# Atv servicing



## Slap That Quack (Mar 2, 2017)

Hey guys I have a Honda rancher 400 that needs some servicing. I live in the clearfield area. Can any one recommend a trustworthy shop?


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## Slap That Quack (Mar 2, 2017)

Anybody..... Bueller....Bueller?


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

What kind of service? Oil & filter is easy peasy do just do yourself for cheap.


-DallanC


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## Slap That Quack (Mar 2, 2017)

I need a tune up and likely a carberator clean possibly jets too.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Slap That Quack said:


> I need a tune up and likely a carberator clean possibly jets too.


Too bad we live too far apart. I do alot of carbs a year for myself and a select few (not as a business). I did over 50 last year :shock:. I did a 400ex saturday. They are usually very simple. Its a good skill to learn that will save you alot of $$$ over the years.

Once you get yours serviced, only ever run "Blue" gas in it from then on (non-ethanol based). Blue gas is being offered at more and more stations along the 'front. Thank god some stations are finally offering 91 Octane in the valley. For too long you had to goto Heber or Beaver to get 91.

Book mark this link:

https://www.pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=UT

Never use Stabil... that stuff is crap. Only use "blue". If your fuel is older, or has ethanol (that absorbs water) add HEET.

-DallanC


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## Slap That Quack (Mar 2, 2017)

I think it may be time to learn how to do it myself, I just got a quote from a place near me, ouch! Looking into it, it doesn't look to hard, and tricks or nuances I should now of?


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

Slap That Quack said:


> I think it may be time to learn how to do it myself, I just got a quote from a place near me, ouch! Looking into it, it doesn't look to hard, and tricks or nuances I should now of?


It's not hard. You tube is your friend:






A lot of the time there will be gunk built up in there. Use carb n choke and clean the floats and everything really well. Take care of the gasket.

99% of the time for me, the bowl has some gumming up, the float has gumming so it sticks and doesn't "float" like it should, or there is something the size of a grain of salt stuck in one of the jets. Just put the straw from the carb and choke up to each jet and blast through!

This is very simply described, basically clean all the crap out and clean the jets and you are good.

100% of my atv, lawnmower, atv, generators, etc gas tanks are ethanol free fuel. That's what I run in my Harley also (even though its fuel injected). It's so much cleaner and you don't have to worry about your equipment sitting with fuel in the tank. Generators are another one I have seen get super messed up from ethanol. So yeah, running that moving forward will save you a lot!


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## Aznative (May 25, 2018)

One trick if you have never taken apart a carburetor is set your phone up to record you doing it when disassembling it. That way when your putting stuff back together if you forgot a step you can watch it.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Slap That Quack said:


> I think it may be time to learn how to do it myself, I just got a quote from a place near me, ouch! Looking into it, it doesn't look to hard, and tricks or nuances I should now of?


Problems are almost always with plugged Pilot Jets. To clean those, I use these:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/10PCS-0-1-...=274005171757fc2a7ebb451341ccb9d2cffc9eff0722

Just roll them back and forth between your fingers. You arent trying to drill metal but rather scrape out dried gunk.

If they are super plugged, just buy new ones for a couple bucks. Entire carb rebuild kits are available off Ebay as are Chinese knockoff complete carbs.

-DallanC


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## Slap That Quack (Mar 2, 2017)

Thanks guys I will likely give this a try soon. I will let you know how it goes. Also, do any of you mount your own tires, I think I might try that too. If any has any tips on that work that would be great!


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## RandomElk16 (Sep 17, 2013)

Slap That Quack said:


> Thanks guys I will likely give this a try soon. I will let you know how it goes. Also, do any of you mount your own tires, I think I might try that too. If any has any tips on that work that would be great!


Mounting ATV tires requires equipment. It's worth paying a place a few bucks, IMO.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

So it all comes down to how often you need to change tires, taking them to a friendly shop might be fine. But I do my own tires, its not too bad. You absolutely need this tool however, Its amazing how many times I've used it since I bought it earlier this year:

https://www.amazon.com/BeadBuster-X...11?keywords=beadbuster&qid=1568770860&sr=8-11

I most recently used it to change out a set of ATV tires, as well as breaking down the bead of all 4 of my camp trailer tires so I could put Tire Pressure Monitors on them (best trailer upgrade I've ever made)

After that you can use a set of 14" tire spoons to get the tires on and off... or buy a cheap harbor freight tire changer.

Spoons:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MS4CPWK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Tire changer:

https://www.harborfreight.com/manual-tire-changer-69686.html

If you get the tire changer, I bolt it to a 6ft 2x6 and drive over the other end with the truck to hold it, then I can take it apart to store.

