just bought a 82 trailfire

[sportfury70]

Hi guys. I just bought an 82 traifire 440. Got a few problems. First is it is hard to start when cold or warm. Then, it will not run right until almost full throttle, then it takes off. I had the carb rebuilt and the tech told me it had a 25 jet in it and an old needle and seat. He put in a 30 jet and gave me a 35 to try. It ran the best with the 30 so I put that back in. After reading several posts sounds like I need to look into a crank seal issue. Definately seems like a lean condition.

Second problem is, the suspension bottoms out just by putting the weight of one leg on it. Is there an adjustment or something I should look for there?

Third problem is, when i go full throttle the sled chatters terrible until I back off. Could this be a result og the suspension problem? I know these are probably difficult to diagnose without actually seeing what is taking place, but I thought maybe there are some common issues to look for. Thanks for any help.

One last thing. Where are parts available for JD sleds? Any snowmobile shop? Thanks. Lewis

[lwb140]

lewis. those are great sleds , cranks seals when leaking can make your sled have any number of weird runability issues ,and by far the hardest part of putting them in is pulling the clutch and flywheel .it is absoulutely a good idea to replace them and get that behind you , tuning on the carb is futal with leaky seals ,your fuel pump may not be working properly either seals are dirt cheap and can be ordered from dennis kirk or most like suppliers , wade

[JDT]

The track tension may be too losse and the chattering is the drive sprockets slipping on the track lugs.

The saging may be old, tired or broken springs.

I would remove the slide suspension sytem and look it over real good.

Also it would be advisable to address all the issues before you drive it as things can go from bad to worst real fast.

As for crankseals do it right away before you blow that engine up.

[tmartin]

Your trailfire sounds like it need crank seals. They are a lipped seal and should be replaced by splitting the bottom end. Like what was mentioned above the clutch and flywheel are going to be bears to pull. You should put a new needle and seat in the carb and go with stock jetting. I put a rubber tipped needle in mine from a polaris dealer i work at. If you need a fuel pump kit go with a genuine mikuni one rather than winderosa. HI REFOFMANCE ENGINEERS has these. They have a website. Te suspension problem is either from a broken spring or a shock that is bad. Shocks are tricky to find. I matched up a front ski shock from a yamaha and so far have had no trouble with it. There is also tension adjustment and two spring postitions for the suspension. The chattering is probably track tension or chaincase tension. ALso check belt condition and bearings in the jack and drive shaft. A pdf service manual can be found at vintagesnow.com and has all the information you will need. Hope this helps.

[sportfury70]

Thanks guys. I bought a JD tech manual for the trailfire, sounds like I'm going to be needing it. Lewis

[jdtrailfire80]

Sounds like similar issues that I had. I have not had time to mess with mine.
this site helped me. Good Luck Henry S.

http://www.vintagesnow.com/John_Deere.html

[sportfury70]

Thanks guys. It is oil injected, but the person I bought it from said he did not trust it and mixed it 50:1 but still kept the oil tank full. Any harm in that?

What is the average life (mileage) for the engine, track, etc. The odometer reads 3600 but the cable is broken. I bought it just to beat around the field with the kids but now I think I want to fix it up nice. Thanks. Lewis

[jdsnowfire]

after replacing the crankseals-pretty much a requirement unless you want to burn up a piston. the cleated track is the weakest point-especialy on a 440. i have 4 trailfires 3 440's and one 340. two of the 440's have broken the cleated track. one now has a liquifire conversion, the other a kimplex solid rubber track. the stock track just cant quite handle the power of the 440. on the 82 which has a slightly wider track it will probably hold up longer than on the 79-81's, but i whould still watch watch it pretty close, because a track will tear up a tunnel pretty bad when it goes.

[lwb140]

if you want to check your oil injection one way ive heard of people doing is to fill oli and gas tank , run for several miles then fill both tanks back up measuring amounts required to fill them ,then see if they are being used anywhere near 50:1 ratio just an idea