Cant get 85 tecate to start to save my life.

[austin1990]

I need some help to get this thing to run, ive basically built this thing from the frame up and put in a a swinehart flywheel and a perfect working stator. But for the first problem: The carb floods like crazy out the overflows as soon as i turn the petcock on, the floats aren't stuck or anything and i have been through the whole carb, hoping you guys suggestions will help me figure this out, this is the first question because this seems like the most likely problem right now causing it not to start.

[badass350x]

There as to be dirt or something stuck around the needle and seat, how old is the carb? Did it set the whole time you were rebuilding the trike? If you have rebuilt the carb then I would say you might have a faulty float valve!

[Scootertrash]

Well, if fuel runs out the overflows there is an issue with the needle/seat/floats, something is not shutting off the fuel flow after the bowl is filled to the proper level. You just have to figure out which one.

Is the float level adjustable and is it set correctly? Did you actually measure it? Or just eyeball it?

Did you replace the needle and seat? Or did you use the old ones cuz "they looked OK" :rolleyes:

Start there and report back. ;)

[austin1990]

Alright thanks for the info, i actually bought the carb used because the trike didnt come with one but the guy i got the carb from said it was rebuilt and never run.

And i have admit i "just eyeballed it" but will measure it thursday or next time i get to work on it.

The carb came with two different slides and i have yet to figure out which one is right but both fit just have slight differences.

The more i think about it i think the needle wast set on the 2nd groove from the top and not the 4th, that could be causing it to flood but not overflow out the overflows right?

[Scootertrash]

The more i think about it i think the needle wast set on the 2nd groove from the top and not the 4th, that could be causing it to flood but not overflow out the overflows right?

That could cause it to run lean at wide open throttle since the needle is sitting farther into the main jet. It would not cause it to overflow thru the overflow tubes.

Just because the guy you bought it from said it was rebuilt doesn't mean it was ;)

If I was you, I would disassemble the carb and check to make sure all the correct parts are in the carb. Make sure you have the correct fuel needle and seat, make sure the o-ring is in place around the seat assembly, make sure that the fuel shut off needle is in good shape.

Are the floats hollow? If they are put them up by your ear and shake them to be sure they haven't filled with fuel from a crack or a broken solder joint on a seam.

Looking at the microfiche it appears that depending on the serial number of the machine there were different parts for the carbs, like the floats and float arms. Make sure you have the correct parts in your carb.

Link to microfiche:
http://partsfinder.onlinemicrofiche.com/bristowsinc/Kawasaki_OEM/KawasakiATV.asp?Type=13&A=264&B=4

[austin1990]

Alright thanks for that info and ill try those suggestions when i get some extra time. But putting the carb issue aside for a minute i have a new problem...

I went to take the stator/flywheel cover off today and guess what dripped out when i took it off, a mixture of gas and oil :wondering ughhh so any thoughts on that? i know it probably came from the crank bearing seal but thats brand stupid new! But why on earth would there be gas in the oil to? i checked the oil in the case and it didnt seem to have any gas in it.

Never owned a 2 stroke trike before but have alot of experience with 2-stroke snowmobiles but have never had this many problems

[austin1990]

Also the carb i have for it is a mikuni, is that correct for a 85?

[Scootertrash]

My guess is that some of the fuel that overflowed out of the carb ran down the block and got behind the cover that way. Is the flywheel cover gasket in place?

Is there a drain plug for the crankcase? Try removing it if there is one and see if your crankcase is full of fuel. (crankcase, not transmission. ;))

[beets442]

From it flooding, it has filled in the crankcase. Be careful cause you can bend a rod from too much fuel in the case. Pull out plug and stroke to see if fuel comes out.

[Scootertrash]

Also the carb i have for it is a mikuni, is that correct for a 85?

Couldn't tell ya, I'm not a tecate guy. You could call a dealer if no one here answers. If you don't get an answer here in a day or two, I'll try and figger something out for you. ;)

[fabiodriven]

34mm round slide Mikuni is factory, yes.

[El Camexican]

Suggest you send some close-up photos of that carb so we can makes sure it even belongs on a 2 stroke and then go from there, starting as has been said, by getting any fuel out of your crankcase safely and then setting up that carb and dry testing the float needle and setting the height. We'll also need to know what jets are in it before you go fire up the trike.

[Yamaha_Rules69]

It sounds to me like the floats are in upside down. Gas will not come out that bad from a worn float needle, unless the needle was missing. If it was a worn needle, you would likely see a ring worn in the rubber portion of the needle, where it meets the seat and plugs the hole, but it would just be a slight drip of gas here and there, not pouring out as soon as you turn on the gas. Take the bowl off and make sure the floats are not in upside down. You can flip them, that little rubber circle piece pulls off the top of the float shafts. Look in the manual as you go, so you can see how it all goes.

[Scootertrash]

So they can be put in upside down? I was going to post that but didn't want to sound like a maroon. That's a good thing to know. Thanks for posting that!

[El Camexican]

So they can be put in upside down? I was going to post that but didn't want to sound like a maroon. That's a good thing to know. Thanks for posting that!

Yea, not hard at all, but I'm not even sure you can get the bowl back on some carbs if the floats are upside down. It's always a red flag when someone took the time to "rebuild" something and then never used it. I just hope no one sold this guy a carb from a 4 stroke or something. Pics would help so much.

[Scootertrash]

Yea, I know they can be installed upside down but, as you said, getting the bowl in afterwards is a whole nother issue.

When I looked a the microfiche for his carb, I thought like they looked like it would be pretty easy to get the carb back together with the floats upside down, but wasn't sure.

