Polaris Magnum 325 4 wheeler. 4x4

[Fastowl]

I never shut mine off either. i wouldn't replace the whole carburator; you certainly don't need to replace the housing/bowl/etc. I would keep experimenting, maybe talk to a dealer or if you have some local friends that are knowledgeble and go from there. Again a carburator rebuild is pretty easy, just replace stuff the same way you took it apart. Make sure you get the gaskets in properly. The worse case you get to take it apart and do it again and you gain lots of practicle experience at a very low tuition. And if it works then you have pride of solving the problem on your own.

 

[cdaigle430]

I never shut mine off either. i wouldn't replace the whole carburator; you certainly don't need to replace the housing/bowl/etc. I would keep experimenting, maybe talk to a dealer or if you have some local friends that are knowledgeble and go from there. Again a carburator rebuild is pretty easy, just replace stuff the same way you took it apart. Make sure you get the gaskets in properly. The worse case you get to take it apart and do it again and you gain lots of practicle experience at a very low tuition. And if it works then you have pride of solving the problem on your own.

Try a little sea foam to clean out the combustion system and fuel system-and I would start using an Ethanol Additive. In the future I would not only shut the fuel valve off but also let it rund out of gas.

 

[cdaigle430]

On line a new carb I found tonight was about $400. Kits were under $50 but floats alone were over $50.

It is best to shut off the fuel after every use of a Polaris? I seldom shut off any fuel tanks on anything we own.

Yes-the owners manual will also say this. In theory needle and seat could possibly get stuck open and flood engine with gas. When you do shut it off for weeks at a time, add fuel additive and run the machine until it dies. That will remove most of the fuel left in the bowl.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

We will clean out the tank when we pull it to look for top end source of slight motor oil leak. We just burned out the first 3 gallons of gas and it contained about 9 oz of Sea Foam. I can see fine grain trash in the bottom of the tank so I expect it was what the Sea Foam cut off the inside of the tank. The same thing may have happened in the carb making the idle less stable. The new fuel filter should be here later this week. When the tank is clean and there is a new fuel filter then the carb may clear up in time with Sea Foam. It may be junk in and junk out at this time.

When we filled the empty tank the day we bought it the gas out of the pump was at a very high pressure and may have blasted 10-12 years of junk loose too.Again we will start at the tank and work our way down to the carb cleaning the fuel system. It got worse when it ran out of gas and turned on the reserve. Naturally the trash to gas ratio shot up when it was only in the bottom of the tank.

Again cleaning the fuel system from top down is a must since we do not know the history of this machine. Heavy Sea Foam use is a good way to stop up a fuel filter since it cleans the gas tank of years of varnish build up.

 

[clemsonfor]

While we do not have the EBS I can stimulate it to some degree. I think with EBS it was a few hundred more new.

Since it ran out of gas when we did the test ride after about 10 minute I filled it with Shell V-Power on the way home and put about nine oz of Sea Foam with the three gallons of gas. I see some fine trash in the groves in the bottom of the tank. Besides the Sea Foam cleaning the tank I think the three gallon fill at full pressure may have knocked some varnish from inside the tank.

Anyway it is running stronger and if we have burned most of it out I will refill with fresh gas and the remaining Sea Foam in the tank will be enough to stabilize the gas. While it runs OK it is hard to judge how well it is running/smoking with that 3x dose of Sea Foam. From a standing idle it will take a wide open throttle jab without any hesitation so that is good.
.

Thats why i like my manal geared HOnda. The engine is always connected and it will engine brake every time you let off the gas. You just have to switch gears, but i like that effect more than the varialbe belt trans. I guess its the same as i like a stick shift truck for every thing but towing, esp up hills.


As for the smoking and varnish/trash. Seafoam will disolve any varnish in carbs or tank. The trash you see is most likely a result of what was in the gas cans that filled the atv or trash up under the cap that fell in when taking it off to fill it or stuff blowing in there. There is a strainer or filter in the petcock of most 4wheelers that keeps that stuff in the tank. I put an additional filter inline before my carb just cause i found all kinds of trash in the bowl when i rebuilt my carb when i bought my atv. As far as smoking you will not see any with just 9 ozs in 3 gallons? I have put that much in 1 gallon and cant see any smoke? If your seeing smoke i think its from another reason not the seafoam?

