[GirlsRideToo]

"Little Red' began having problems last week after sitting for about 3 months. For past 19 years he has always cranked first time every time, but not now. I removed the carb and gas tank for cleaning. This is when I saw the dirt and rust.

The carb had a rebuild kit installed about 1 year ago. More about that in another post.

My first question for this post is how do you clean all the dirt off the inside? There's dirt on the wiring and I don't want to get water where it should not be. This is why I need your advice about cleaning. How would you do it?

Oh, some of that dirt looks like rust. There is rust but not as bad as appears in the photos.

Thanks for your help. I have a really big sentimental attachment to this machine but circumstances have prevented me from taking care of him as I should have for the past few years.

 

[Goober]

Wow nice looking quad. Yep I would avoid spraying water on a quad that’s not running just because of the rust factor.

Try using a shop vac and bottle brushes to get most of the dirt off.

You can also use wet rags to wipe it down. Laborious process but also helps you find loose bolts cracks in frame members and “hey what’s this” stuff.

Once you get those areas clean then you’ll be able to better treat those rust spots with a few brushstrokes of rust reformer

Hope this helps you

 

[shadetree]

got wet from ridding in rain ?, washing it down ?, then never got dried. most of what I see is wear areas from plastics rubbing the frame. only way your going to fix that ?, is a complete tear down, some grinding/sanding , then a paint job. if you decide to give it a power washer job ?, MAKE SURE YOU BLOCK OFF ANY AND ALL AREAS OF WATER GETTING INTO THE MOTOR !!!. stay away from any electrical connection as much as posb if you use a power washer ?. this will not come out very well..lol. if you do get water in the connectors ?, pull them apart, blow them out with an air compressor , then spray ( what I do anyway ) wd-40 into them. I don't ride in anything over the center of my center caps on my wheels, so I know I wont damage my atv. if I wash it down with a hose or power washer ?, I never..ever..aim it at anything electrical, or near anywhere it can get into my engine..such as vent lines, carb, air boxes.

 

[retro]

I don't like working on dirty bikes. I'd block up the intake and the muffler with something suitable and power wash the entire bike thoroughly and fearlessly. You'll want to open every connector on the bike for cleaning and dielectric greasing anyway... that is routine preventive maintenance. This is a project thread, right? Start clean, stay clean...

I'm looking forward to seeing your project progress!

 

[GirlsRideToo]

Wow nice looking quad. Yep I would avoid spraying water on a quad that’s not running just because of the rust factor.

Try using a shop vac and bottle brushes to get most of the dirt off.

You can also use wet rags to wipe it down. Laborious process but also helps you find loose bolts cracks in frame members and “hey what’s this” stuff.

Once you get those areas clean then you’ll be able to better treat those rust spots with a few brushstrokes of rust reformer

Hope this helps you

Thanks for great suggestion. Will give this a try!!

 

[GirlsRideToo]

got wet from ridding in rain ?, washing it down ?, then never got dried. most of what I see is wear areas from plastics rubbing the frame. only way your going to fix that ?, is a complete tear down, some grinding/sanding , then a paint job. if you decide to give it a power washer job ?, MAKE SURE YOU BLOCK OFF ANY AND ALL AREAS OF WATER GETTING INTO THE MOTOR !!!. stay away from any electrical connection as much as posb if you use a power washer ?. this will not come out very well..lol. if you do get water in the connectors ?, pull them apart, blow them out with an air compressor , then spray ( what I do anyway ) wd-40 into them. I don't ride in anything over the center of my center caps on my wheels, so I know I wont damage my atv. if I wash it down with a hose or power washer ?, I never..ever..aim it at anything electrical, or near anywhere it can get into my engine..such as vent lines, carb, air boxes.

Okay, I admit that over the years he never got washed and dried a lot of times and that's on me. However, I can guarantee beyond any doubt that this machine has NEVER been in water or mud higher than the center of the wheel caps, even when my friend rode it. I was with him and his wife. The almost 20 years prior to this I was the only person who rode him.

"Complete tear down" is enough to keep me awake at night, but I understand and will do this as far as I can. I'm having trouble getting the front fender off because of the headlight wiring. There is no connector to disconnect. The wires are all "spliced" together. I guess I'll have to take out the entire headline assembly. When I did this on my hubby's Yamaha it was a nightmare getting it back together. The back rack and fender should come off without too much trouble, I hope.

