Get Your ATV Carb ready to GO

So your Honda (or other ATV with a carb) is not running up to snuff!!!!! Been there and doing that. Here is a prime example of the quality Honda product on the tried and true Honda TRX 300 4x4.  

First things first, clean the area that you are working in as it will make a HUGE difference once underway. Get all of your tools handy and organized, I use my snap-on screw drivers on every job as they seem to hold the edge a little longer than a few of the off brand ones out there. This is going to be in another blog later.

Now get the carb off , you will have to remove the fuel tank, air box, choke cable, throttle cable and vent lines

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Set the carb on your cleaned off bench area and let the fun begin. First remove the top cover that holds the slide and set that aside

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Turn it over and remove the 4 float bowl screws then the bowl itself, be careful not to use too much force as it could brake the bowl or internal parts. Notice where the plastic splash plate is installed, remove it and the float pin, again please be careful here as if you brake the tap off the float pin its buy a carb time and you do not want that. 

 

 

Next is to remove all of the main jets and jet needle, air screw and pilot jet. You may also notice the green that is left behind on the float bowl, this is also what is going though the jets, or plugging them off as the case may be. Set them aside for right now, pay special attention to the float needle tip as this is prone to ware. 

Now its time to clean the carb and jets, I use CRC cleaner ( here is the link ) it works great doing this and more. Now you have to make sure that the carb is clean and all orifices are clear and that the jets are also cleaned and clear of green goo and debree

 

Now that you have all of this done you can reassemble the carb and adjust the air screw to the specifications that the manufacture recommends , this is a good starting point as you adjust from there.

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Now if you have read this far here is the Bonus stuff

A few tricks and helpful hints here, before you install the carb unscrew the idle knob to let the slide close all the way. More than once I have had the enjoyment of the shop staff, when you do a beautiful job and everything goes just right, you install it all and hit the button only to have to hit the rev limiter. JUST an FYI 

When installing the choke plunger it is a good idea to lube the o-ring with a lube of sorts, grease or petroleum jelly, this not only seals the plunger but also keeps the o-ring pliable . 

Next up after you install it all and it starts right up but dies is you have to adjust the idle, I use the choke to keep it going to warm up then adjust the idle with the idle screw to the desired RPM.

Now you can fine tune the it with the air screw. There is a difference here between 2-stroke and 4 -stroke , both are the same adjustment circuit but differ in  how much "le way" one has for  the little things ( like temp and altitude ), here we make sure the unit is at operating temp and idle to spec.turn the screw out until the idle does not increase, keep adjusting the idle screw down to keep things equal. once you get it to where it will not longer increase turn it in 1/4 turn and you are there. With this unit (and most other Honda's) this should not be more than 1 to 1 1/2 turns out from spec. 

You also need to make sure the air filter is clean, next weeks blog BTW, and if it has been acting up for awhile then changing the spark plug out helps also. 

There you have it folks Carb basics D-01 Feel free to let me know what you think and if there is something you want me to go over. Until next time 

 

SMILE -- Keeps 'em thinking