What should I do?

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field_mouse

New member
Long story some what short, I took my SXViper in to a local dealer because it would not run when the choke was turned off. They cleaned the carbs and the power valves. This took place in the beginning of March (No I did not get to ride last season do to other reasons). I picked the sled up and took it to my cabin, drove it around the yard a couple times (seemed to run fine) and parked it in the garage.
The last weekend in May I drained almost all the gas out of it and put 3 to 4 gal. of fresh gas in and also put in a half can of sea foam, put the choke on and started,after a second or two shut the choke off and the sled died. Tried again with same results.
I took my paperwork back to the dealer that worked on it and told them I was still having the same problem.
There reponse was that they would not take reposibilty for the gas that was in it(understandable) and that they would diagnose it again but anything they did after that would be a charge. The first bill was 460.00.
Should I take it back or go some where else?

Want to add something, on the day that I put fresh gas and sea foam and started the sled it was warm and humid,could this have had anything to do with it shutting down when the choke was turned off? like starving for air maybe!?!
Again not sure what to do?
(Skyler do you work on other peoples sleds?)
 
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Professor PC

Banned
first off check that can u used out....peer into bottom of it and see if there is fine grains of sand or fiberglass in the freakin gas can....probably sand or water if that can was not clean enough to drink out of.....god i remember YAMAHAMA TRIPLES....what a PIA....if so.....take off carbs and claen them out again including jets....in like isoproply or acetone or 200 proof ethanol alcohol....put back but be careful as HOPEFULLY they SYNCED THOSE CARBS.....those MUST BE sync'ed....if not


i cannot fathom why on this earth you'd put sea foam (which is GREEN MAPLE SLUDGE after 6 months) into a newly clean and calibrated freakin tripple lunger.....(BANG HEAD HERE)......once clean....put in PREMIUM....do not....i repeat.....do not pull a NON-ARCTIC owner move and cheap out and buy reclaimed gas for 20 cents less a gallon.....that causes 200 dollars in damage....>DOH......use ONLY high grade PREMIUM from a reputable company and gas station ON SHORE......no boat tanks.....company like PHILIPS 66....or BP AMOCO.....or SHELL.....or MARATHON.....no freaking WALLY'S SMOKE SHOP GAS or you'll want to kill wally and he has the cigars you need....so no....don't do that otay

get goin.....you gots some detective work to do.....than get back to us as to whether you should take it back in with a GALLON OF HIGH PRESSURE GREASE IN YOUR HAND THIS TIME
 
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booondocker

New member
I can see both sides on this...they think you should have run the sled and if you had issues, bring it back quickly. On the other hand, if they wanted you as a longer term customer, some flexibility here would have made you just that...a longer term customer.

It is pretty likely that they didn't get the problem on the first go around, and even though you used it slightly, you didn't get the machine to have the same problem.

Hazarding a guess, this could be fuel pump, plugged filter, fuel pickup problem, or more crap in the carb plugging up jets.

Personally, I would take it to someone who knows sleds, (not necessarily a dealer at all) and pull the carbs and rebuild them. This assures that there is nothing in the carbs that would keep the sled from running.

Then, if that doesn't fix it, take it to a different dealer who has been highly recommended by some fellow JOHN DEE followers in your area, and see what they have to say.

Sea foam won't do much if you have particles of rubber or other substances in the fuel tank, fuel lines, or carb bowls.
 
indy_500

indy_500

Well-known member
xcr440 said:
$460 to clean carbs and power valves? Wow.
Click to expand...

I was thinking the same thing!

Try to find a friend that knows how to clean carbs (not that hard to clean) and clean them very thoroughly one more time to see if that fixes the problem. Or take it to some guy that's not a dealer.
 
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acatzl550

New member
its not starving for air if it shuts off when you turn the choke off, it would be running too lean if it only ran with the choke on
 
