hi i just recently bought a z400 for $750. Now i know you are thinking wow thats cheap, well you get what you pay for. Anyway this quad wontt start for anything. It has compression, it has a fat blue spark and i am pretty sure it is getting gas. I even put starting fluid directly in the spark plug hole and i got nothing not even a pop. I kept turning it over forever and got nothing. so i thought huh......maybe more starting fluid. Well that was NOT the answer. It did fire but not in a good way. A flame came out of the carb and was just burning away. I ended up putting it out with snow bc i had nothing else. Can anyone help i am real desprite and i want to ride this thing. Also i looked though the intake and the valves are moving as they should but there is a little buildup of "craP" along them but that might have been because of the fire. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!!!

 

intake valve might be cupped . . . check your vavle clearances

 

check your timing

 

how would i check the timing? I dont have to take the whole engine apart do i? also how would i check if the intake valve is cupped?

 

you would need to buy a manual to some of the work ,or possible get one on line

 

i got a pic of the stock valve timing and the 2 and the 3 on the camshatfts are pointing up. is this when the pistion is @ tdc?

 

It sound's like bad gas to me and the crap you could see through the intake is gunk on the valve stem's , the valve's might be gummed up so bad that they're not seating enough to have the proper valve clearance ; and bad fuel in the tank will also gum up the carb causing the float and inlet needle to stick in the open or closed possition !

And your main and pilot jet's could be clogged up as well , in any case if it's sit up with untreated gas for over a few month's you may need to pull the carb and give it a good cleaning , and drain the tank of any dead or contaminated gas ; and if the valve's are sticking whitch you said they seemed to be moving you still need to remove the valve access caps or covers and use some Sea Foam or Deep Creek inside the valve access hole's and valve adjustment might not be needed after the Sea Foam or Deep Creep clean's the gunk from around the valve's !

It would be easier if you had a good O.E.M. , Haynes , Chilton or Clymer Service and Repair Shop Manual to do the valve adjustment if they do need it after the gunk is cleaned out of the combustion chamber because it would give you step by step instruction's with photo's of what you have to remove to get to the valve access caps or covers for your quad !

And the access cap or plug's that have the crankcase timing mark's that must be lined up on the compression stroke of the engine before adjusting the valve's !

You can get the Sea Foam at most any Auto Parts Stores like Auto Zone , Advance and O'Reillys Auto Parts Stores , a 16 oz. can will treat up to 25 gallon's of fuel gas or diesel ; and it's safe for 2 and 4 stroke engines !

I get it from O'Reillys Auto Parts for $5.99 + tax here in Ga. , Sea Foam is a Fuel Cleaner/Stabilizer that clean's the fuel system and combustion chamber of built up carbon deposits ; and it can be mixed with fuel and the engine crankcase oil to clean the engine of sludge and free up the engine 's ring's , valves , and lifters internially !

Or just mix it with your fuel the instructions for mixing are on the can , and i used it in my fuel tank in my 88' GMC S1500 Jimmy 4x4 MPV that had over 303 thousand mile's ; and it had started smoking when the engine temperture was normal and i had to stop at a traffic light or stop sign !

It would blow a cloud of white and blue smoke on take off and clear up after i got going , after pouring a 16 oz. can of Sea Foam to a tank of regular 87 octane gas and letting the jimmy sit up for almost a year to save up for part's to repair it after it jumped time in my driveway ; and after the repair 's i drove it 25 mile's and it started smoking again on take off's after engine temp was normal !

Then i drove it untill i had used a half tank of gas and the engine stopped smoking , and it has been smoke free for 8 month's now and still no smoke so i know it work's like it claim's to do ; now i use it in every tank of all my vehicles if they aren't driven every day to keep the fuel fresh longer !

And it has a drying agent that help's keep water from forming in the tank , there are alot of fuel additives on the market that claim to do something for the internal combustion engine ; and over the last 20 yrs. in the Small Engine Service and Repair Industry i've used most of them and i've found that most work for what they claim to do !

But the Sea Foam does so many thing's , it replace's most if not all of the combined product's i've used for one thing or the other in just one can ; and i highly recconmend it above everything on the market today for any type of engine !

