been a while but i was away and blah blah blah...
so k keeps asking why we bought the damn atv as it seems to crap out all the time - well - i did keep it under a tarp for years which i learned wasn't good - i cleaned the carb (read about it here) and that helped but needed a new carb and then that didn't work either... i stored the atv over at our friend e's place for the winter and her atv nut son h informed me that the latest problem was bad gas... when we siphoned it out lotsa crud came with it...he told me i would have to clean the gas tank - that was, uh , feb... ANYWAY... here we go!!!!
atv on pallets on tarp to keep moisture from seeping up when covered... this is a temporary spot..
the problem is gas so the first thing i need is a place to put bad gas... i have these two old kerosene buckets.. perfect!
used this, but did so without a routine...
pioneer p and w - this is for you vermin haters .. wanna know how retarded red squirrels are?
yep!! they chewed off the air valve clean off the gas can!!!
so before anything, i lined up all the gas cans i have, yes, i know yellow is for diesel, but the day i bought my first round of gas in 2010, the place was outta red ones.. i don't have anything diesel anyway so no foul...
my old friend... used plastic siding...
so what am i doing here???
well, i need to address the issue once and for all, so i am making tags..
which i zip-tie to the cans... the ones that say "gas" have room to write the date i bought last, then scratch it out.. every 6 months, i will take whatever is left to the gas station, put it in the truck and then top up and refill with high-octane... our friend swears by the stuff for small engines..
here is the outboard gas being disposed of - i am using the crap can as well (squirrels ate my air valve).. it is 2 years old and yes, smells swwet/sickly...
offending crap from atv..
look carefully - that crud in red is coming out of the gas tank - not good!
now to get the tank off..
manual and thing to put screws and fasteners in
big bin 4 all things atv...
gas tank is out!!!
looks like atv got submerged in a bog one day... the things you don't know when buying used ;-))
ready to clean!!!
next day... all set up - i did some research and apparently kerosene is a great cleaner - and to looosen crud, put some chain in the tank and swish all around - i did this several times...
the black crud in the bottom came out several times...
next, i took the petcock assembly off - looks dirty...
oh yes it is... #1 is where the fuel goes in, #2 is the goop i repeatedly got out of it. #3 is the fuel line - no wonder i had probs running the thing... no gas was getting to the carb!!
i cleaned the filter in a mix of gas and fuell stabilizer ...
and ran some old cat 5 through the actual fuel line - never throw anything out - LOL!!! but if you have a bad cat 5, cut the end immediately so you don't try using it on a computer again!
okay, break time for some AM dew covered spiderwebs...
i LOVE it when they are visible like this - sooooo amazing!!
all different kinds....
and shapes...
EVERYWHERE!!
the engineering is something else!!!
the same afternoon we were at the river in k's last post... booomers started to form...
but blew by so i headed out again... i needed a special spark plug socket which i picked up friday..
hmm - this might help too, no??????
and a bit of this stuff which will go in all small engines form now on - a little apparently goes a long way...
some of the plastic rivets broke - no matter - found 100 on e-bay for 15 bucks! i can wait..
i had to use a zip tie...
to replace the broken arm that holds the air intake chamber in place...
all back together and yes - running better than i ever remember - moral of the story - keep on your fuel supply!!!
added bonus?? trailer hitch!!
i have a number of other things to work on, but it is now running and running well so it can be used. this stuff is new to me, but with enough research and preparation... anyone can do something new... you do have to be patient and do things one at a time though...
cheers all!
One thing I finally got through my head with small engines. Stay away from Ethanol. And treat that gas with stabil or something. Since I started doing that my maintenance issues and money spent has decreased by 60% or more. I also just made myself go around every month and start everything up and let it run a few minutes.
ReplyDeleteI have also found that the mixture levels are a bit misleading at times and you can sometimes get a small engine going that is hard to start by increasing the mixture level a tiny bit. Not sure if anyone else has noticed this but going higher seems to be ok but not lower. I had a 30 to 1 saw that wouldn't start and run for crap but once I put a 40 to 1 mixture in it it ran like a top.
Always something with small engines.
Oh ya and exterminate all Vermin!!!
Deleteheya pioneer p!
Deletei neglected to mention the start everything routine - which i do as well, generator, chainsaw, brushcutter - atv now and soon the outboard motor after i fix that..
mixtures seem to be okay as for ethanol i looked it up and found this:
http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp
in ns all premium gas is ethanol free - which i plan to buy so good to go!
hopefully these vermin will exterminate themselves ;-))
cheers pal!
Pioneer beat me to it.
DeleteIn U.S. premium gas is rarely ethanol free.
But, boats and small airplanes don't run on ethanol, so marinas and small airports are good locations to get ethanol free gasoline.
