter balance on the crankshaft to reduce the engine vibration ( not sure what year it was added ) but Suzuki did give a set of new motor mount's that was suppose to reduce the vibration on the older model's !

I did a re Edit to this reply for the poor spelling to make it easier to read , i didn't finish high school and sometime's i make so many mistake's my reply's can be a little hard to understand to a well educated person !

But i Hope this help's !.........

 

Surely gives me some starting points, thanks williebee! Just can't figure why it is so easy to start right after the struggle to get it fired the first time. I am leaning toward the pump. If it were the carb, I don't think that this would be the case, but then again, what do I know, not much. Gonna leave it to pros and take it in to the shop. It will be the first time taking it in, does it usually take a long time to get it back due to the older model parts having to be located? That would be crappy if it took a long time, I would go through withdrawl, lol.

 

No Martin the reason it take's so long is according to how busy the Dealerships Tech's are and how many are ahead of your's that take's so long , it doesn't take usually 2 to 3 day's on part's even if they have to special order and longer if the part is backed ordered ; on my 1993 Suzuki LT4WD 300 KQ it was going to take 3 day's to get the Pump Diapfram they ordered it on a friday and they wouldn't be opened back up till tuesday the following week because the dealer drive's in the Nascar Bush Series and her shop is closed from noon on saturday and all the Dealership's and parts distributors are closed on monday's in the tri state area where i live !

I ordered a complete carb kit it was going to cost $24.99 for the carb kit and since i still had my shop opened at the time i was going to do my own labor , but what was going to cost me the most was the pump diapfram because it doesn't come with the carb kit ; the Diapfram come's with the complete pump to carb slide assemble that was going to cost over $150 alone !

I ended up taking home a 2006 Arctic Cat 400 FIS Auto with the Suzuki 376cc engine and Suzuki's Duramatic Belt Driven Clutch Tranny , my brother had bought my first Quad and his wife had her cap set on me selling them the 93' KQ ; and the AC Dealer was a very good freind and she never tried to sell me a new Quad she isn't the type of a Dealer who try's to sell a Quad to everyone who walk's in her Dealership !

I had bought all my part's for my old 86' Honda TRX350FM Foreman 4x4 and my 93' Suzuki LT4WD 300 KQ for half the cost the other Dealer's wanted for them , i had to ask about the cost of the AC's from the Dealer to show me the Quad's and she gave such a good deal i went home with a new Quad ; so i canselled the carb and the pump Diapfram assembly and 3 day's later i sold the KQ to my brother for $500 more than i paid for it !

It was after i sold the KQ to my brother that he found that it wasn't the pump Diiafpram but the plastic nut on the choke cable was cross threaded into the carb body , this was done when i let a tech at the Suzuki Dealership service it for me ; because i was covered up with my customer's lawn and garden equipment at the time !

If i ever buy another new Quad it will be either Suzuki or a Suzuki powered Arctic Cat and i will do my own work like i do on the new AC 400 FIS Auto 4x4 , and i alway's bought nothing but Honda , Suzuki and Kawasaki before i got my Cat ; that is untill i test rode the Cat and i don't think i'll go back to any other brand but AC as long as it's powered by Suzuki so good luck with your KQ and i hope it isn't the pump Diapfram !........

 

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

Man, are you sure I didn't buy your quads twin brother. We have been having identical problems lately, Funny!!! At least we know that these problems are quad specific, lol. I can't figure it out either... I just know that it is the front differential, it's gotta be. Sounds like kind of a friction noise??? Wobbly, yep.

Gets even worse for me when in 4x4. Everything is working fine though, I know it's just a matter of time before it's not. I think that I am gonna take my "stimulus" check and get the whole thing looked over due to my lack of experience with working on quads, or anything with an engine for that matter.



I've been meaning to ask you. Sometimes my oil window will show no oil, other times it will be 3/4 full...? Does yours do this or have I installed my oil filter wrong? Or is this normal, I mean I know it is just a "guide" for your oil levels. But I want to make sure that I have enough oil running through everything, but at the same time don't want to overfill it either. Do you get any smoke out of your exhaust? I do not for the most part get any smoke, so I don't think I am burning lots of oil. ALSO, do you have any problems starting your 300? Here's how mine goes, it takes about five minutes of full on pressing the start button and pumping the throttle. Maybe even longer. Then, after starting it will not idle without stalling (until warmed up, then no problem at all). After starting I can turn it off and start it right back up over and over again. If I stop to have a cig or something (20-30 min), it all starts back over again. Hmmmm, carb problem? Crack in the manifold? You sound like you have been learning lots about your quad, so if you know of any remedies for these problems, please, I repeat, PLEASE let me know. Thanks</end quote></div>


