yankeeslover
New member
howdy everyone....too bad...riding came to a quick halt....I thaught for sure we would ride up until April with all the snow we got here in the southern Adirondacks, but sadly, as fast as it all came, it was a mild March and is now all gone 
.. havent rode in three weeks now....oh well...anyways....question on draining my carbs....How is this done on a 96 vmax? I know how to take the carbs off the sled(im still not sure how to properly take apart and clean, hence,why I rather drain them, so no need to clean next winter) but when I take the carbs out of the sled, do I just take off the bug nut on the bottom of each cup, and let that drain out? is there something else to unscrew instead? and also, after this is done, do I put back in the sled? or is it better to leave the carbs in a box stored in say my closet?.....OH last question, since my sled does not have any type of fuel shut off, wouldnt the gas from the tank, end up in the carbs anyway when I hook the fuel line back up to the carbs? I was gonna drain as much gas from tank as possible, but i was advised against doing this, as if there is no gas or little gas, you can get moisture in the tank, and as my sled sits outdoors all summer with the cover on, this may be bad idea..thanks again, Pete
.. havent rode in three weeks now....oh well...anyways....question on draining my carbs....How is this done on a 96 vmax? I know how to take the carbs off the sled(im still not sure how to properly take apart and clean, hence,why I rather drain them, so no need to clean next winter) but when I take the carbs out of the sled, do I just take off the bug nut on the bottom of each cup, and let that drain out? is there something else to unscrew instead? and also, after this is done, do I put back in the sled? or is it better to leave the carbs in a box stored in say my closet?.....OH last question, since my sled does not have any type of fuel shut off, wouldnt the gas from the tank, end up in the carbs anyway when I hook the fuel line back up to the carbs? I was gonna drain as much gas from tank as possible, but i was advised against doing this, as if there is no gas or little gas, you can get moisture in the tank, and as my sled sits outdoors all summer with the cover on, this may be bad idea..thanks again, Pete
JohnnyQuest
Member
There are a couple different views on this topic.... I personally do not like the idea of draining everything dry for summer. I usually leave just a couple gallons of fuel in the sled each spring then stabilize that fuel with an additive, some use Stabil, some use Seafoam, I use Klotz additive personally. Run that through the system until you smell it. As for draining the carbs loosen and remove the 17mm hex nut on the carb bottom and drain. Your carbs will not fill back up with fuel by just reassembly. You have to pull the sled over to actuate the vacuum from the fuel pump. Just because you drain the carbs each year does not mean that you shouldn't clean them. I always clean the carbs each fall not only for piece of mind but as a sled like mine NEEDS good fuel! I recommend it to everyone... It's very simple and straight forward. Remove carb bowl, remove jets, spray carb cleaner through all orifices them repeat with compressed air. That's basically it in a nut shell to a novice mechanic. People really over play the difficulty of carb cleaning
As JQ suggested, disassembly isn't all that difficult and if you can get them off, you can disassemble and clean.
I personally drain all the fuel out of the tank thus eliminating the temperature differential which is how the moisture is drawn into the tank. This also ensures I'm using fresh, in season fuel next fall.
I personally drain all the fuel out of the tank thus eliminating the temperature differential which is how the moisture is drawn into the tank. This also ensures I'm using fresh, in season fuel next fall.
Look in the tech pages on this site. There is at least one writeup on how to clean the carbs. If your sled sits outside all summer, it is going to condense no matter what especially in an area that gets good rainfall and humidity.
If you really have to leave the sled outside, I would drain the carbs and fill the tank and add stabil. I would also fog the engine real well.
That said, I personally drain all my tanks completely and let dry. They do not condense much if there is nothing in there to begin with. It is a bit of a chore though.
Then in the fall I would empty the tank and run that gas in a tractor or something that isn't so octane sensitive. Then clean the carbs and add good fresh fuel. You want to start the season with clean carbs. I know many that never clean the carbs and they get away with it for years, but it always bites them at some point.
btw: I really hate seeing them outdoors, but know what it is like to not have any options. I have a couple older ones that still have to sit outside. More sleds than barns . . .
If you really have to leave the sled outside, I would drain the carbs and fill the tank and add stabil. I would also fog the engine real well.