I'll skip the pressure washer and do it by hand since I can't be sure I won't wet something I shouldn't. As @Goober said, doing it by hand will allow me see where all those hoses are routed and electrical connections are. I will clean the connections of dust/dirt and use proper grease before reconnecting.

I did find a manual on the Forum but Google only allows me to print one page at a time. I don't know why.

As always, thank you for your great advice and guidance.

 

[GirlsRideToo]

I don't like working on dirty bikes. I'd block up the intake and the muffler with something suitable and power wash the entire bike thoroughly and fearlessly. You'll want to open every connector on the bike for cleaning and dielectric greasing anyway... that is routine preventive maintenance. This is a project thread, right? Start clean, stay clean...

I'm looking forward to seeing your project progress!

As I told @shadetree and @Goober I will forgo the pressure washer for now. I don't trust myself. LOL

Will use the dielectric grease as suggested. I'm sure those connections need it!

Yes, my project thread. It's guaranteed to be entertaining as you follow along with a girl who thinks she's a mechanic. I only had to take the carburetor out of the Yamaha 4 times before it was rebuilt and adjusted properly. I'm thinking I can do this one in only 3. :wink

 

[retro]

Fair enough! Don't do any stuff you aren't comfortable doing. You may download the service manual... then you can print off the relevant sections of it as needed, or print the entire PDF file if you wish.

 

[shadetree]

I don't like working on dirty bikes. I'd block up the intake and the muffler with something suitable and power wash the entire bike thoroughly and fearlessly. You'll want to open every connector on the bike for cleaning and dielectric greasing anyway... that is routine preventive maintenance. This is a project thread, right? Start clean, stay clean...

I'm looking forward to seeing your project progress!

As I told @shadetree and @Goober I will forgo the pressure washer for now. I don't trust myself. LOL

Will use the dielectric grease as suggested. I'm sure those connections need it!

Yes, my project thread. It's guaranteed to be entertaining as you follow along with a girl who thinks she's a mechanic. I only had to take the carburetor out of the Yamaha 4 times before it was rebuilt and adjusted properly. I'm thinking I can do this one in only 3. :wink

lol..i got a lot of respect for a girl who thinks she's a mechanic ?..spec one thats an ex-wife !!..lol.

 

[GirlsRideToo]

lol..i got a lot of respect for a girl who thinks she's a mechanic ?..spec one thats an ex-wife !!..lol.

If only you'd told me that back when.... things might have been different. No, there's too much water under the bridge to look back. I simply can't go back to wiping grease off all the doorknobs, chasing your dropped ballbearings all over the garage floor....... and don't forget the time you left that dielectric grease in the kitchen and I almost fried the chicken in it! And, screening all the phone calls from bewildered customers after you told them to order a part that didn't exist. That was the last straw. But, we've moved on and I'm glad we can now be friends.

 

[GirlsRideToo]

Back to my project......

I searched the Internet and this forum and found no answer to my question.

I checked the 6 month old air filter last night. It is still bright yellow and appears clean. The airbox had only a trace of dark goo in the bottom, only in one corner. The airbox has not been cleaned in a long time so it was amazingly clean. The rubber-type covers on the two drain tubes were not very dirty. The problem is the ODOR of the filter. I've never smelled anything like it! It's not the smell of gasoline or oil. I know what those smell like. The odor is very strong and "rancid". I had to put the filter in a plastic bag to keep the smell from filing up my garage. What is causing this odor on the filter??? Does a mixture of oil and gas really smell this bad??? Does diesel smell this bad?? This filter was installed by my former rip-off mechanic and I have no idea what he did or didn't do as part of his "tune-up".

I drained the gas tank to clean it. The gas smelled like gas. There was still fuel draining from the fuel line with petcock in Off position so I ordered a new one. It's never been changed to my knowledge.

I checked the oil and it is at proper level, but the engine was cold, of course. Oil is light yellow color but, Yikes, it does have a slight smell of gas.