The noise isn't that bad, and I think the wobble is just in my mind. There isn't any noise when under stress, like going up a hill or something... maybe it's just normal gear noise for this machine. When it's in 2wd and I have the back of it up on a jack and put it in gear the tires rotate but in a jerking fashon, maybe this is all due to the slack in the sub transmission.
I've decided not to pay any attention to the oil sight window, like your's it's all over the place. When I changed the oil I put in 3.5 liters and the whole window is oil, up past the top mark of the window but the mechanic at the zuki dealer told me to add 3.5 liters and 'go from there'. Check your oil by sticking your finger into the fill plug. The filter goes in with the hole end in first. I don't get any smoke at all and the engine starts up and runs like it was brand new on the showroom floor.

P.S. if you crank your starter constantly for 5 minutes you will fry it in a hurry. Don't crank it for more than 30 seconds three times in a row and then let it cool off for a minute.

 

So the plastic nut is broken in two. Now it won't start at all, I think my battery is starting to die from trying to start it with what I now know was without the choke. Any suggestions?

 

OLDSHOOLQUAD i'm not sure if the plastic nut on the choke cable is replaceable or if you'll have to replace the choke cable itself , on my old 86' Honda 350 Foreman the local Honda Dealer let a kid he was paying minunum wages service it ; and the kid cracked the nut on the choke cable !

The Dealer refused to repair the cable , and the kid stripped the oil drain hole in the process , i had my local AC Dealer replace the plastic nut while she was putting new tire's , rear brake's , rear wheel bearing /seal and a cv boot on the Quad ; her charge to me was a little over $300 for the work she did !

The Honda Dealer even refused to repair the oil drain hole , he tried to tell me the drain plug hole was already stripped when i brought it to his shop ; i knew this was was a bunch of bull crap because i had just changed the engine oil and filter and adjusted the valves and the drain hole wasn't stripped before taking it to his shop !

I was covered up in work with my regular customer's lawn and garden equipment at my own shop at the time or i would've done the work myself , and i told him all i wanted done to my Foreman was rebuild the starter and install a new battery and nothing else ; and when i picked it up this kid told me he changed the oil and adjusted the brake's free of charge !

The Dealer told me the armature on the starter was fried and needed the new starter that he said would cost over $200 , and i found out about a year ago on these very fourms that Honda had a recall for a defective starter the Dealer's were suppose to replace under warranty ; when this Honda Dealer who i had known for almost 30 yrs, refused to repair the choke cable and the hole drain hole it both hurt me and made me mad to say the least !

I told him he would repair the oil drain hole or i would to see him in court , but he still refused to repair it free of charge and told me he would rethread it to the next size for $75 ; so i went to my local Industrial supply distributor where i bought a $50 Heli Coil set and a $20 titaninum drill bit and rethreaded back to the original bolt size !

Then i filled out on work order on my Shop letterhead for $89.99 parts and $90 for my labor and took it to his shop and handed him my bill , at fist he refused to pay untill i called my lawyer on my cell phone and handed him to phone to talk to the lawyer ; when he got off the phone he was mad to say the least but he paid the bill !

I even told him i wasn't going to charge him any tax on my labor since we were business men , and up untill then we were good freind's ; he was the local Honda Dealer for over 46 yrs but i didn't do business with this Dealer again !

A good and honest Dealer is a must , my AC Dealer allow's me to do my own maintence on my 06' AC 400 ; i just call them with the mileage and date of servicing and she put's it in her computer as work done at her Dealership to protect my warranty !

Sorry about the lomg reply i got carried away , back to the topic at hand that would make it hard to start for sure the Suzuki LT4WD 300 KQ i sold my brother would start even without even using the choke when the temperture was in the low 50's ; it would start like you stated after the engine was warmed up with just a bump of the starter button !

Even when the temp's dropped in the teen's with the choke on full it would start on the very first revolution of the engine , i did however have go slowly from full choke to half choke and then complete off choke before it would idle ; amd on the noise your Quad is making it could the clutch need's adjusting !

I hope this help's , and keep us informed on your progress ; good luck with the KQ they teally are great Quad's my brother still has my old KQ and it start's and run's as good as it did when i sold it to him !.......