That said, I personally drain all my tanks completely and let dry. They do not condense much if there is nothing in there to begin with. It is a bit of a chore though.
Then in the fall I would empty the tank and run that gas in a tractor or something that isn't so octane sensitive. Then clean the carbs and add good fresh fuel. You want to start the season with clean carbs. I know many that never clean the carbs and they get away with it for years, but it always bites them at some point.
btw: I really hate seeing them outdoors, but know what it is like to not have any options. I have a couple older ones that still have to sit outside. More sleds than barns . . .
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Drwe
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- Nov 28, 2021
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What's the easiest way to drain the carbs without removing them from the sled? I believe there's a drain screw at the side of the bottom of the bowl but I don't see how you can get to it with them on the sled. Can you just pinch or remove a gas feed line? If so can someone send a pic of where it is? Also when fogging is it necessary to remove the air box, why? Can I just detach the air box from the carb and pull it back, I'm not sure how to remove the air box with the throttle cable etc running over the top.
Is the line running up over the air box mount bracket at the back of the engine bay with a 90° fitting a coolant line or fuel?
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There are no shortcuts to working on these sleds.
You must remove the airbox to remove the carbs and you pretty well have to completely remove the carb rack to drain the bowls.
Your carbs should probably be disassembled and cleaned anyway.
Start by removing the throttle and oil pump cable from the the handle bar throttle block then remove the plastic nut from choke cable.
This will free up the cables from the sled to carb rack and will allow access to removing the air box.
Do a search on cleaning carbs there is lots of info.
If you feel the process may exceed your abilities I would suggest you find some where that can do the work for you so you don't end up with bigger problems.
Drwe
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- Nov 28, 2021
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Thanks for the info, I'm sure will be able to handle cleaning the carbs, just might take a while the first time. This is my first season sledding and I have a tendency to do more work then needed though so I wanted to make sure there wasn't an easier way to drain the carbs for storage. Someone recently told me they simply add stabil run it for a while then hit the fuel shutoff and run the sled till it dies on their 2003 polaris xc, I know mine doesn't have a fuel shutoff valve so I was just wondering if there was a simpler procedure.
I suppose it would be preferable to clean the carbs at the end of the season before they varnish?
As far as fuel tank, could I just stabil a full fuel tank and then octane booster it for the start of next season?
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The fuel we are all running does not age well and can create issues in the carbs after sitting for months in the off season. Adding stabil to the fuel definitely helps in the off season as well as only using premium fuel and if possible non ethanol premium.
I would only clean the carbs at the start of the season if necessary. Dirty carbs usually show up by sled not wanting to idle or not idling on all cylinders without some choke when warmed up.
Our Yamaha two strokes mix the fuel and oil in the fuel pump so the fuel in the carb bowls is already mixed which helps prevent varnish from forming.
At the start of each season I usually add a can of sea foam into a tank of fresh premium fuel and take it easy until that tank of fuel is gone.
I never fog my engines as I live in an area that has relatively low humidity and the sleds are stored inside.
If it aint broke...don't fix it.
I would only clean the carbs at the start of the season if necessary. Dirty carbs usually show up by sled not wanting to idle or not idling on all cylinders without some choke when warmed up.
Our Yamaha two strokes mix the fuel and oil in the fuel pump so the fuel in the carb bowls is already mixed which helps prevent varnish from forming.
At the start of each season I usually add a can of sea foam into a tank of fresh premium fuel and take it easy until that tank of fuel is gone.
I never fog my engines as I live in an area that has relatively low humidity and the sleds are stored inside.
If it aint broke...don't fix it.
Drwe
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- Nov 28, 2021
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Thanks for sharing, I try to always use no ethanol, and will definitely use ethanol free for my last tank before storage. Seems like everybody is using a different summerizing technique, I'll probably have to just pick one. I will likely fog for sure though because of outdoor storage.
been running sleds every 3-4 weeks up to operating temp for over 40 years in the family and have not had any unexpected issues.
Drwe
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- Nov 28, 2021
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I tend to believe this would be the easiest and most reliable method if you have the ability to do it regularly. In my case I probably don't have access that often.