I have a 1989 suzuki lt 250 quadsport that I can't start when it is cold. The machine is kick start only. When the motor is cold I can kick it all day and it will not fire, but if I pull start it, it will fire in five feet and run like a champ. If the engine is warm it will start with one kick, however if I let it sit and cool down I'm back to square one pull starting it. I talked to a guy that thought it could be the ignition coil, I'm not sure. Any help with this would be appreciated.

Thanks for the replies.

 

If it was the other way around (not starting when hot), I would have said the primary coil in the magneto. #4 here: http://alpha-sports.com/satv/1989/LT250S/26.htm

But not starting when cold means your intake valve is not closing. 99% sure. Set the lash properly (or at least get it so there's some slack there) and it will start fine. My bud's 1990 250 did the exact same thing. I just backed the valve adjuster off a little bit and it ran great.

 

thanks for replying, I will have to try that. Is it a big job to adjust this I'm not sure how to. How much adjustment must there be.

Thanks again.

 

.001-.003 inch
Yours is Over Head Cams With Rocker Arms
You also don't have a timing mark unless you remove the magneto cover and drain the oil. So, just use the screwdriver in the sparkplug hole to find TDC.
The rest of the procedure is laid out here: http://www.dansmc.com/valveclearence.htm

Oh, I don't think you have to remove any plastic either or the gas tank.

Another point, don't overtighten the sparkplug or anything else you take off, but DO be sure you tighten the locknut on the valve adjuster!

 

thanks again for the help. I am going to try this in the next couple of weeks when things slow down. If I have any problems I will try to contact you again.

Thanks Again.

 

You're welcome!

 

Just Randy,
I thought I would give you the good news. After adjusting the valves the motor kicked over on the third try and sounded better than it has in years. You saved me a bunch. I have one other problem with it maybe you can help with. The motor will idle fine until I put it to full throttle and it won't seem to go back to idle. If I feather the idle it will go back down and idle fine. Any help with this sure would be appreciated.

Thanks again for all the help
Greg.

 

Yep, same thing my bud's did. You're going to have to keep an eye on that intake valve. It will need adjusting again soon.

How does the air filter look? Is there any chance of dirt getting inside the engine? Usually when an engine's rpm's want to drift around and not stablize, than means its lean (not enough gas or too much air). That's why I'm asking about the air filter. My buddy's had a sock for an air filter when he got it. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Your pilot jet could be plugged too. You'll need a piece of guitar string to clean it good. A bread tie might be small enough.

Check it out n let me know. I'll take a pic of my bud's intake valve and post it. We just changed it last week.

 

Here's the 250 valve we took out last week.

 

Just Randy,
Hey sorry to bother you again but the quadsport ran great this last weekend. The only problem we had with it was when it got hot it didn't seem to want to keep running. We let it sit 5-10 minutes and one kick it starts. Any idea's? Also on my 01 sportman 500 my temp light came on. I crawled under the machine and there was antifreeze coming out of the weep hole, I thought for sure the impeller was bad. I called the local dealer and he said that it is the mechanical gasket that is bad and i should replace the oil seal while I'm at it. Does this sound right to you? He said to get the mechanical seal out I would need special tools and there labor would be 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Sounds like alot to me. A cheap fix just turned into $90.00 in parts alone.

Again any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Greg.