spock58

Man, that's brutal! Sorry to hear that....I've been through some health issues myself recently so I can relate. Bummer for sure!

https://www.theprogress.com/news/good-samaritans-help-three-people-survive-atv-accident-at-foley-lake-in-chilliwack/

I just remembered another fire related story that happened to a buddy when he was a young kid. His dad had built him a go cart out of some random junk around their place. Somehow, it caught fire - not sure how, but that's not the crazy part. It seems that they had used a short length of water hose to siphon gas into the cart. When the fire started, he yelled for his sister to help out and get some water. Well, she grabbed the hose (still with some gas in it) and connected it to the tap. You can imagine what happened when they shot it at the fire, eh? Needless to say, that was the end of their go cart riding days. hahaha (good thing no one was hurt)

I was reading another forum recently about fuel leaks and possibility of fire happening. Reminded me of an incident I had a few years ago while working at a Can Am dealership. The quad was a stolen & recovered Outlander 650 that had been tampered with. These quads have an electronic safety system, similar to their DESS system on the sleds. You cannot bypass the key switch and get spark without a computer with factory software. Anyway, I was trying to determine what was damaged since the thief had attempted to hot wire various electronic parts. I got all the extra wires removed and things looked back to stock. Pulled the spark plugs and was going to check for ignition and if the starter still worked. Well, they both worked alright and guess what - the cylinder was flooded with fuel! Instant flames with gas spraying all over...great!! I managed to use my hands to put out the fire, good thing I had on gloves (but choked they were ruined of course, haha). Seems it's possible to flood an engine with efi when you put power straight to the injectors, doh! As in much of life, you cannot take things for granted (I'd only seen carbs flood like that). And even though it had spark, the quad still needed a new ECM to run - that part alone was $1200. So lets hear your stories, crazy stuff happens every day I'm sure.

Weird, eh? Usually when I've run into those failures there's been skipping/ratcheting sounds as they try to engage.

Yeah, I agree on the starter clutch diagnoses. Since the starter doesn't use a bendix, it should always be connected to a gear. If it is spinning, then that's the only thing that makes sense.

Boy, this is a tough one! Reminds me of a snowmobile I worked on once. The small wire that fed the external ignition coil was breaking up inside, while the insulation looked perfect. Intermittent issues are the worst!! Hope you get it figured soon.

I'm a fan of the Japanese made quads, especially Honda and Yamaha. The others, not so much. Stay away from any mods, even with the good ones! stock is best....

All I can add to this story is it's an Arctic Scrap....not a fan!

🖖

Moving the choke lever in the direction of the arrow is "enrichening" the mix, moving it forward/away from you is the normal, run position.

Good eye Frank! It looks like it's twisted alright....screwing the main jet back in will hopefully get in back in alignment.

Sounds like you've done your best to get it out but if it's that stuck you'd better leave it be. Normally they're not that bad to pull, that's why I wouldn't be surprised if there's corrosion involved. I've worked on many King Quads over the years and this part often needs replacing. Once the needle wears into it enough, they will run rich and make the sparkplug get black. You will know if that's the case pretty quick.

I would recommend removing it to clean/inspect/replace if worn. They usually pop out with very little effort.

The needle jet is removed toward the slide, just like it's shown in the parts diagram. When you say "downward from float" I assume you mean with the carb turned upside down.

It goes up to the top, the main jet screws into it from below which keeps it in place.

https://www.ronniesmailorder.com/oemparts/a/suz/50d0a5aff870022c2c534c07/carburetor-model-x If you refer to the parts diagram, the piece you're trying to remove is #6 - the needle jet. These often wear out and the inside diameter increases causing a rich condition. Carb kits don't include this part but it may be required to get the carb working properly.

the jets look gold plated, hahaha

The tube that's threaded for the main jet can be removed, it needs to be pushed upward and may require a small punch to loosen it. There are small holes in it that I believe davefrombc referred to. I didn't see any pictures of the needle & seat (aka float valve) that is retained by the phillips screw - did you replace the o-ring on it already? The plastic piece in #6 & #7 is necessary for the spring to rest on - it looks like you've got it on correctly.

Something to bear in mind: if the adjustment screw is on the engine side of the carb (like this one) it is a fuel screw, so turning it out richens the mixture. Most 4 stroke carbs are this way. If it's on the airbox side, it is an air screw - common on 2 strokes. This works opposite but really does the same thing. It just fine tunes the pilot (slow jet) circuit in all cases.

Start with the simple stuff: pull apart any connectors you find, check for corrosion, spray WD40 in them, remove plug cap & cut back the wire a bit for starters.

Those Suzuki's had an idle speed adjustment usually connected to a short cable. This made it possible to set the speed without reaching into the carb which is buried. Quite often these either seized/broke or were not properly attached. The actual adjustment screw pushes onto the cam part that the throttle cable connects with.

These motors don't have a decompresser built into the cam, there's only an external lever to use manually I believe.

I dunno but it sounds like compression numbers you're getting are pretty low. Around a hundred a motor will still run but getting it started might be tough - that is the issue, right? Anything that old that's been tortured likely needs rings & possibly valve work to run right. I'd say it's time to pull the top end apart and see what's needed.

You shouldn't be getting such inconsistent compression readings. If all else fails, I'd recommend you pull the cylinder head and check the condition of the valves & their seats. Could be some carbon is messing things up. It also would be a good thing to check into the cam chain and its tensioner since you mentioned that it was 3 teeth off - that doesn't happen unless there's a lot of wear involved.