Hey all. I just bought my first 4 wheeler Friday the 13th. That is not why my name is Gus13, it is Gus13 because no one can say my last name and it is 13 letters, so thats what they call me. I used to have a Jeep built for rock crawling, then I went to a full blown rock buggy. I have gotten out of that and decided to get into the 4 wheelers.

I was looking at many 4 wheelers when I found this 2000 Wolverine in great condition. I liked it because it is sporty but has 4 wheel drive, plus it didnt break the bank buying it.

Questions I have are:
He did not rejet after adding the muffler and K&N stock replacement filter, nor did he ever have the valves checked in the year he had it, so I dont know when it was done last. Should I have this done? How do I know if it needs to be done?

When I was going up a hill in 1st gear 4WD it went half way up the hill and lost all power not allowing me to go up the hill. I tried a couple times and the same thing happened. I had to get a 20' start to get it to the midrange power band in order to climb it. I also noticed when in thick mud going slow it bogged it way down till it almost wouldnt go through the mud. What would cause this? What can fix it?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

Welcome to the forums Gus.

You will definetly need to rejet, that is probably what is cause your bogging problem. Yank the plug out and see what it looks like. Make sure you change all the fluids and oil filter in the machine (only use motorcycle oil) and put fresh gas in it. That should always be the first thing you do when you get a used machine. Wouldnt hurt the clean the air filter and carb too. Also invest in a clymer manual ($20 for a book or $5-8 for the cd), it will be your best friend for repairs/upgrades/putting it back together. Hope this helps.

 

Yea the quad not being rejetted and runnign lean will cause you lots of problems in the future plus if it was sitting and gummed up the carb(jets,needle,float) it can cause your quad to bog down. Def change all of the fluids as suggested by sparky and I would check the valve gaps to see if they have the right clearance and if they don't go buy some shims that will make up the difference but I would get a service manual like sparky said. Welcome to the forums and good luck and be safe.
Brett

 

Thanks for the posts so far.
He just had the oil filter and oil changed. The air filter is brand new and clean. I did change the front and rear diff oil. I am also putting new bearings in the front end because the left side was worn out along with EBC SV brake pads. I did change the plug, but the old one didnt look too lean, it was dark in color. It didnt sit, he took it out about once a month. I dobt the carb has been cleaned out.
I am leary of taking the carb apart to clean it although I used to take apart my jetski carbs. As far as checking the valve clearance I really want to do that, but have no clue what to look for or check. I will definately buy the book you reccomended. I am very mechanically inclined so if I get some sort of direction I should be able to figure it out.

 

I am going to remove and clean out the carb tonight.
I have a friend that knows how to check the valve clearance. Does anyone have the specs for that?
Someone said to take the restrictor plates off the muffler. Currently it has 9 plates on it. Would that help? I thought you want some back pressure.

 

OK. Just took the 4 wheeler to Superlift ORV park in Hot springs Arkansas and had a blast.

However to clarify my problem, even if going up a small hill or incline it would start off real sluggish even at full throttle but once it got going all of the sudden the rpms come up and it would come to life. Almost seems like there is a problem with the low side of the carb. Any comments what my problem may be? It doesnt seem normal to me. I do have a 140 main jet and FMF site recomends a 142-145, so I am going to get that jet and see what happens.