I'll ask a question.

I have a 2002 TRX250EX that is in great condition but has been sitting for a while. I suspect I have some carburetor problems. It will start great at full choke and idles fine at full choke. However, once I start pulling the choke off it will not run nor idle. I'm fairly mechanical but have never dealt much with carburetors. I assume it needs some adjusting or a kit.

1. Can someone guide me to a good "how to" resource?
2. If I chicken out and go have it done, what should I expect to pay to get the carb set up correctly?[/quote]

my friends warrior had the same problem but it back fired this is what we did to get it running right first adjust the air srew on the crab so it runs with no choke then take it got for a little ride about 5min get it to your house it will be idleing high adjust the air screw or the slide to lower rpms and it should be fine worked for his it take about a hour to doit all you need is 2 screwdriver flat and phil. i work at a atv shop after repair we dont ride them (the law will take or people will take it from you by force)so they will never git it and can cost big bucks. look at bikebandits.com under oem parts,make,model,part and you can get location of the screws.so for about $5 for tools and a hour is better then $70 a hour for labor

 

If you want to bring it here I will do the job for $5.

 

Well I suspect your too far from Dallas or I would take you up on that!

I just ordered a Clymer manual and while I wait for it to come in, I'll give try the adjustment/ride time and see what that does. I drained all the gas again last night and will put in some freshly purchased high octane gas just to be sure. I just bought this thing and anxious to ride it but on the other hand, looking forward to tinkering with it too. I've always wanted to understand the carb a little better. I appreciate all the feedback and suggestions. I hope your still around after I put it back together and have parts left over. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]


(I've also read about cleaning the spark arrester. I don't know if that will help but figure it can't hurt).

 

give us a update when your done

 

changing the fuel is a good start and the next step would be to clean the carb.

So long as you check where everything comes from and don't lose any bits you shoud have no probs.

Check the airclear while there. Damaged = replace, dirty = wash ideally with proper foam filter cleaner (may as well get now as you will nned it in the future) don't use petrol, and re-oil and squeeze out properly - probably get a pack with instructions - cleaner and filter element oil. Unless it has been replaced by a K&N or similar. Factory supplied is foam.

Clean all the jets with compressed air if available. Blow them out and visually check they are open. Don't use wire to clean them as it will damage the holes.

The air screw adjustment is best left till all else is good. If you remove it while cleaning then check the setting by counting the turns e.g. might be 1 & 3/4 by screwing it in till it comes up to the stop. When you replace put it to the same setting. Factory standard is 1 & 1/2 turns from fully scewed in. Final adjustment of that and idle speed adjustment after the engine is up to normal operating temp. Don't keep running it with the choke on as this will damage the engine.

 

Well I finally found the time (and nerve) to go through the carburetor today. It was quite dirty and I cleaned everything with Berryman's carb cleaner and brushed the "corrosion" or whatever that build up is. I used carb cleaner and compressed air on the jets and as far as I could tell everything seemed to be okay and functional. I got it all back together and it does run better but I'm still experiencing the problem that it won't idle/run without the choke on. At half choke it runs fine, got it all the way up through 4th gear and it runs good as long as the choke is 1/2 on. I probably rode it about 5-10 minutes with outside temps in the 50's / 60's. It just doesn't want to run at all without some choke on. I did take the pilot screw out and not exactly sure where it should be. I'm thinking 1.5 turns from all the way in.

I can turn the idle adjust screw all the way to the right and still get no idle without the choke. Any ideas on what to try next?
Thanks for the help!

 

It's still running lean, most likely due to a jet that clogged again or you may have missed one (there are two - main and slow) . Did you clean out the needle area from the top of the carb too? I had to just do my snowblower 3 times before it was finally OK.

 

I'm not sure about the needle jet....maybe that's one I missed. How do you go about cleaing that one?

If I have to go into again, I'm thinking maybe I should just buy new jets. (Assuming they are too expensive, but when you buy a bolt from Honda for $5 I should probably know better).

When your checking the jets, is there a way to ensure you have all the holes open. They seem so small, I blew air on it but without sticking something through the hole which I thought was frowned upon I wasn't sure how to ensure they are clear.

The saga continues! Thanks for the help.

 

To make sure the jets are clean, run a piece of bailing wire through them. To get to the needle, remove the 4 (I think) screws on the top of the carb. Then remove the screw that holds the lever to the throttle shaft and slide out the shaft itself. Then you can lift the needle assembly out to clean. Unless you have changed your intake and/or muffler from stock, do not change the location of the C clip on the needle. It sounds harder than it is.

 

I did remove the throttle valve assembly and wiped off the needle (about all I did with that). I was thinking it fed into that main jet which I did remove and clean. Unless there's something obvious I may have missed I guess I will go through it again. Now that I know what I'm upgainst I can do it with a little more confidence.

The manual talks about having to use a TACH to set the pilot screw. How critical is this and will 1.5 turns back be close enough?