Mudflap64

Roller or hawse type fairlead & your winch Mfg. ( mine is warn ) should make a wedge lock that locks the line into the hole in the drum. I had one for mine but lost it. You simply thread the line through the hole in the drum then drive the wedge in from the back side , hence locking the cable to the drum. Hope that helps.

I'd be checking the carb boot for cracks/leaks & make sure you don't have a vacuum leak going to the petcock....<-if it's equipped.

^I agree....Something needs to be looked @. The belt cover should not be getting that hot.

I've heard that happens on some of the older Hondas. When they add the key and the index mark after casting the sprocket they would heat the area where the index mark goes before punching it. The heating would weaken that area of the sprocket causing it to wear prematurely. I'd suggest trying to find a fully machined steel sprocket. I'm no expert but i've heard that problem on the motorcycle engines too.

Sounds like a sticking intake valve.

Is it leaking oil? Does a parts blowup view show that there should be a blug in it? Ronnies ATV parts website has some great micro-fische views. Ronnie's Mail Order for atv parts, atv tires, snowmobile, watercraft and motorcycle featuring an OEM microfiche parts finder.

Sounds like it's been jetted too rich.

Doe's it roll freely if you push it around? Jack the back wheels off the ground & make sure the rear axle spins freely.....If it does start it up & tru throttleing it up. It almost sounds like the enge & clutch combo might just be too heavy. If you bush it by hand....is it easy to move, or does it take quite a bit of effort?

Check the vaccum line going to the petcock for blockages. The line and /or petcock might have gotten oil in them too. That's where I'd start looking first. Does the petcock look like it might have gotten damaged?

Check the oil level, if you where running it super rich you may have dilluted the oil with gasoline while trying to get it to run. I've seen that happen, especially on an older bike when the ring clearance has opened up a bit.

Is there a vent hole in the cap on the carb where the cable mounts?? It almost sounds to me like it's creating a vacuum in between the cap and barrel. makin the slide release slowly. I've see this happen on older snowmobile round slide carbs. Whe they ice up it slows throttle release dramatically.

Another peice of good advice from OX. It helps to keep it running while cleaning.

Got power to the coil? thereare many things that could kill spark, start simple then work your way up to the more expensive things. Does it crank over, or just completely dead??? If it's just completely DOA i'd be suspecting maybe a bad kill switch, or ignition switch.

That was supposed to say where water WASN'T suppoed to be. Most MFG'S warn against using high pressure spray when cleaning your quad, in some cases it can even void your warranty. I'm guilty of doing it too but I try to stay away from electrical components while cleaning with the pressure washer. Hopefully just letting it dry out fixes your problem. You could try pulling the fusebox cover and starter relay to let it air dry even quicker. DON'T try drying it out with compressed air!! That can push water around even worse.

Let it dry out first. You probably got some water where it was supposed to be.

According to my owners manual it's 3.8 Qts. with a filter change. I usually go by the sight glass but @ least you know how many quarts to buy. I should probably download that same manual for the Vinson. I did find a factory service manual from Suzuki but it's expensive and 300+ pages.......and you have to practically have an engineering degree to comprehend it. Dang, now I have to question myself.....Can't remeber if it's the Vinson or Eiger that is most similar to our Quadrunners.

Swifty, as far as I can tell......NOBODY has a manual for the ltf500f. I've looked everywhere to get one for my 2002 LTF500F.....no luck yet. Ox has a knack for finding manuals & sharing witheveryone...If there's one out there, head have found it. The Vinson is close, but not exactly the same.

That's easy to check, pull the air box and boot off so you can see down the throat of the carb, then cycle the throttle to full. If the barrell tops out in the throat it's not linkage or cable adjustment.

^^^ I agree, the carb needs a good cleaning. Make sure ALL the tiny ports are cleaned out. An overnight soaking of all the parts & carb in carb cleaner wouldn't hurt if you know you can remember where everything goes for re-assembly. Also, check to make sure the main needle is still seated in the barrell and the snap ring @ retainer are in place. I've seen the tiny snap ring /adjuster clips on the needle fall off for no apparent reason.

Check the bore size of the jug and see how close it is to the size of the pistion. also check the jug for taper. You might need to put in an oversized piston if the jug is worn bad enough. Just another tidbit of info. I agree with ox too, carb re-build would be a good idea.

Two words, compression check!!! If it's smoking that bad & fouling plugs your dad might be spot on!! To me, it sounds like it's time for a top end rebuild.

If it won't crank it sounds like the battery is going dead. Check your connections and test the charging system. If it re-cranks and fires up after a few hours i'd assume the battery is pretty healthy, just not getting charged.

It could be a bad battery too, but it sounds to me like the relay is kicking out. Forget any carb issue.......definately sounds like an electrical problem.

Bad connection or starter relay.

Bad ignition switch...especially if it's been run with a teather hanging off the key.