I recently picked up a 1994 LT-F250. (I was looking for something for my wife.) It quad had been sitting for years. 1st I drained all the gas. Added some fresh fuel, and started pulling the starter rope as the battery was shot. Nothing... not even a whimper. The previous owner said it would run fine, but then just die as if it was out of gas. I removed the gas line at the petcock, to make sure fuel was flowing. No problem. I followed the fuel line to the carb. What a terrible design.

The fuel line, goes from the petcock to near the top of the gas tank, through a filter, back down to the bottom of the fuel tank, up and over the rear sub-frame into the carb. The carb is a few inches higher than the petcock....

I re-routed the gas line straight from the petcock to the carb, making sure gas would flow. Pulled the cord a few times just to get the system primed. Gave her a good pull, and she fired right up...

I had an old bike battery, (too small) that I temporarily replaced the dead one with. Turn on the key, hit the button, and she fires right up.

Tonight I hope to do a little road test... The brakes look as they will require some adjustment and or repair. I need to change the oil and filters, but so far it looks as though the patient will live.

If I can make this thing safe and reliable, it will be a great quad for the wife to putt around on.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

 

Yesterday afternoon, my son took it into the woods for a quick shake down. No problems reported, other then the brakes need adjusted. It fires right up, idles smooth, rev's fine. HI / LO range works fine, reverse seems good.

I took it for a quick road test just to see what it needs... There are a few items that I need to attend to.
1.) The shifter is very stiff. I think 'I'll need to grease the linkage, and after an oil change, maybe it will loosen a little. The shifter is designed for someone with a short foot. Not sure what I can do about that, yet...
2.) The front end likes to bounce, as if the tires are square... this may get better with time.
3.) The brakes need attention. It has drum brakes front and rear. The front brakes tend to grab, and don't want to release (some lubrication of the linkage should correct this... while the rear needs adjusted, not enough stopping power in the rear.
4.) I need to change all the fluids, does anyone know if this engine uses an oil filter?
5.) I'm also going to replace the air filter, as the current filter has seen better days.
6.) I'll also change the plug, as I don't know how long the old plug has been in there.

I know the shocks are ok, not good, but ok... I plan to get it up on blocks so I can check the wheel bearings, and the rear universals. With it sitting on the ground I can see a little play in the rear universals, but nothing to be concerned about. The front seems tight, but we'll see when there's no weight on the wheels. I also need to grease the entire bike.

Other then catching up on some maintenance its general condition is not too bad considering its been sitting under a tarp a few years.

Any suggestions are welcome. as I am more of a 2 wheel (2 stroke) bike guy. This will make a perfect quad for the wife to putt around on. It doesn't have too much power, its a semi automatic (no clutch to worry about), I just need to make sure its safe and reliable.

 

It does have an oil filter,it on passenger side ,look down front of rear tire and you will see sight glass for oil level,just to the rear of glass you will see 3 small screws holding a triangle shaped cover on,this is oil filter cover.Get all my parts off of fleabay ,brakes,filters tuneup acc,s.Paul

 

Thanks Paul. I'm guessing "if" the filter has ever been changed, its been a while...

I took it out and trashed it a little last night. It runs fine doesn't smoke, starts cold without the choke, I need to adjust the rear brake no quite enough stopping power. For the wife this would be the perfect quad, but for me, its a little under powered. I'm used to the stump pulling, arm stretching power of my KTM 300 smoker, but for something to putt around on, its not too bad.

I did manage to get it up on stands last night. The wheel bearing are fine, the rear dive shaft universals have a little play. but not enough to worry about. The drive train seems fine.

I may pull the rear plastic so I can get to everything a little easier. I need to remove the shifter linkage and cable to grease it. The shifter is still very stiff. While I have the plastic off, I'll get into the oil filter, and get that changed.

Thanks for your help Paul. Any other suggestions / tips, please let me know

 

If you and your wife like shifting with a stick i have a universal gear shift on mine,as my size15,s dont handle built in shifter well,just bolts on your shifter,simply run thru gears with your hand.Paul

 

Paul I did find the oil filter. Thanks for the heads up. I don't have new filter, so I'll wait until I get a new filter before I change the oil. The rear brake shoes are definatly worn beyond adjustment. So I'll check out flea bay for a new set of shoes..

Thanks for all your help.

 

My son took the quad out for a major shakedown. The final verdict... "Its a good little quad, but it cannot make some of our more extreme hills. It just doesn't have enough power, (it is only a 250). For just putting around on its great, and its nice for less experienced riders. For an easy cruise, its hard to beat.

 

I'm bringing this tread back as an update to the quads status.

Over the winter I've been doing a little work to the old girl. I pulled the front wheels to check the brakes, or lack there of... One one side, the brake material fell off the shoes, the other there was nothing left. On both sides the wheel cylinders were frozen. I removed the spindles, repacked the wheel bearings. I soaked the wheel cylinders with PB blaster, and got them working. Installed new brake shoes bled the brakes .... Wow the front brakes work.

Now for the rear, I pulled the passenger wheel and brake hub. I compared the new shoes with the existing shoes... oh here is the the problem, the old shoes are not the right size (too small). So before I install the new shoes, I'm going to repack the bearings on both rear wheels. I have a new oil filter, so while I'm there, I'll change the oil and filter, and clean the air filter, and through in a new spark plug.

This little girl will be ready for another season of fun.

 

Sounds awsome, I love free or near free equipment. I am glad you have found a nice inexpensive quad. most f the older quads would still be running today if they were maintained. I have an old 87 LT230s. Great little quad. have fun with it.

 

Its perfect for my wife, or my daughter. Not too much power, steady, easy to ride. For me, I like to take it when I do trail maintenance. I can strap a few saws, ropes and other tools to it, and use it like a work mule.

It runs great. It sat all winter untouched. The temp was around 20 when I decided to pull it into the garage. I threw the battery charger on her for a few hours. I turned the key, hit the start button and she came to like. No choke, just the start button and a little gas. Sometimes this little quad makes me laugh, its too easy.