Arctic Cat 500 4x4 Fuel Problems

[jjlangford74]

I have a 2000 Arctic Cat 500 4x4 (Green w/Manual Trans), and it started having problems cranking......and I noticed that my crank case was full of fuel.....I took carb off and cleaned....ran a while, and still have fuel going to the crank case......any other ideas of what I might try to fix this issue?

[swampcat07]

If You already checked the float. I would make sure the overflow drain on the carb is not blocked. Also clean your air filter, with a blocked filter you can be running rich.

Are you changing the oil? I used some cheap wet clutch safe oil and changed it after every ride while I was trouble shooting. In my case it ended up being a dirty carb.

The other causes could be a suction from the intake created by trailering the quad lifting the float in transport but if you have a fuel pump that will only allow a small amount of gas into the cylinder.

Also be careful not to hydrolock the piston if the excess gas compresses above the piston. If its hard to cranks just pull the plug and blow everything out by turning it over.

[jjlangford74]

I have taken the carb off twice and completely disassembled/cleaned and put back together, and it is still doing the same thing. Is it possible that my rings or valves (or both) are bad? Its a little hard to crank at first, but runs like a champ.....just scared to run it with all that fuel in the crank case.......thinking I may end up just taking the complete top end off and replacing rings and valves.....just didnt want to if it isnt needed.

[swampcat07]

I would do a compression test first.

Another trick is to change the oil and note exactly how much oil you added, then drain the oil into a sealable see thru container and watch the gas float on top of the oil. This way you can measure how much gas is getting by. I did this every time I changed something. When there was no gas seperated on the top I knew I had the problem solved.

[jjlangford74]

I dont have a compression gauge, but I may either try and locate on, or I will try changing the oil and monitoring how much fuel is getting by.

[swampcat07]

Does smoke come from the exhaust when it runs?

I agree it isn't good to leave gas in the oil. I would change it with some cheap stuff until you find the root of the problem. Because gas seperates from the oil I changed my oil a few times and monitored it. I also let the machine warm up and mix the oil with the gas before I drained it.

[jjlangford74]

it did smoke a little for a couple years before I had this problem....but nothing really major to worry about.

[swampcat07]

What color was the smoke do you remember?

[jjlangford74]

It was blue-grey, so it is a fuel problem........right?