It's almost like a rebuil kit in a can , it work's so good you don't need to use 4 or 5 different product's to get the same result's from Seam Foam alone , and the Deep Creep is the same product as Sea Foam ; it just come's in a spray can !

But by all mean's remove the access cap's or cover's so you can see if the valves are opening and closing like they're supposed to , and find the timing hole cover in the crankcase so you can aline the timing mark's to check for proper valve clearance between the rocker arm's and valve stem's !

The rocker arm's should be loose enough to wiggle them a little when you get the timing mark's lined up on top dead center of the compression stroke , the easy way the find TDC on the compression stroke ; is to remove the spark plug and stick your finger in the spark plug hole ; and rotate/turn the crankshaft clockwise untill you feel pressure pushing again't your finger and stop !

Then turn the crankshaft untill the timing mark's are linded up in the inspection hole's , and the proper thickness of a filler blade should just have a slight drag between the rocker arm and valve stem !

Even if you don't have a manual or someone on these forums doesn't have the valve spec.'s , if your local Dealer is a good one to deal with ; they will give you this info over the phone !

I would give you all the info if i had a manual that covered your quad , but there should be someone on here that has the info you need ; maybe before i finish this reply and good luck and i hope it's just bad fuel !............

 

i will def try that stuff once i get it going. Do you think that the buildup is the problem even when i spay fuel directly in the clinder???? i also checked the timing and thats fine.

 

Start with the timing. If you have spark, the starting fluid will ignite, no matter whats wrong with the carb.

 

Do you know how long it had been sitting up before you bought the Quad ? And did it have gas in the tank when you bought it ?

And you won't get it going unless you remove the carb for cleaning , and make sure the valve's are closed an have the proper gap between the valve stem and rocker arms , this is why i said you could pour the Sea Foam inside the access hole's where the adjuster's for the valve's are located then let it soak for 30 minute's or longer if they are gummed up bad !

And if you use the Deep Creep in the spray can , or put some Sea Foam in some kind of spray bottle you can spray some into the carburator with the thumb throddle pushed wide open and let it soak for a while you might not have to remove the carb for cleaning ; it's all according to how bad the carb is gummed up !

And the timing can only be set from inside the engine , so if the engine hasn't been taken apart or jumped time by way of the timing chain , crankshaft and cam shaft ; then the only other way of timing is through the valve's !

And since i don't have a manual that cover's your year Make and model , i could only guess where cap or cap's that you must look through to see the timing mark's on the crankshaft ; and stationary mark on the engine case !
In some engine's there is only one access cap to remove , and that would be the crankshaft whitch you must turn with a scoket and ratchet ; and in most case's there are 2 mark's on the crankshaft/ Flywheel and one should be a T this T mark is the one you must line up with either a stationary mark on the outside of the engine's case !

And the Stationary mark is usally found above the foot shifter !

And if your engine has a pull rope starter on the side of the engine the crankshaft / Flywheel the T mark can only be seen after you remove the pull rope housing from the engine crankcase , but there are also model's that have 2 access hole's with timing mark's to line up on TDC top dead center of the compression stroke ; and in all the manual's it willl say that the intake and exhaust valve's will be in the closed possion when you are on the compression stroke with the timing mark's lined up !

And you should be able to wiggle the rocker arm's a little , if they won't wiggle you've either gone past TDC , valve's need adjusting are you not on the compression stroke !

That's why i said in my first reply that the easy way to tell when you're on the compression stroke with the spark plug removed and your finger in spark plug hole you will feel pressure again't your finger , and as soon as you feel the pressure stop turning the crank shaft then turn it untill these mark's are lined up !

I wish i had a manual so i would know what you had to remove to get to the access to the valve adjuster's , and where on the side of the crankcase the access plug's or if you had a pull rope starter that had to be removed in order to see the timing mark !

Hopefully if this doesn't help you , someone who has a manual or has done these proceedjure's before ; but this is all i can tell you with out the manual !

There are site's you can go to look at part's layout's but i don't know if they would be any help on the job you will have to do so you can get it running ! .... Good luck