Are low idles bad opinions and facts - Suzuki lt185

[Powersrepair]

I have a Suzuki lt185 and she is sounding like a cammed diesel after installing a new carb. Would running it like this be bad I can definitely adjust if needed but it if won’t cause damage why change it. 

 

 

[Mech]

If it idles steadily and runs right at throttle then it should be ok..  If the carby is about right, when you adjust the idle mixture it shouldn't take more than one full turn, or a half turn either way, to change from rich to lean. If you have to or can wind the screw turns, then there's something wrong.

[Powersrepair]

New question related to the carb adjustments. I am using the stock mikuni carb for my Suzuki lt 185. I got it with the quad and it is in rough condition so I bought a know off. Quad runs great with know off but it runs way to which so I went to fix original. Ultra sonic cleaned it and used small wire brushes. Now being the first time using stock carb it definitely feels better however I can’t get past 50-75% throttle without it bogging and wanting to stall. If I switch back to knock off it runs again so I know it’s not the quad or fuel pump.  Any ideas what could have happened from wear and tear or even something I could have offset while cleaning.  

[Mech]

At that throttle setting it will probably be the emulsifier tube or the drilling it is in is dirty, or, the slide needle needs adjusting, or, less likely, the main jet is really dirty.. But before you change anything you should use the drain screw on the bottom of the carby and check the fuel is getting into the carb at a good rate. If it runs for a few seconds then starts to slow, with the fuel tap on, then the float needle system is blocked or needs adjusting.

[Gwbarm]

If you didn't do so I would take out the pilot jet its down in a hole easy to miss, and also the emulsion tube from  main jet to Venturi as Mech suggested, it may be stuck try pushing it out if no luck use a small hammer LIGHTLY it will come out, good choice you will have better performance with the Mikuni

[Mech]

Yeah the emulsion tube can be a bit stuck. It will tap out from the top though. I always use a small screwdriver upside down, so the plastic handle hit's the emulsion tube.

And that pilot jet Gw is mentioning is the idle mixture screw..  right Gw ? Yup, that should be taken out, along with every other brass jet in the bowl. The air jets near the air cleaner side can be left in but blown through. You need to blow through every jet, and look through them. Sometimes they blow through but when you look you notice they don't look quite perfectly round and clean.. If they don't look perfect, sharpen a small piece of hard wood to a fine point and ream the jets with that gently, gently so you don't break the wood off in the hole.. haha. The emulsion tube has tiny holes up the side of it, several of them, they all need to be clean. They are too tiny for a piece of wood so a wire from a wire brush is a good thing to poke through them. Clean the drilling the emulsion tube fits into. Blow through all the drillings in the carb body. Check how the float needle seat seals. It may have an O ring that needs replacing. Check the rubber diaphragm on the slide for splits. You need to stretch that to find splits sometimes. When you put it together, before fitting the bowl, tilt the carb so the float is hanging away from the needle, then blow through to fuel inlet while you slowly tilt the carb so the float swings against the needle. The flow should stop completely when the float seam or flat surface, or the metal plate that's a part of the float, comes parallel with the bowl's mating surface.

When you put it back on, and are sure it's completely clean, if it runs bad between a quarter and three quarter throttle, try moving the slide needle. It generally needs the clip moving down on the needle, which raises the needle and richens the fuel. That's generally what they need. If it's lean it will tend to backfire out the inlet, and/or, die out. If it's too rich it will mostly run ok but be down on power and sound chuggy(if that's a word). ..