When I inspected the carb it does look like it's been cleaned recently and maybe even new parts. However, the strange thing is that the pin that holds the float is a simple straight pin with no flange at either end. So, if you tilt the carb the pin falls out! There's nothing to hold the float securely in place. i bet this pin was a part of a cheap carb rebuilt kit.
Also, one of the 3 vacuum lines on the carb appears to have been replaced but it was cut too short and barely slips onto the connection and there was no type clip to hold it on. Because it was too short it was not routed as shown in the manual. It pulled off too easily. It's just a small black tubing with no markings. Can't explain it; it just looks wrong so I ordered new tubing. I figured it can't hurt to replace it with OEM tubing routed correctly.

I hope this filter smell and gas smell in the oil is caused by the carburetor needing a rebuild, leaking petcock and fact that machine has been sitting past 3 months.

Will install OEM carb kit and replace vacuum hose with clips.
Will install new petcock and fuel line.
Will change the oil.
Will replace oil and air filter. Will check oil seal.
Will take a look at spark plug later today.

If/when I get it running I will do compression test on engine.

Am I missing anything at this point??

 

[shadetree]

lol..i got a lot of respect for a girl who thinks she's a mechanic ?..spec one thats an ex-wife !!..lol.

If only you'd told me that back when.... things might have been different. No, there's too much water under the bridge to look back. I simply can't go back to wiping grease off all the doorknobs, chasing your dropped ballbearings all over the garage floor....... and don't forget the time you left that dielectric grease in the kitchen and I almost fried the chicken in it! And, screening all the phone calls from bewildered customers after you told them to order a part that didn't exist. That was the last straw. But, we've moved on and I'm glad we can now be friends.

lol..too funny ^^^ !

 

[shadetree]

Back to my project......

I searched the Internet and this forum and found no answer to my question.

I checked the 6 month old air filter last night. It is still bright yellow and appears clean. The airbox had only a trace of dark goo in the bottom, only in one corner. The airbox has not been cleaned in a long time so it was amazingly clean. The rubber-type covers on the two drain tubes were not very dirty. The problem is the ODOR of the filter. I've never smelled anything like it! It's not the smell of gasoline or oil. I know what those smell like. The odor is very strong and "rancid". I had to put the filter in a plastic bag to keep the smell from filing up my garage. What is causing this odor on the filter??? Does a mixture of oil and gas really smell this bad??? Does diesel smell this bad?? This filter was installed by my former rip-off mechanic and I have no idea what he did or didn't do as part of his "tune-up".

I drained the gas tank to clean it. The gas smelled like gas. There was still fuel draining from the fuel line with petcock in Off position so I ordered a new one. It's never been changed to my knowledge.

I checked the oil and it is at proper level, but the engine was cold, of course. Oil is light yellow color but, Yikes, it does have a slight smell of gas.

When I inspected the carb it does look like it's been cleaned recently and maybe even new parts. However, the strange thing is that the pin that holds the float is a simple straight pin with no flange at either end. So, if you tilt the carb the pin falls out! There's nothing to hold the float securely in place. i bet this pin was a part of a cheap carb rebuilt kit.
Also, one of the 3 vacuum lines on the carb appears to have been replaced but it was cut too short and barely slips onto the connection and there was no type clip to hold it on. Because it was too short it was not routed as shown in the manual. It pulled off too easily. It's just a small black tubing with no markings. Can't explain it; it just looks wrong so I ordered new tubing. I figured it can't hurt to replace it with OEM tubing routed correctly.

I hope this filter smell and gas smell in the oil is caused by the carburetor needing a rebuild, leaking petcock and fact that machine has been sitting past 3 months.

Will install OEM carb kit and replace vacuum hose with clips.
Will install new petcock and fuel line.
Will change the oil.
Will replace oil and air filter. Will check oil seal.
Will take a look at spark plug later today.

If/when I get it running I will do compression test on engine.

Am I missing anything at this point??

sounds like you got everything covered to me ?. but I might add, drain/replace rear diff gear oil. as for the smell ?, hard to say ?, if its bad gas ?, it does smell bad. good thing your changing oil !. DO NOT RUN IT WITH FUEL MIXED IN THE OIL !. use some hot soapy water, clean the air filter, put some fresh engine oil and the filter in a bag, soak it, pull the filter out, squeeze it too get most of the oil out of filter, install it. as for the carb float pin ?, some are a loose fit ?, and most are straight , they do not come in any rebuild kits that I know of ?, must be oem.

