Hi Guys,

I used to be on the forums alot from '02-'04, but the past couple years the Raptor has been sitting in the garage unused. What all should I do or check before starting it? I know I did not store it properly. I left gas in the tank and carb bowl, didn't put any lube in the cylinder to keep it from rusting. . . etc.

Am I screwed, or do you think I can get it to start without damaging anything? I am going to drain the tank, put new gas in, but other than that what should I do? Thanks for the help!

RaptorRacer1

 

I would clean carb and air filter, check oil, prolly change it. Then just fire it up and see what happens

 

I would take the plug out and pour about an ounce of marvel mystery oil in the cylinder, put the rear wheels on a block so you can spin them while in 5th gear. Do this for about 2-3 minutes and then let it sit with the piston all the way down. After about 5 minutes, do it again. It can't hurt to do this several times to be honest.

When you're done doing that, add some fresh fuel into the plug hole and rotate the tires so the piston goes up/down. Do this a few times also.

Then remove the plug so it doesn't spark. Then place a rag over the plug hole and crank it over using the starter till all the fluid is gone.

Then spray some WD40 in the cylinder and crank it over using the starter a few times.

Replace the plug, fill the tank with fresh fuel and turn on the gas. Then stand it on the rear grab bar to let the overflow do it's thing thinking it's tipped on it's side so the fuel flows from the overflow.

Now......fire it up.

There will be a bit of smoke for awhile until it all burns off.

You should be good to go now. If it runs poorly, pull the carb, tear it apart, clean and replace it.

You should be fine and back riding considering all this works [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

actually 2 years isnt a very long time, if you just changed the gas and oil you should be fine, it might not idle onc it warms up, if it doesnt take it for a ride an thenif it oesnt clean the carb. I got my ski-doo going after 8 yars of sitting out side an i didnt evenhav to clean the carb or anything. Good luck.

 

drain carb, tank, possibly clean tank and carb if it needs it

i would suggest changing oil...

checking tailpipe(with flashlight for stuff inside) and intake as well

clean filter..

take plug out and spray a LITTLE bit of ether in there to help start up

OR

pump the throttle 5 times to prime it.. then fire it on up

 

Thanks everyone for the help. I took the gas tank off and drained the old gas out. I will tell you one thing, as good as VP U4 smells when it is fresh, after 2 years it is the most vile smelling stuff I've ever smelled. The entire bottom of the tank is coated in brown/rust colored sludge. Sprayed in some cleaner, then poured in a little bit of fresh gas and swished it all around. About 1/2 of the buildup came off. I drained all that out and put in a gallon of VP C16.

Took off the Edelbrock carb, it was gummed up. Took the bowl off and hosed everything down with cleaner spray. Sprayed out all the little jets and valves I could find in it. The dried up gas/sludge looked like maple syrup and had about the same consistency.

Checked the oil. I always used Mobil 1 MX4T synthetic, so it looked just like the day I put it in there. Checked the coolant, it looked good and full. Took out the spark plug and it was covered in the same sludge that the carb bowl and gas tank were covered in. I cranked it over for about 10 seconds without the plug in. Nothing came out the plug hole, so I put the plug back in, turned on the gas and fired it up.

It fired right up, but idled really rough. I had to feather the throttle to keep it going. Then it stalled. Each time I would fire it up it would run a little better and longer before stalling. Finally after the engine was warmed up I revved it up and down a bit. It backfired and spit flames out the exhaust on some of the downrevs. After this I let it idle and it idled just fine. I did notice that the header was glowing orange. It never did this before. Being tuned for U4 (highly oxygenated), it should have ran really rich on the C16, but seems to be running lean. The only thing I can think is that the jets and needles are probably still coated in a bit of gunk, restricting fuel flow.

Do you think that will improve as I run more fresh fuel through it?

BTW, looks like the battery is toast. Probably need to get a new one. It has just been fully discharded too many times and for too long. . .

Thanks again for the help. I want to sell the quad to pay for my new auto-racing hobby, but I doubt I'll get what I want out of it. So I figure instead of letting it rot away in the garage I may as well get back on it and hit the trails and dunes.

RaptorRacer1

 

i would say.. trickle charge the abttery... sometimes i get lucky and they still have noguh in them not to die

 

Turn on key: hit start button.

 

i would put fuel stabilisator for a few days again,then start it up slowly,,,after warmed and oil change is indeed
the most siginificant thing to do.