1975 John Deere 300 carb issues

[Deereruner]

Help! I have a 1970something John Deere 300 and my carb is bad. Can I get a pump and put any carb on there, or do I need a specific carb. I would get a mikuni carb but it is too expensive for my budget and I can’t find a rebuild kit for my walbro carb. I was wondering if I could get any old float bowl carb off Amazon?

[400brian]

The cheapest way to get your sled running would probably be to buy a good used Walbro for your sled. Rebuild kits are not that expensive, but you have to start with a good carb. They are getting to be 50 years old, and time has taken its toll. The correct carb for a 300 in 74 and 75 would be a WDB-31, and that number will be stamped on the carb flange where it bolts to the intake.

I do not know what kind of condition your sled is in, and if you post some photos we can talk about it. But here is the deal: 50 year old sleds do not lend themselves to quick fixes. Because of their age, generally there are a lot of things that need to be replaced. The crank shaft seals need to be replaced first thing. The fuel system has to be completely gone through, and then there are bearings in the driveline, on the cooling fan, and the fan belt. The cost of a new carb, no matter what you buy, is just the start.

[Deereruner]

It’s in pretty rough shape, but do you think I would be able to buy a predator 212 from Home Depot and engine swap?

[snowmoer]

Throwing a predator 212 on can work, but you will be sinking way more money, time, and fabrication into the sled to get it running somewhat right. The clutches will not fit and you will have to come up with some sort of drive system. You will not have the power or speed that you will once you get the current 2 stroke motor running.

Here are parts for your sled.

https://newbreedparts.com/pages/product ... ere~md_300

A replacement carb in on page 1. The fuel pump rebuild kit for your carb is on page 3. Just clean the carb you have really good or take it to a shop that can do it if you are not comfortable with doing it. It will definitely need the rebuild kit on page 3. The crank seals are also listed. You definitely need to do those.

Most of the cheap carbs on Amazon are junk. They are China knock offs and are not made like a factory carb or a Mikuni. You may get it to run, but most likely it will not run right. You are better off checking snowmobile salvage yards for the correct carb or a VM 30 or 32 Mikuni. Then you will need to get the jetting right. Just do an on line search for snowmobile salvage yards and start looking. If you go with the Mikuni, you are also going to need a separate fuel pump.