-DallanC


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Carb cleaning tutorial:






-DallanC


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## Slap That Quack (Mar 2, 2017)

Funny, I just was looking at that harbor freight tire set up!


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Slap That Quack said:


> Funny, I just was looking at that harbor freight tire set up!


Its decent. The bead breaker part of it is very weak mild steel. So minimally you should plan to weld some bracing to it for anything other than rare use. I used it a half dozen or so times ok. But, I do recommend you get that BeadBuster tool I linked above. Its the bomb for breaking down tires, especially if you have a rattle gun.

BeadBuster:






-DallanC


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Here's the harbor freight tool one in use:






-DallanC


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## shaner (Nov 30, 2007)

I too clean a lot of carbs for select friends/neighbors but disagree about the use of Stabil (sorry Dallan...). I tell my ‘customers’ to use it religiously and when used properly they find success.
My two cents for you:
set aside enough time that you complete the task without interruption.
Start with a very clean bench.
Have an area to work in with excellent lighting.
To clean jets simply pluck one of the strands out of your wire brush to use as a pick. That tiny wire will fit in to any orifice and will not remove any metal (which is a good thing).
Good luck!


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

IDK if Stabil changed their formula not long ago or what, but I've personally had alot of issues with it and if you do some googling, you will find ALOT of people having similar bad experiences.

I've followed several professional lab testing reports, HEET is among the best for absorbing water out of fuel, Pri-G is among the best for "rejuvenating" old fuel.

But... if people want to use stabil so be it. I had to rebuild the carbs on all 3 of my snowmobiles and 3 ATVs from stabil failing me one year.

-DallanC


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## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

Was it Stabil or just bad gas? 

I have never had a problem with any of my small engines running Stabil in them except for a generator and that carb jet was clogged with dirt to the point that it wouldn't run. Other than that they all get ran dry with Stabil in the gas that they are running when they are put away for storage. 

As for my ATV it will sit for a while in the spring and I never did have any problems with the one that was running a carburetor, now I have one that has fuel injection so we'll see.

Back to the Honda, at times you can find a new carburetor for just as cheap as a rebuild kit for them.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

Critter said:


> Was it Stabil or just bad gas?


I added stabil to fresh gas before storing. It separated into sludge and plugged up the idle circuit on all the carbs. This was separation within the fuel tank itself, I had cracked the carb drain screws and drained fuel out of the carb bowls. When I later brought the machines out of storage, I opened the tank pet**** and the (unknown to me) seperated sludge in the bottom of the tank immediately drained into the carbs.

I now drain down my tanks (when I can, snowmobiles are hard to drain tanks without a pump) to near empty. When coming out of storage I add a couple gallons of fresh fuel to mix with the tank fuel, after which I then open the pet**** and try to start. Thats been working well for me.

I also keep trickle chargers on all batteries when not in use. I bought a fancy de-sulfating battery charger I like to run on batteries for a few weeks at a time (I rotate through my batteries). That thing is a marvel... brought several dead batteries back from the grave.

*PS: I bought a cheap $10 universal fuel pump off ebay, I plan to use it to pump snowmobile tanks dry next time I need to store them.

-DallanC


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## shaner (Nov 30, 2007)

I do agree with you Dallan though to forget Stabil if you can get Puregas.
Not having any ethanol in your fuel won’t let it go into phase separation AND you get more mileage because you have more btu’s Per gallon.
I’m lucky, in Riverton now I can get puregas easily whenever I want it.


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## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

shaner said:


> I do agree with you Dallan though to forget Stabil if you can get Puregas.
> Not having any ethanol in your fuel won't let it go into phase separation AND you get more mileage because you have more btu's Per gallon.
> I'm lucky, in Riverton now I can get puregas easily whenever I want it.


Yea that's where I get mine now, the Sinclair ProStop on 126th south. They have 91 octane blue.

-DallanC


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## shaner (Nov 30, 2007)

If you can live with blue 88 the new Maverick on Redwood /Bangerter has it in the pumps at their big pull through that makes fueling big rigs a piece of cake.


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## Slap That Quack (Mar 2, 2017)

Well cleaned up the carb and adjusted the fuel air mixture screws which was way off. Changed the spark plug. Running good now. Just got new front tires so I got the harbor freight tire mount and that tire valve puller thing. I will try to mount them tomorrow. Thanks for the advice everyone.


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## Slap That Quack (Mar 2, 2017)

Atv servicing went well got the tires on, that was a work out. It was my fault though I did not mount it first like I should have. I will be doing that shortly.


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