Is gas really this bad???

S

sr522re

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Feb 18, 2011
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52
Age
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Location
Zeeland, MI
Cleaned my carbs on my 2001 SX700R a few weeks ago in preparation for the snow. Sled ran excellent on the stand with fresh premium and some fuel stabalizer. Here were are, three weeks later and still no snow. I decided to fire up my sled yesterday and much to my surprise it ran like crap. It seemed to fire up just fine, but after about 10 seconds of idling it died on me. Fired it back up and it was only running on one cylinder. Is the gasoline these days really this bad that my carbs got dirty from just a few weeks of sitting? Or is this the nature of the beast being a tripple carbed sled realizing the pilot jets are tiny compared to that of a twin? And maybe it's not even the carbs. I'll start with plugs and if that doesn't do it I'll take the carbs aparts again for a good cleaning.

One thing worth mentioning, I do have access to ethenol free gas in 87 octane. Is it worth trying to run this over regular gas with ethenol even though the price is about $.30 a gallon more? Just curious.

Any input or suggestion on the possible causes to my problem is certainly appreciated.

Thanks!

C
 
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I Would Not Use 87 Octane Anything I Own Except Lawn Mower Or Snoblower. Just Too Many Bad Stories About The State Of Fuel Today. Check Your Carbs Again And Run 93. And No I Doubt Your Carbs Got Dirty In Two Weeks. Probley Never Got Dirt Out. 3:16 (yammie Tony)
 
I dealt with nearly this same dilema last fall. The gas staion a mile from home has 89 octane ethanol free. Posted for input from the group I dont know if thread can be found or not. I ended up sticking with premium (93+) with ethanol as I literally NEVER seen any one at e-free pump. Basically I decided to run fresh premium versus in my opinion stale 89 e free. If you see alot of traffic at your e free pump it might be worth a try. Just my .02
 
It's funny how people buy into the marketing and actually think higher octane fuel is "cleaner".

You are HARMING your engine by using a higher octane fuel than what is recommended. The difference in higher octane fuel is it has special additives in it so it burns at a cooler rate and can handle higher compression before detonating.

Now if your engine is designed for regular octane fuel and you use high octane, what happens is you don't get a full burn and the unburnt fuel leaves deposits on the pistons and spark plugs, this leads to fowling spark plugs and gumming up piston rings. Unless you did something to change the compression ratio or spark ignition timing on your sled, use the recommended octane fuel and not premium.

As for your fuel problems, you most likely had some deposits in the tank that gummed up your jets, they are pretty small. Everyone likes to clean their carbs but forget to clean their gas tank as well. If you use Ethanol based fuel, run a stabilizer like Sta-bil's Marine Formula which is designed for Ethanol. 3 weeks is not enough for the Ethanol to cause problems but a month or two and you will see algae growth in your tank and fuel bowls.
 
I cleaned the carbs on my 98 SX600 and was getting it fired up by priming it with a squirt can with gas in it that I used to prime my 97 MM 600 2 weeks before. I gave the sled a couple of squirts in each hole and it fired up and quit did that again and same thing fired and quit so on the third try the sled didn't run checked for spark, compression,and the plugs looked wet so I thought maybe it was flooded dried it out and tried again still wouldn't run so I dumped the can out of the squirt can and filled with new gave it a couple of squirts and it fired up and stayed running. Just goes to show you that today gas isn't a hole lot of good after it sits around for a month.
 
oh man there are going to be a lot of motors going down again this season.Can't leave you sleds up at your cottage to long with fuel in the tank or carbs.After a couple of weeks you'll have to clean your carbs again..not a chore I would want.Premium all the way for me and no ethanol whatsoever..Run Fitch Fuel Catalyst to keep fuel optimum and octane up..works for me now for the past 3 seasons..never a carb issue.
 
motorhead327 said:
I used the Star*Tron last year with good results. The mower, saw shops and the yamaha dealer have it here as well. http://mystarbrite.com/startron/
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x2 ive been using startron for the last year or so myself seems to work decent. kinda on the expensive side. but ive been using it in my atv, bike, gunna use it in my sled too this year.
 
we have that product here to..says 8 oz treats 125 gallons.Figured out it adds about 11 cents a gallon to use or around $1.16 a tank..not to expensive really for peace of mind.Going to get some next week and try it.Now I will be able to purchase regular gas for my 600 now instead of Premium..will save some $$$ then riding.
 
bluemonster1 said:
we have that product here to..says 8 oz treats 125 gallons.Figured out it adds about 11 cents a gallon to use or around $1.16 a tank..not to expensive really for peace of mind.Going to get some next week and try it.Now I will be able to purchase regular gas for my 600 now instead of Premium..will save some $$$ then riding.
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What... 8 oz treats 48 gal or 24 gal first treatment.
 
our oz are bigger up here I guess..lol...but yep that is what it says 8 oz for up to 125 gallons.If it was for only 48,I wouldn't buy the stuff..cost per tank would add up.I would stay with premium..besides the Fitch works wanders anyways for the gas here.
 
Well, it' turned out to be the plugs. Put three new plugs in last night and she fired right up. Idled great and reved right up. For good measure, I drained the tank and will pick up some Ethanol free 87 later today. I'll pick up some of that marine sta-bil as well for good measure. Thanks for all the input everyone!
 
motorhead327 said:
I used the Star*Tron last year with good results. The mower, saw shops and the yamaha dealer have it here as well. http://mystarbrite.com/startron/
Click to expand...

I've used it as well for 2 years with VG results. I did though, put it in an empty Sta-bil bottle so I can 'meter' it out accurately while out on the sled. I use a Nyquil type 'shot'(glass/plastic) to measure things out in the garage.
 
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