Now that I've spent some time poking around on these things, I can comprehend all of what you're saying
@spitanddirt. Definitely should have cleaned the check valves when I cleaned the tanks out. Oh well, I've got time.
Forgot about these things for a while. Was on furlough due to Covid for about two months. Also was busy finishing up another semester of college and working on the truck (AC repairs). Swapped the toolbox from the trailer to the truck because my $900 cover rotted out. This sparked my interest in them again.
Since compression was good to go, I started ordering parts.
- Fuel valve and gasket for each
- Fuel filter for each
- Rave valve gaskets for the 97
- carb base gaskets for each
- oil injection line kit for each
- gallon of the expensive XPS synthetic 2 stroke oil
- induction tach to set idle
Things I still need to order
- Carb rebuild kits (more on this later)
- Registration letter/number kit for the 96
- Air cleaner seal for the 96
- Choke cable set screw on the 97
- carb bracket to exhaust bolt on the 97
- carb bolt washer on the 96
- water regulator boot for the 97
- Tires, 2x4 runners, padded marine carpet, taillights, hub bearings for trailer
Started off by cleaning the sludge built up in the hull of each. Then pulled the carbs off the 97. The only snag was a stripped out set screw on the choke cable
That was a long 45 minutes. Also found the air cleaner cover seal was missing on the 96.
A few days later I pulled the rave valves off the 97 and cleaned them. Also pulled the water regulator and found the clip had rusted completely and punctured the boot. I'll secure the new boot with a ziptie.
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At this point, I decided pulling the trailer into the driveway and working in the sun was not ideal so I built a couple dollies out of some furniture dollies and 2x4s. They are safely tucked in my parent's garage temporarily. They sit just low enough to give me a back ache after working on them for even a short period of time.
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At this point, I built a pop off tester and this is where things kind of went sideways. The po never could get the 96 to run correctly. When I checked pop off on the mag carb, all was well. No leak from the needle, pop off was in spec. The PTO carb on the other hand had a huge air leak out of the pump cover on the carb. I believe I found out why it wouldn't run and would bog out.
I moved to the 97 mag carb and found the needle and seat was leaking. Pop off was also in spec. Didn't bother checking the PTO. 2 out of 4 carbs needing a rebuild is enough for me. I went to order the OSD "back to oem" kits and they are out of stock until at least June 10th thanks to Commifornia not allowing Mikuni to ship parts (I'm guessing because the state is on lockdown?). So that's a bump in the road and delaying me a bit.
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Since I had time to wait for carb rebuild kits, I decided to pull the gas and oil tanks out of both to clean them out. I siphoned all four out and then used fresh gas to cut the build up. Let them sit overnight, dumped them, then reinstalled. Seemed to do the trick. Some brake parts cleaner and a rag worked wonders for the gunky build up on the outside. Also replaced the fuel valves and filters on both.
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Moved on to the oil injection lines. The old lines weren't even clamped on. Just slipped onto the nipples. The kit for the 96 was barely enough line to work and the 97 had several inches of excess. I should've cut to fit but, meh.
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With nothing left to do at this point, I decided to "restore" the hood of the 96. I used a map torch and heated the plastic to make it look new. It won't last but it looks a little better.
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Once the carb kits are back in stock, I can really get moving on these. On my next day off, I'm going to address the trailer.