A few problems with my max IV

[Elliomcmh]

Hi , I have a Max IV with the vanguard 16 HP engine and have a few questions about it,
1) the atv pulls to the right even on level ground, therefore you have to compensate for this by applying left stick, any ideas on the cause/solution to this problem??
2)to get the engine to idle you have to pull the choke lever out half way, i am assuming this is carb related, any suggestions about adjusting the carb??
3)when i go in water with it, its very slow/ uncontrollable in foward, yet very fast and controllable in reverse, can you reverse the tires, and if so , will you lose traction/ speed by doing this
4) my left chain that connects my back wheel to my middle wheel was popping off, but i adjusted the idler pully to tighten it up and it has worked fine since then, is this a fix for this, or do i have another greater problem??

sorry for all of the questions right off the bat, but you guys seem to really know your stuff, any help with any or all of these questions will be awesome, thanks so much

-Elliott

[trebmaster]

pulling to the right or left is usualy uneven tire pressure, check and see they are the same size tires and inflate to same on all .tire are supposed to run backward if you swim the machene, switch sides , carb I cant help with and you solved your own chain problem

[racerone3]

trebmaster has you on the right track. as for your carb, STOP DRIVING THE MACHINE! by pulling the choke you are limiting the air to the carb to match the amount of fuel it's getting. IE your carb is running way too lean. you probably have a jet partially clogged, or a fuel pump issue. it's time to remove the carb and clean/ rebuild it. if your not up to the task any lawn mower shop can do it for you. while your at it replace the fuel filter. running the engine lean will make for excessive temprature. your engine is air cooled and really doesn't like to be lean. most briggs will survive up to around 400F, but then things start to melt down. burnt piston, scratched bores... not pretty

[mightymaxIV]

Reverse your tires

Hi , I have a Max IV with the vanguard 16 HP engine and have a few questions about it,
1) the atv pulls to the right even on level ground, therefore you have to compensate for this by applying left stick, any ideas on the cause/solution to this problem??
2)to get the engine to idle you have to pull the choke lever out half way, i am assuming this is carb related, any suggestions about adjusting the carb??
3)when i go in water with it, its very slow/ uncontrollable in foward, yet very fast and controllable in reverse, can you reverse the tires, and if so , will you lose traction/ speed by doing this
4) my left chain that connects my back wheel to my middle wheel was popping off, but i adjusted the idler pully to tighten it up and it has worked fine since then, is this a fix for this, or do i have another greater problem??

sorry for all of the questions right off the bat, but you guys seem to really know your stuff, any help with any or all of these questions will be awesome, thanks so much


-Elliott

MaxIV tires should be mounted with the V's facing back ward-take off the left tires and mount them on the right side, take the tires on the right and mount them on the left side
If this is the front of your machines the V's should look like this >>> on both sides V's back ward, if not the machine won't swim.

[Robinhood02]

The combined problem of pulling to one side AND a chain issue ,i would guess that you have a stretched chain, having one badly stretched chain causes that side to rotate just a hair slower, i would replace all your axle chains but dont forget to inspect your sprokets for wear too, because badly worn sprokets will cause your chains to fail prematurly ,and while you are checking the sprokets try to wiggle them sideways (chains OFF) if they flopp on the axle at all, especialy the center axle, you will have to pop off the snap ring and check the axle for sproket wear

[brushcutter]

If this is the front of your machines the V's should look like this >>> on both sides V's back ward, if not the machine won't swim.

ERRR Dan I'm confused here
If this is the front of the machine shouldn't the V face this way
f <I<< left side
f <I<< Rt side
The I s would be the front seat f = front

[Robinhood02]

nope when you stand in front of your machine and look at the tires the V should point up
f >I>> left side
f >I>> right side
it is opposite of a normal tractor tire, the Vs are to pull grass and water to the center of the tire
see the last pic in this group

[6X6]

I think Dan and Robinhood are looking at the top of the tire,
Brushcutter, you're referring to the way the bottoms would be
(Or how the tracks left behind would be facing) right?

Elliomcmh You say you have to pull the choke to get it to idle, It will otherwise stall?
Or is it revving a bit otherwise?
If it stalls, just like Race said, clean out the carb, and don't run it more untill you do. If it's not idling down, then it's the idle being set too far up. (If you get it to idle without choke, a quick test is to add a little choke at a time, and see if it increases or decreases RPM, if it increases, you're lean still, again stop and clean carb. It should decrease, then you're good, well at least not too lean.)