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cat_man_mike

New member
Wow Professor, a little harsh on the guy? First, I did not see anywhere in his post where he bought "20 cent a gallon" gas to put in his sled. All he said was "fresh gas". Second, there is nothing wrong with sea foam. How can something that preserves gas the same as Sta-bil, turn into "green maple sludge after 6 months". I have had cans of the stuff on the shelf for years and had absolutely no problem when using them. Mabye you missunderstood the person who told you to use it and used actual foam from the sea which would become a problem after much less time than 6 months. Third, the wife comment was uncalled for. If I was Field Mouse I would be pretty P/Oed at that comment!
$460 does not really seem all that high when you consider what some shops are charging for labor these days, especially a dealer.
Most dealers should be understanding of the limited time spent on these machines and know that a problem could take time to show up again if not fixed properly. I would call the dealer and tell them you are unhappy with their attitude twards the problem and are going to take your buisness elsewhere and warn your friends of their practices. They may become more reasonable and work a deal with you or they may tell you where to go and how to get there, in which case I would definately find a non-dealer shop to take it to.
I would agree with boondocker. Fuel filter would be the first thing I would check, then I would drop the bowls on the carbs and look for gunk, then I would check my fuel pump. To answer your other question, no, temp and humidity should have no effect on this problem.
 
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Skylar

Super Moderator
Staff member
I would be extremely pissed if I got a bill for 460 dollars to clean the carbs and the power valves. Are you freaking kidding me? Did they have to replace some parts? Is it a reputable dealer? Who worked on it, a tech, or the teenage kid who slaps on the skis on a new sled? They should take care of this for you, does it look like they cleaned the carbs?

I honestly would take it somehwere else. Not sure where you are located, but sometimes it's worth the drive to take something to a good dealer.
 
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samc

New member
$460 to clean carbs and power valves is ridiculous. Personally, I'd look for a new dealership to bring the sled into and be done with the other one.
 
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98panther

New member
There is a Dealer in the Twincities like that. I don't go there anymore. But you can hardly blame them after that long.

Carb cleaning is yearly deal for me, I don't even think about it. Every year all the sleds we have are all done before the season starts. The joys of 2 cycle engines. no matter how they are put away, 1 or 2 will have trouble. So we just do them all.
 
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G

Guest
$460 to clean carbs and power valves is obscene. It sounds like they do not want repeat business so by all means take it somewhere else. Also, I have used SeaFoam for 15 years and will continue to use it. I don't care if it is made out of pine tar and goat drool. It is wonderful stuff and it works.
 
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field_mouse

New member
Just want to thank everyone for their input....even you Professor! Everyone is intitled to their own thoughts, if I did not want them or expect to get them I would not have posted!

Still unsure what I want to do with this situation but I will figure something out.

Skyler my cabin is located in Waushara Cty, and I thought you were over in Adams Cty that is why asked about working on other peoples sleds, maybe I am wrong on your location!

One more quick question were is the fuel filter located?

Please feel free to keep the ideas coming!
Thanks again!
 
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yamarage07

New member
I used to own a sxviper. I found that if you let them sit all summer long you always had to have the carbs cleaned before you could ride when it snowed the following winter.What I started doing was going out to the garage and firing it up once a month or so and never had another problem with it. plus you'll get the joy of hearing that triple purr.is it winter yet?
 
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booondocker

New member
field_mouse said:
Just want to thank everyone for their input....even you Professor! Everyone is intitled to their own thoughts, if I did not want them or expect to get them I would not have posted!

Still unsure what I want to do with this situation but I will figure something out.

Skyler my cabin is located in Waushara Cty, and I thought you were over in Adams Cty that is why asked about working on other peoples sleds, maybe I am wrong on your location!

One more quick question were is the fuel filter located?

Please feel free to keep the ideas coming!
Thanks again!
Click to expand...


Mouse man....start by pulling the seat and fuel tank and cleaning that crap out of there (if there is any...and there could be) then...

Inspect the fuel pickup....if you put lots of stuff in your tank to "make her run better" you could dissolve some of the fuel parts (no kidding...you would think that they would make all this stuff safe for those chemicals you dump in there, wouldn't yah?)

Then clean the hose (might consider replacing it too) and work your way forward to the carbs. Eventually you will find the entire fuel delivery system and then you will KNOW that it is not that. Unfortunately, the carbs will fill with "stuff" even when you clean the carbs IF there is stuff for the fuel to deliver to the carbs...so this is why it is always good to start at the tank and move forward....you will be surprised about all the stuff you find along the way.

Oh, and sometimes the fuel pickup is the only fuel filter on the machine...not that familar with your viper, other than knowing that they were tempermental machines....but if there is a filter futher up the pipe, you will find it eventually. (couldn't hurt to do a parts check on the specific unit at one of the online parts places and this could help you find all sorts of things.)

Now get in there boy....and find the issue....you can't use the machine if you wait too long...and NOW is the time to fix them....not when your hands freeze off!
 
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