 

[clemsonfor]

The honda reserve system is a sliding shaft with a straw that pull out of the tank and various levels from inside a metal screen. Sounds complicated but think of it this way, it pulls on normal untill there is 2"s or so of fuel left, swap the valve and it lowers the tube so that the last few inches of gas can be sucked up. That trash is plugging the screen that is a verticle shaft on a honda so when the fuel is lower is pulling from a partial amount of the screen at some point and that restricts the flow. I have never worked on a polaris so im not sure how they work.

Hondas carbs are a bear to get to!!!

The honda kits i think are like $30 to rebuild and they take 15 mins once you figure out how to pull the carb and contort your hands. The first time it toook me 1 hour to pull it, i can now do it in 15-20 mins or less. Just what has to come off and how it does is what took me so long to learn. Getting your air or fuel screw (depending upon which you have) is what will take the most finess. I can buy a brand new chineese carb for my 1989 honda 300trx for right around $100. I had to replace my fuel petcock as it was leaking, got a chineese replacement of ebay for $20 or less if i remember right. Ebay is your friend for cheap ATV parts.

But that trash you see in the tank SHOULD not be making it to the carb, maybe really fine pieces, i mean really fine could be in there, but most of that stuff will stay in the tank forever.

If your not running 100% gas and running any amont of Ethonol content I WOULD cut the fuel off and let it run dry. That ethonol leaves funny deposits in carbs that resemble sand and will plug orfaces and stick needles to the seats. Trust me i have seen in in several things.

That said i will only put real gas in my 4wheeler and do not cut the fuel off unless i think about it when i am trailering it so that it will not flow back into the cylinder when it goes over bumps or if the float gets stuck while its on the trailer.

My atv does not flood out while running or sitting. Did when i got it though.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I got the Polaris factory service manual in mail today and now have to unlearn the junk info I have learned from the web.

 

[Gale Hawkins]

We got the Magnum peeled down and gas tank removed, flushed and externally washed. One of the valve adjusting port plastic caps was so loose I could remove it with my hand and I am sure the O-rings are bone hard. Due to the oil build up I expect that was the source of the oil that made smoke come out from under the gas tank when it was shut off hot after high RPM run.

There is some oil/dust build up on the head and downward so we will clean it up while the tank and carb is off. The boot that connects the carb to the head was bone hard and some cracks are showing but may not be all the way through just yet so it is a good time to replace that boot. Some gas lines are OEM and they are really soft so we will go back with new lines too.

Skinning it took some time for the kids to do but I stayed out of it for the most part because it is a shop project for them to get hands on.

Now coming up with the parts are a reasonable price.

 

[clemsonfor]

again check ebay for your kits and wear parts. The boot will have to ocme from an OEM dealer unless its that cheap and wears out you might find and aftermarket on ebay, but not sure on that. On Hondas they have either a hardish or thickish rubber boot/intake that connects the head to the carb and its not that soft but yours may be similar just suffering severe cracks.

Ebay on the kits and such will save you good money. You can get the names like "Moose" too which is a big name in aftermarkiet in the bike/atv world.


I forget the carb kit brand i used, but used moose to rebuild the brake master cyl, and now need to rebuild one of the wheel cylinders on the front and will get a moose kit for that. I cant beleive that a wheel cyl kit is like $28!!!! This is to rebuild it!~ I am use to buying wheel cyls for cars adn trucks for $10, and kits are like $4-8!!

 

[Gale Hawkins]

The closest Polaris dealer (40 miles) said the carb to head boot was $48 but not in stock. There is a new one on Ebay for a different Polaris engine but looks like the same that I may try or just run with the current one since the crack is not all the way through yet. I think the current one is after market because it has no markings/numbers.

May try to take O-rings under plugs to check valve lashing to NAPA. All the local store has for ATV is oil/air filters and spark plugs but did get some new fuel line and other hoses this morning.