[Elliomcmh]

Thanks for the help guys, the chain problem is fixed, and I did have two low tires, I added air and that corrected the steering problem. Today I am going to swap the tires and clean/adjust the carb.

[brushcutter]

[QUOTE=6X6;63413]I think Dan and Robinhood are looking at the top of the tire,
Brushcutter, you're referring to the way the bottoms would be
(Or how the tracks left behind would be facing) right?QUOTE]

Right you are, but I just couldn't resist having some fun with Dr. Dan - the Tire Man

[Elliomcmh]

What is the best way to Jack up the max to swap the tires around?

[Elliomcmh]

what is the best way to remove the wheels so i can swap sides so my tread is right??? where do i jack it etc....?

[6X6]

What is the best way to Jack up the max to swap the tires around?

Forklift, or Pallet jack. OK, don't have them? an ATV jack or floor jack, do one end and center, then swap to other end and switch them. If you do, SWEEET: Pallet jack or forklift gets all six up in one shot.

what is the best way to remove the wheels so i can swap sides so my tread is right??? where do i jack it etc....?

Not sure about best way to remove wheels, I mean a lug wrench or impact gun (best) but it's straightforward, like on a car. Jack it on the skidplates, where the body is double thickness. A 2x6, 4x4 or other descent size board can spread the load out, but Mogman was just jacking his with a floor jack directly onto the skidplate, HDPE is tough. (Now we've got His Towmotor Fork Truck tuned so I think that's the new lift.)

[brushcutter]

If you use a floor jack, just put a piece of plywood , metal plate, or 2X6 between the jack and the tub. I like impacts for removing the tires.

[Rolling_X_6]

1) the atv pulls to the right even on level ground, therefore you have to compensate for this by applying left stick, any ideas on the cause/solution to this problem??

I see that you figured out your steering problem, Elliomcmh. I am glad you did.

In this case, it was because you had two low tires. It is true that checking your air pressure is the first thing to check when your machine is pulling to one side for you. But, as Recreatives helped me understand when I was having problems with my 2000 Max IV pulling to one side, it is not the "air pressure," per say, that causes pulling. It is all the tires on one side not all being the same circumference as all the tires on the other side.

The first thing they asked me, when I called them about my pulling problem, is "Did you check the air pressure of all 6 tires?" Once I told them that I already did and yet I am still having the problem, they asked me if all 6 tires were the same exact tires: brand, type, etc. (That is because different tires will have a different circumference, even with the same air pressure.) After I told them that they are all the same, they then told me that I would have to take all 6 of them off the Max IV and--with a cloth tape--measure the circumference of each tire while they are all at the same tire pressure. He predicted that I would find a significant difference in the circumferences from one side of the machine to the other. He said that even one or two of them on one side being different from the rest of the tires could cause this problem.

All three of mine on the left were the same circumference as each other. All three of mine on the right were the same as each other. But, the strange part is that the tires on the right were roughly one inch smaller in circumference than the ones on the left. At first that did not sound like much, but it starts making more sense when you do the math. Consider the fact that the circumference of a 26 inch tire is roughly 6-1/2 to 7 feet. So, if every 6-1/2 feet the one side would go one inch further than the other side, that would add up quickly when you are driving even just 20 mph. At 20 mph, you're going almost 30 feet per second. That means that every three seconds, the one side is traveling more than a foot farther than the other side. That doesn't take long to add up to a machine pulling to one side.

Unfortunately, this was not as exact of a fix as I THOUGHT it should have been: I found that 4-1/2 pounds of pressure on my right side tires would give me the same circumference as 2 pounds of pressure on my left side tires. But, when I put them on the Max it pulled the other way. I came to the conclusion that the softer tires on the left (having only 2 pounds of pressure) were compressing more and causing their "practical" circumference to be smaller than the "practical" circumference of the tires on the right, which were harder thus compressing less. I ended up having to lower the pressure of the tires on the right side down to 3 pounds to achieve the same "practical" circumference to both sides. Now, it doesn't pull at all. It is all good.

The lesson here is sometimes equalizing the air pressure of all the tires will not fix a pulling problem. Many times it will, of course . . . but, not always. I asked the guys at Recreatives why this would happen. They did not KNOW why . . . but, they said that they have seen it before. They said that perhaps the person who mounted the tires on the right was not the same person as the guy who mounted the tires on the left. They said that maybe the person who mounted the tires on the left used a higher air pressure to set the bead, and as a result, they stretched / broke some of the cords allowing the rubber to stretch farther with the same air pressure. But, they weren't sure.

I just thought I would throw this out there . . . maybe someone will benefit from this in the future.