You are correct about the "rebuilt but never used"

One mans "rebuilt" is another mans "took off the bowl, dumped all the crap out and put it back together" rebuilt

[Swinger]

How i everything else?? You got good spark? I went through this at trike fest this year and gas flowed out the carb but still ran for a minute! Then no spark.... CDI was the culprit!

[austin1990]

Alright thanks again, i am about to go out and go into the carb again and ill be sure to take some pics. And yes it has great spark but i havnt even been able to get it to pop let alone start.

[El Camexican]

Alright thanks again, i am about to go out and go into the carb again and ill be sure to take some pics. And yes it has great spark but i havnt even been able to get it to pop let alone start.

- Take at least four photos that show the carb from both sides and front and back
- Measure the inside of the smallest end (the one that faces the motor and fits into the manifold) and post the measurment
- Note and post any numbers on the outside of the carb body
- Pull the float cover off, hold the carb upright with the floats hanging down and take a photo from the side
- See if you can remove the pilot and main jet and post the numbers you see on them

This will give us a good start.

[El Camexican]

It you get bored and just want to know if it will run with a good carb, take the trike outside (NOT on your lawn). Shut the ignition off, pull the spark plug out, put a large rag above the spark plug hole (Leave at least 2" of space or you'll suck the rag into the hole) and kick it over a half dozen times. Watch your eyes as I suspect a lot of fuel will come out. Wipe it all away, get rid of the rag and kick it over a few more times to make sure it’s free of fuel. Then make sure there is no gas pooled up anywhere on or around the trike and put a good plug in it. Turn on the ignition and spray a good shot (say for 3 seconds) of WD-40 into the open reed cage and kick the engine over. If all is well it should fire if not run for a split second. If it does fire like that it should run once the carb is sorted out. Considering how much gas you’ve said has leaked out of that thing you may want to have a fire extinguisher nearby as well..

[austin1990]

Alright well just spent a few hours on it and ended up fixing the carb (pics will be up soon, ounce i get them uploaded) they are not all the ones you wanted because i took them before i read your post El but if you still need those after i upload the other ones just let me know and ill get them up.
I tryd what you said to see if it would start but no luck, i thought i had good spark but i just check by putting my hand on the coil wire and turning it over (Stupid I know) and it seemed like tons of spark but i finally tryd checking spark with a plug and sure enough its not showing any spark, even swapped out the stator with no luck same thing as the first one no spark at the plug. Sorry for all this trouble but i greatly appreciate the help and am happy to learn more.

[El Camexican]

Alright well just spent a few hours on it and ended up fixing the carb (pics will be up soon, ounce i get them uploaded) they are not all the ones you wanted because i took them before i read your post El but if you still need those after i upload the other ones just let me know and ill get them up.
I tryd what you said to see if it would start but no luck, i thought i had good spark but i just check by putting my hand on the coil wire and turning it over (Stupid I know) and it seemed like tons of spark but i finally tryd checking spark with a plug and sure enough its not showing any spark, even swapped out the stator with no luck same thing as the first one no spark at the plug. Sorry for all this trouble but i greatly appreciate the help and am happy to learn more.

Someone here will help you out with that. Looking forward to the photos of the trike.

[austin1990]

Ok here are the pics of the carb

On the side:
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k632/austin1990mx/tecatecarb125.jpg

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k632/austin1990mx/tecatecarb126.jpg

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k632/austin1990mx/tecatecarb127.jpg

http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k632/austin1990mx/tecatecarb128.jpg

And floats were in the right way:
http://i1119.photobucket.com/albums/k632/austin1990mx/tecatecarb129.jpg

[austin1990]

And a link to what the trikes looks like after some building

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/146170-WTD-85-Tecate-T3-parts/page3

[Yamaha_Rules69]

So you said you got the carb fixed - what was the problem with it? Also, if you have a manual handy, take a look at the troubleshooting section, and see if you can track down the spark issue, it will give you some good tips and ideas on what to check first, and what to check last. You can do most of the checks with a decent digital voltmeter. You could have saved some time switching the stator, all you had to do was test with the ohm setting on the multimeter.

[austin1990]

To fix the carb i finally figured it was something to do with the float so i decided to bend the "tang" on the float in a little (like the manual says) so it wouldn't flood and its great now.
Yeah i searched high and low for my multimeter and i cant find the thing anywhere, but I am thinking its either the cdi or coil, i have an extra cdi and ill swap them out to see if thats the problem if thats not it, time for a new coil to.

[Scootertrash]

Did you set the float arms to the spec in the manual or did you just bend the tang until it quit overflowing? You need to set it to the height in the specs if you didn't already.

[austin1990]

Yes i set the float arms to the spec the manual said, still have a very very week spark tryd a different cdi but im thinking its probably the coil or the "tested" (or so i was told) Stator. When i find my multimeter ill be able to figure it out hopefully.

[just ben]

Yes i set the float arms to the spec the manual said which manual? that is not the stock carb.Check to mAKE SURE THE COIL Is GROUNDED GOOD. besides the pos stator the ignition is pretTY BUllet prooF. Sorry my PUTer keeps going to caps locK on IT"S Own.damn walmart junk

[Scootertrash]

Sorry my PUTer keeps going to caps locK on IT"S Own.damn walmart junk

http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-laughing001.gif (http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php)

[austin1990]

Ok thats to funny, scootertrash thumb it up nicely. I used the online PDF manual, i had a feeling it wasnt a stock carb. I will double check the coil tomorrow for a good ground when i get some time.

[austin1990]

Ok so how do i test the stator?

[austin1990]

never mind i spent some time on it and found out im pretty sure its the coil/coil wire so theres going to be a new coil in its future ounce i figure out my paypal problem