Puttin her in the water for the first time tomorrow

[MikeyM]

I cant wait any longer, so tomorrow after work Im takin the atv to a local marina and im going to see how it is in the water. Im wondering though, how bad will it leak, or better question worse comes to worse how fast will the water come in? the bearings are freshly greased and got both drain plugs in, so I dont think it will be that bad, but have read the bearings leak after time. I dont have a bilge pump yet, which is another reason why I want it in the water, cause i want to see which end floats lower, so i know where to install the bilge. common sense tells me the rear should sit lower, but Ive seen videos where some sit front low. I just want to run this thing somewhere other than my drive way! what do yall think? you think it would be alright with no bilge to dip it in the water for a few minutes? My rational thinking says its a 94 with no bilge pump so maybe it doesnt leak....but my thought process has gotten me in trouble over the years

[Mike]

Just go in slowly and look through the holes in the floorboard for any water leaking in. If the bearings haven't been replaced I would imagine that it will leak some. The previous owner may not have installed a bilge pump because they didn't take it in the water. Just be smart about staying close to shore until you find out how much it leaks and you will be fine.

[MikeyM]

Okay cool thanks, I did notice one bearing was new(er) but looking around at this thing, you can tell it hasnt seen much use...i'll def be staying close to shore, the marina is a dockless marina, just pretty much a cove at the local park so It should give me plenty of room to get used to it....hope DNR isnt out tomorrow haha

[MikeyM]

first time in the water pictures

So I wasnt able to get it out in the water friday since it was raining all day, but was able to this morning....first time driving ANYTHING purposely into the water....wow weird! had a lot of fun though! my dad used to have one, and he came out to have some fun also. had a good time with it for about half hour, but the marina was only about a foot deep, so we were sittin in mud most of the time! stalled on my dad about 30 foot out and we had a hard time restarting. The guy before put on an automotive sized see through fuel filter with 3/8 fuel line...I dont think it is getting the fuel pressure I should be. What size fuel lines are these suppose to have? anybody know? I would like to get this little stalling problem takin care of once and for all! the fuel filter element stays wet, but it never fills with gas, even when its full throttle....thats gotta be the problem! anyhow Im going to try to post these pictures here...hope it works!

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[Mike]

Looks like you had a good time even with the little bit of engine trouble that you experienced. I would bet it was more of a trash in the carburetor issue than anything else. Pull the choke out the next time it begins to quit on you and see if that helps.

[Noel Woods]

Great time irregardless of mechanical issues. In addition to Mike's comments on the choke, if that doesn't work, you may want to look at those fuel lines, the modern mixtures in fuel has a tendency to break down the rubber lines, especially if it sets for several weeks. It can also cause a varnish in the fuel tank. I try to drain my tank if the machine is going to sit for more than a month. Also, check your spark plugs.

[MikeyM]

Thanks guys, yea I bought a 16 hp carb here not long ago, think I may tackle that cause that one is freshly rebuilt. the choke is so touchy its ridiculous, when my dad was out there floatin, he tried everything with the choke and it wouldnt do anything, he was finally able to get it going though. do you think though with automotive sized fuel line, and fuel filter, do you think that the little fuel pump has enough behind it to fill that larger line? im going to go all through it, carb, plugs, and probably drain the gas and replace with fresh

[MikeyM]

well the engine trouble continues and has me beyond frustrated! had a new years party sat night and a couple girls wanted a ride, got half way through the yard and it again stalled....better to be stalled with two girls crammed in there with ya than to be in the river hahaha! let it sit for bout 5 mins and started right up. I cant predict when its going to stall, it happens so fast and dies so suddenly, i dont even have time to mess with the choke. So today i went out heated up the garage and grabbed the wrenches, took off the old carb and manifold, and swapped it with a 16 hp carb I bought from shane K. before I installed it, I took off the top of the carb and removed the float to give it a good spraying with carb cleaner (had some cobwebs, but was rebuilt) all the gaskets looked new, and everything was clean. had the anti backfire solenoid on it, so I took it off and put the plug off the old carb on it. replaced the fuel filter, and replaced the plugs. I closely looked at the fuel lines from engine up and all looked good, bending every few inches to look for dry rotting, all looked good. started it up and tuned the carb, idle seemed right on. revved smooth, could tell there was more power so I was happy. let it idle and occassionally revving it in the garage for about 5 mins, opened the door, made a few passes in the yard and again it died, just like last time....went longer this time though. I am boggled, and frustrated. Talked to shane to see what he thought and he told me to check the gas cap, thinking maybe its suckin the air outa system...Im just going to call recreative tomorrow and order a new cap, see what it does. Does anyone have any other suggestions? Im at wits end with this thing already. When its running it runs awesome, nice and smooth, just cant figure out what makes it stall out....thanks for any input

[swamp donkey]

Had the same problem once with my 99 Argo same motor. Drove my self crazy truing to figure it out. When it was all said and done pulled the fuel tank and there was piece of plastic that I have no idea where it came from. Wasn't very big about the size of a fifty cent piece but it was just big enough to cut the fuel off when it made it to the right spot. If the gas cap doesn't help u might won't to check what's in your tank.

[LarryW]

Maybe you have the kill wire from the coil to the switch shorting out? Bad switch? Try unhooking the wire near the motor and running it around. It wont shut off with the key with the wire disconnected though.

[MikeyM]

Okay thanks guys, I didnt think about a bad switch, definitely not ruling anything out! and something in the tank could also be a possibility. I think after I re-route the ignition switch wire, im goin to put a bucket under the tank and drain it....see what comes out of there, and im goin to keep the gas cap on and see if the fuel chugs out or smoothly pours...should tell me the story with the gas cap i would think. Everytime I work on this thing im finding more and more the previous owner messed with.....note to self....clean and shiny doesnt always mean "like new" haha

[rentalrider]

Doesn't really sound like a fuel issue to me. I agree with the switch or some other electrical issue. When I've had fuel delivery issues, they rarely quit that quickly/decisively. Always seems to miss and stutter a bit before dying. How are your grounds?

[trout]

To rule out blockage in the fuel cell,just hot wire so to speak a temp clean fuell cell with a new line run and drive see what happens .I found the head of a june bug in my tank it caused alot grief for years blocking the hole once in a while .

[MikeyM]

ive looked at all the grounds and all seem really clean, no rust around any of the connections but I suppose that doesnt mean there isnt rust between the connections...i'll look into that. When it dies it isnt so ubrupt like its missing electrical current, you hit the throttle and it the motor just kinda bottoms out, comes out of it, but doesnt have enough power to do anything, but it happens so fast, i dont have time to mess with the choke. Over the next couple days, im going to check all wiring and drain the fuel tank. I just ordered a fuel cap so I can eliminate that possibility

[JohnF]

Take it out in the yard, you'll probably need the two girls for this , and run it around until it does it again. Just as it is about to die, shut it off with the key (just to catch things at their worst) then you can open up the top of the carb to see if there is fuel in the bowl. Of course thank the girls for helping out.

If there isn't then you need to work from the carb to the tank. I've had similar situation where a small air leak in the fuel line on a boat motor caused much frustration. It didn't cause the problem until it was WOT (or nearly).