carb rebuild question trailfire 440

[johnpdo]

Bought a trailfire 440 that was not running, but ran last year. Replaced fuel lines and filter, cleaned fuel tank, and pump. Chem dipped the carb. All ports seem perfect now, but won't start.
I have been trying to read everywhere, but I'm new at this carb rebuild. Do you screw the pilot jet all the way in, or does it need to be left out a 1/4 to 1/2 turn?
Air screw is at 1 turn out.
Any help would be great!

[kreechur]

Unscrew the idle speed adjuster and tighten just to the point it starts to raise the throttle valve, then give two full turns. That will get you to a point it will start. Have you checked compression in both cylinders and possibly that the crank seals need to be replaced.

[harleysportster]

Bought a trailfire 440 that was not running, but ran last year. Replaced fuel lines and filter, cleaned fuel tank, and pump. Chem dipped the carb. All ports seem perfect now, but won't start.
I have been trying to read everywhere, but I'm new at this carb rebuild. Do you screw the pilot jet all the way in, or does it need to be left out a 1/4 to 1/2 turn?
Air screw is at 1 turn out.
Any help would be great!

The pilot jet should be seated snugly, but not over-torqued. You can easily strip the screw-driver slots. Did you remove this when cleaning the carb?
Do you have the fuel pump hooked up correctly? Look for the directional arrows of flow.

[johnpdo]

Thanks for the responses. I took out the pilot valve when I cleaned the carb. Everything came out for the cleaning. It put it back in snug, but not tight. Everything was good, I thought. I wasn't getting fuel into the bowl, so checked the pump and it shot a nice stream of fuel when hand pulled on the recoil starter. I adjusted the float levers and fuel is now flowing into the bowl. I will do the idle screw adjustment tomorrow. My shoulder is sore from all the cranking yesterday, lol. I have not checked the compressions on the cylinders, but it occasionally fires and runs for 5 seconds or so when I use a spritz of ether (that was before I realized I wasn't getting fuel to the carb). Pulled the plugs, and they were wet, so left them out for the cylinders to dry out. BTW, feels like good compression when I pull the starter, and my shoulder agrees. Plugs show good spark when out and grounded, so I'm sure it's the air/fuel mix. Thanks again, and tomorrow is the day!

[jdrob]

Johnpdo First off check compression and the crank seals ! The air mix screw should be turned out between 3/4 to 1 full turn ! Turn the idle screw in all the way make sure the carb slide is up ! Its sounds like to me that you have the carb close to where it should be ! my guess is the crank seals are leaking ! Here is a little trick after you check for compression and it shows good ! spray some ether down behind the primary clutch and give her a couple pulls ! If it still does not start pull the exhaust off of the Y pipe and give that a try ! If you have moisture in your exhaust , old fuel that didn't ignite you will pull til the cows come home and she won't start ! hope this helps

[lwb140]

hang on, hang on ,hang on ... there were references made to 3 different carb adjustments or parts let them not be confused , the pilot jet as pat suggested screws up into the botton of the crb body and should be snugged , not to be confused with the idle mixture screw which should be screwed in til it stops and backed out 1 1/2 turns for a start point and as was suggested the idle speed screw [which hangs out the side of the carb with the spring around it ] should be adjusted per specs too , all good advise , just dont mistake or confuse which function jet or screw you are asking about or wrenching on wade

[johnpdo]

OK, narrowing down my problem. I think the problem is with the idle system/pilot jet. As I said, everything was cleaned with the chem dip, and all orifices seem clear of obstruction. Snugged the pilot jet in, after checking the operation of the floats. Set the air screw to 1 turn, and the idle speed screw to 2. Got some help from the neighbor to crank it over, and no joy. I messed with the carb while he cranked. If I raised the throttle body by 1/3 the engine turned over, and idled. I adjusted the throttle body valve on top of the carb until I had a good idle at 2000, then the motor would rev up perfect and sounded fine and responsive. Now, I know that isn't the right way to adjust it, but it showed me the engine would run on the main jet. When correctly set, not enough air in the carb, and it would flood. I will have to get a gauge to check compression, and will check the seals. I'm sure they need replacing. Sled only has 88 hours on the meter.If I take the air screw out, and shoot some air in there, it comes out the back side of the carb, so I don't know what is going on. The exhaust seems to be OK, I guess I could pull it to be sure. Our first chance of measurable snow will be tomorrow, and it won't last 2 days. No forecast for more, so I probably have until next season to get this running. Thanks for the help!

[johnpdo]

OK, just venting. Now know why the sled was cheap. Checked the compression and got 0 and 75. Ordered a gasket and seal kit, and am hoping when I get time to tear it down, the pistons are good. May end up being a total rebuild. At least I'm learning about the sled.

[harleysportster]

OK, just venting. Now know why the sled was cheap. Checked the compression and got 0 and 75. Ordered a gasket and seal kit, and am hoping when I get time to tear it down, the pistons are good. May end up being a total rebuild. At least I'm learning about the sled.

Good luck with your investigation. A 0 reading is not good, It good have a hole in the piston or worse. The Trailfire engine is an easy engine to work on.