 

[GirlsRideToo]

sounds like you got everything covered to me ?. but I might add, drain/replace rear diff gear oil. as for the smell ?, hard to say ?, if its bad gas ?, it does smell bad. good thing your changing oil !. DO NOT RUN IT WITH FUEL MIXED IN THE OIL !. use some hot soapy water, clean the air filter, put some fresh engine oil and the filter in a bag, soak it, pull the filter out, squeeze it too get most of the oil out of filter, install it. as for the carb float pin ?, some are a loose fit ?, and most are straight , they do not come in any rebuild kits that I know of ?, must be oem.[/QUOTE]

**************************

Thanks for the helpful hint about the rear diff gear oil. Will do that!

Great info about the carb float pin. The Yamaha pin only goes in and out one way and it requires a small punch and light tap to get the pin out. I thought the Honda would be the same. Silly me. That needs to be the very last part I insert because it's easy to lose when it falls out. LOL

 

[GirlsRideToo]

Project is moving along. I've cleaned the air filter, cleaned the gas tank and rebuilt the carb. Have not put things back together yet. I have cleaned all the cables by hand. Spent past 3 days sanding and applying rust converter to frame. I have attached some photos. You can see the frame before and after one coat of converter. Have applied two more coats. Another photo is of the rear diff guard. I applied the converter to half so you could see how it looks before and after.
Tonight I am taking apart and cleaning the electrical connections and will apply dielectric grease.
I have not taken the tires off yet because I need to be able to roll him out to get my golf cart out of the garage. Will then put him back in first and remove the tires and see where that leads......
Tomorrow, I plan to change the oil and diff fluids....
So far so good. I'll post again after I get him back together and see if he'll crank.. the moment of truth.
Could never have done this without you, @shadetree, @_Wilson_, @retro, @fishfiles

 

[shadetree]

looking pretty dang good !. I recommend you getting an atv lift !. it makes your life sooooooo much easier when working on atvs. bought mine some years ago, my back has thanked me every day sense !..lol. don't forget to pull the foot brake lever off the stud, sand the stud down as well as the inside of the lever, grease it, and put it back together. check the rear brake cable while your doing this. invest in a Dremel tool, with a few attachments , like the small wire wheels, cutting wheels, sanding drums, grinding wheels. best money spent in my book.

 

[retro]

Its looking good! And you're having fun aren't ya! Thanks for sharing!

 

[LedFTed]

filter

my oil filter was looking bad, so i thought, it was dry in my own opinion, so i added some oil. it were still yellow at the time. the oil however, was not the right kind. it didnt disolve the yellow part of the filter, but the next gray layer, turned to goo, an slowly when through, the intake. i were green,, never again :grin

 

[GirlsRideToo]

looking pretty dang good !. I recommend you getting an atv lift !. it makes your life sooooooo much easier when working on atvs. bought mine some years ago, my back has thanked me every day sense !..lol. don't forget to pull the foot brake lever off the stud, sand the stud down as well as the inside of the lever, grease it, and put it back together. check the rear brake cable while your doing this. invest in a Dremel tool, with a few attachments , like the small wire wheels, cutting wheels, sanding drums, grinding wheels. best money spent in my book.

I almost bought a lift the other day and reminded myself that this will be my last ATV project. My garage has too much "stuff" and I'm trying to eliminate most of it so I don't want to add anything else....LOL.. yes, it's a pain laying on my back on this cold concrete floor.

I will pull all the brake parts off when I take off the wheels. It's amazing where you find dirt and crud. The brakes are not working very well. The cables are relatively new and move well. I feel sure new brake pads will be needed.

Oh I have a Dremel and lots of attachments!! I'm sure I'm going to need it for this project. It ranks right up there with my new impact wrench.

 

[GirlsRideToo]

my oil filter was looking bad, so i thought, it was dry in my own opinion, so i added some oil. it were still yellow at the time. the oil however, was not the right kind. it didnt disolve the yellow part of the filter, but the next gray layer, turned to goo, an slowly when through, the intake. i were green,, never again :grin

Ouch!! @shadetree told me how to clean and oil the filter. I'll be sure I use the right oil!! No goo in my intake! :eek