That website you noted (http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp) does list the place I get my gasoline from.
Jam,
ReplyDeleteExcellent job ! We keep ahead on the Seafoam here for just such occasions.
Please be careful when you actually ride the ATV. There have been lots of serious accidents in our area with them.
So many things will work for a really long time if we just do the maintenance on them.
hey jane!
Deleteyou are too kind as always! never heard of seafom but the guy at canadian tire told me it is a miracle cure... they only had one bottle so that's all i have for now.
as for safety, don't worry - this atv is for work i rarely go over 10 kph ;-))
maintenance is key, time is the enemy, but i find as you get stuff dialed in you can get a little more time and things start looking up!
all my best!
Sounds similar to some of the problems that I have had especially with the old Ferguson tractor. I use in-line fuel filters on stuff that doesn't seem to have any filter, the carb is the filter most of the time.
ReplyDeleteIf you had tractor girls like PP has then they would keep all the engines clean and you would have few problems, they will even kill vermin for you.
hey - have kymber!!
Deletehttp://framboisemanor.blogspot.ca/2014/05/tractor-timewith-ss-kicking-boots.html
but she likes to feed the vermin...to be fair, so do i - but the damage they do to insulation and stuff is wearing thin...
fuel filters seem to be key as well - but i will be on this stuff like a hawk form now on.
cheers!
Bravo, Sir, Bravo. So while you are doing this what is the little women doing?? or should I not ask?? LOL
ReplyDeletethanks rob!!!
Deleteshe was feeding the squirrels - LOL!!!!
hope you are doing well friend - cheers!
Jambaloney,
ReplyDeleteA job well done on the ATV!!!!
We use a permanent marker on each gas can identifying what piece of equipment it belongs too. Thank goodness we don't have little critters chewing off the valves on the cans. We do however,have rabbits, and they recently found their way into my garden. We fixed the problem, and then found them back in the garden. So we looked for another hole, and found it. They seem to like the straw, along with some of the grass (aka weeds). It looks as if were going to run new fencing in the garden next just before next spring.
Give Sweet Kymber a hug.
Love to you both,
Sandy and BDM
thanks sandy!!
Deleteidentifying stuff seems obvious but i am new to this stuff - i will send you a squirrel or two if you want - LOL!
we have some rabbits here, but the coyotes and owls keep them down to a dull roar - which is good because the wreak havoc on gardens - luckily for us 2/3 of our "yard" is clover so the rabbits only come for that anyway...
hugs passed along and hugs to you form both of us!!!!
New to your blog but enjoying it very much. An excellent post to boot!
ReplyDeletehey john - welcome!!!
Deleteglad you are enjoying the blog and thank you for your kind compliment... cheers!
wow great job!
ReplyDeletethanks sol!
Deletehope you are having a great summer!
The trick to any small engines starting easily and running like new is, carburetor/fuel system maintenance. A carb is a very precise device and the slightest amount of gum/varnish or dirt particles inside will make it fail. If you have a fuel shut-off valve I suggest you turn of the fuel and let the motor run until it uses all the fuel in the float bowl. This will prevent a gum/vanish build up inside. If no fuel shut-off valve then run the equipment every 4-6 weeks for 20 minutes. This will replace the old gas in the carb with fresh gas and also burn off any moisture in the crank case. Use a fuel stabilizer and don't store gas more than 2 years. It's what I do and have no issues with my small engines. To make it easy for yourself to remember when and how often you can think of it like a maintenance program for Kym. :-) :-)
ReplyDeletehey mike!
Deleteyou are correct sir and i have learned it big-time - even though the atv has some other issues, it is running fine so next up is carb on the outboard motor - i am positive it will fix the slow speed problem... it cuts out and then takes 10 mins rest before it starts again...
the fuel ine trick is a great one - i will do it on all motors with said option - thanks!
i am creating a calender for this stuff so i don't miss a day - k is another matter - lol!!!!
cheers my friend!
Your island squirrels wouldn't be after the alcohol in the fuel would they? I know some Canadians so that wouldn't surprise me! :-)
ReplyDeletei would think it possible, but they have chewed all kinds of thinks for no apparent reason..
Deletei think there are just arseholes ;-)
I've never had any problem with ethanol which is all we can find around here anyway. I have had problems with stale gas so I don't keep it any longer than the season before feeding it into a vehicle and getting fresh stuff. It has kept my engines going for the last decade doing that.
ReplyDeletehey ed!
Deleteyeah, i had some stale gas and used it - i will be buying ethanol free high-test for the small engines just to be safe...
hope you are well!
It's a good thing you know how to do all this. It would have cost a fortune to take it to a shop.
ReplyDelete