Follow up Mid range power/fuel mileage

pup55

New member
Joined
Mar 21, 2007
Messages
285
Age
64
Location
Boylston Ma.
I talk to you guys 2 weeks ago about poor gas mileage and mid range power loss. I went threw my carbs and put everything back to factory spec's and cleaned the carbs. I also dropped the needle to the 1.5 from the 2.0. I just got back from a 60 mile trip. My sled got 8 mpg which i got 6 last week. My son's sled got 10mpg. We both have 96 vmax xts. I still have a problem with mid range power. The engine seems to break down between 4 and 6 th rpms. It also seems to get worse after the sled warms up. I put the choke on at 5th rpms and it ran worse. I also did a plug check at 4 ths rpms and 7 ths rpms. At 4 the plugs were black with a little oil . At 7 the plugs were brown. Again the sled runs great at idle and runs great at above 6000 rpms. Can you guys tell me what else I need to check. I know the needle control's mid range power, so what else could be causing my mid range power problems?
 
The clutch's seem to be fine. It is just at midrange. It seems like the engine breaks down.
 
pup55 said:
I also did a plug check at 4 ths rpms and 7 ths rpms. At 4 the plugs were black with a little oil . At 7 the plugs were brown.
TRy leaning needle's up more.

How's comp. in yours/comaired to your sons'
 
make sure the secondary work good ..... or make sure to have a good set up clutch
 
Both sled's are at 120. I set the needle to 1.5 from 2. Do you think by setting the needle at 1 it would be to lean?
 
I know you guys keep talking about clutch's, but I can hear the difference in the engine from mid range to wot. It sounds like the engine is skipping. The tach stays at 4000 steady but the engine sounds sick. Again it started out great today and as it warmed up it sounded and ran bad in just the mid range.
 
pup55 said:
Both sled's are at 120. I set the needle to 1.5 from 2. Do you think by setting the needle at 1 it would be to lean?
You said it still looks rich at mid?,do some more testing, try 1
for a few rips,keep an eye on plugs, you wouldn't think it would need to be
that lean when stock is 2..

electrical all up to par???????
 
That was my next question. Could i have an elec problem? Again when I start out the sled seem's to be fine , then after it warms up it really sounds sick at mid. If I could have an elec problem where would I start? I have been threw the carbs 3 times and the problem has not changed 1 bit. The only thing that has changed is the gas mileage went from 6 to 8 which I think was from the needle.
 
could check spec's on coil,wire's,boots..just to rule out any prob's there..

are you sure everything is the same as your sons/stock? needle,pilot jet?? not just the position but the number size?
 
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Yes, when I took the carbs apart I checked the #s to my shop manual and the parts all match. Could I ask you a question? What does it really sound like to you? I still think it is the carbs because it only does it in the mid range. If it was elec or clutch's it would do it all the time. But then again it runs worse when it warm's up. Also since it is only mid range would that be just the needle?
 
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pup55 said:
Yes, when I took the carbs apart I checked the #s to my shop manual and the parts all match. Could I ask you a question? What does it really sound like to you? I still think it is the carbs because it only does it in the mid range. If it was elec or clutch's it would do it all the time. But then again it runs worse when it warm's up. Also since it is only mid range would that be just the needle?
hard to tell from this side of the puter not beeing able to see it hear it etc..
try leaning up mid some more see what happens...sounds like it could be
rich yet(needle's),keep an eye on plugs,wash..
 
I just took the carbs apart for the 3rd time. I found the pilot was clogged agian. When I cleaned them last week you could see right threw them. Somehow they keep getting clogged. What would cause them to keep clogging? Also I asume that would cause the sled to run so poor in mid range and get poor gas mileage? Could it be the fuel pump or gas tank?
 
circuts over lap some so mid would be pilot and needle,a pluged pilot would
lean mid a touch not rich.

what does the pice of crud look like that's pluging?
 
I just finished the other carb and that one was also clogged. The pilot, main you could hardly see daylight. I can't really tell what it was. Could it be from the fuel pump or gas tank? Could it be gel if the last owner let it sit for awhile?
 
probably crud in the tank/lines, filter good?

take line off the f/p and push gas through from tank try to claean it out..
 
Should i drain the tank and try to clean it? I should change the filter at the same time. Do you think the fuel pump dia are glogged with gel? Can I add anything to the tank to clean it up?
 
If your getting that much pull the tank lines and pump apart inspect
and clean..

two years ago had a problem with my pz like that,kep pluging one
MJ.took the tank out shook it up with gas and dumped it.did it
2-3 times,lots of crap came out,blew out lines etc..never happend
again...
 


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