440 Trailfire

[farmerson]

Hi my 440 Trailfire LX Electric Start is giving me problems. Im not sure what engine it has but when you get over about 2/3 throttle it runs great for just a few seconds and then it starts to die out. and if you try to save it, it acts like you just flipped the kill switch. then you stop let it sit a second and choke it and restart it, it runs great for a little while then does the same thing. it has new plugs fuel filter and new fuel line. Could i have a bad batch of gas? It seems to me like it is sucking air or a line is collapsing when you get to full throttle. but i cant figure it out. Also when you get to full throttle it kinda rattles but im thinking it is the battery box because it is a little loose. Im not sure of the year but i have the registration from the previous owner so i can find out what year it is. Thanks for any help.

[EL DIABLO]

You might want to try giving your carburator a good cleaning(that's what I would do first)

I also had an issue with my liqufire 440 where it would run and then die out and not restart...it ended up being a bad CDI box (could be a contributor to your problem), might want to also check out your fuel pump? Not sure if these are solutions to your problems but just giving some ideas of what I would be looking into!~

Hope this helps and Good Luck

[kreechur]

I had a somewhat similar issue with a sled of mine that was electric start... It would turn over and start the engine just fine, but mine would idle fine, but from idle to half throttle it acted like i had fouled out spark plug and bog out. I disconnected one of the batter cables from the battery and sled ran perfect. Replaced the battery and haven't had a problem. The battery must have been bad and drawing too much of a load from the ignition electrical circuit while trying to charge...

[farmerson]

EL DIABLO- When you are saying you pump your taking about the little box with the gas comin from the tank and then goin to the carb and has the little line goin to the crank case right? and Whats the CDI box and where is it located?

kreechur- i have a brand new battery in it so i dont think its that but i will try that and see if it helps. the sled dont idle worth the heck. it will idle for maybe 30 seconds and die.

[johnnycyclone]

It might help to know a little more history on the sled. How old are the crank seals, have they been changed recently? Has the carb been disassembled and cleaned? Have you rebuilt the fuel pump? What is the condition of the impulse line, does it have any signs of cracking? Was the fuel line, and screen inside the tank replaced, is it even there? It's pretty much a process of elimination until you find the problem. I would start with the basics first, like cleaning the carb, and then move on to the more complex possibilities. Anything that you suspect could be wrong, will either need to be cleaned, or replaced.

Terre

[kreechur]

Like Johnnycyclone said, it could be crank seals or engine gasket. While the sled is running spray some carb cleaner around all gasket surfaces and by the crank seal. Also spray around the carb boots. If the engine idle changes either up or down, there is a bad seal/engine gasket...

The CDI is located on the block on the intake side right next to the recoil (at least i think it's there). Not sure if it can be tested or not.

[farmerson]

I personally dont know much about it. i bought it for 350 bucks at a sale last spring and thats all i know about it haha.

[jdrob]

Farmerson first thing you do is replace those seals !! mainly the one behind the clutch ! after that , start it up and get yourself a can of carb cleaner or starting fluid and spray engine down white its running ! If you have any leaks the fluid will find it and rev up or change idle !! Besides cleaning the carbs, replacing all the fuel lines, cleaning the tank out , and rebuilding the fuelpump always always always replace the seals !!! Also check you plugs and make sure their a cardboard color !! hope this helps ! Seals are available through dennis kirk !! and cheap

good luck Rob

[JDT]

I'll put my money on a plugged up exhaust pipe.

Disconnect the exhuast and see what happens.

Mice love to pack sleds mufflers full of goodies.

[farmerson]

jdrob- i aint wantin to put much money in this sled just because im from ohio and if we even get enough snow to run sleds it dont last long or its a dry snow thats not any fun to ride in.

JDT- ill have to try that. iv got 2 other JD sled both with busted tracks that i can take an exhaust off of. The one is a good runnin sled just needs a track. and the other one is a cyclone 440 that is about junk.

[farmerson]

Ok i think my motor is shot. I pulled the plugs out of it and the left one if you sittin on the seat was good but the right one was all chewed up looked like it had something sittin there chippin at it. Im not sure what caused it but it had sharp spot on it where it had hit. but i put new plugs in it and a muffler off another sled that runs perfect so i know there is no mouse nest in it haha. it did change in tone and before it was blowin smoke back out the connection between the manifold and the exhaust its not now. but it seems to be sharting harder than before and it ran good for about 20 mins and then it started to die out if i let out of the throttle at all so i had to keep it full throttle. but if i kept it there it would run good. but i started to come to the barn and i had to stop and then set there and had to keep it running and then it died and wouldnt restart hot. its been a couple hours now so i might go see if it will restart. but i did the deal with ether to check for leaks and it didnt seem to find anything. so im thinking its fuel or spark or maybe a bad motor cause of that plug.

[78440liquid]

With that rattle at full throttle you described and the condition of the plug I wouldn't be surprised if you have a piston hitting that plug. I would try pulling the plug out and shining a light in the cylinder to see what the top of the piston looks like. Joel

[farmerson]

I was thinking that might be what it was. but if it is im not going to rebuild the engine. I have another trailfire 440 that is not electric start. but has a cover over where the starter is on my sled. will it have a ring gear for the starter and how hard would it be to convert over?

[JDT]

If the piston is hitting the spark plug there can be several casues.

The first thing to check is to see if the sparkplug is not the correct one. It maybe too long.

The piston may not be correct. Somebody may have installed a piston with the correct bore but the wrist pin location was too low.

The connecting rod upper or lower bearing may be shot. This allows the piston to over travel.

The head may not be correct or has been shaved just a little to much.

[lwb140]

of maybe the crank seals are shot causing a meltdown and the material on the plug is molten piston

like was suggested reguardless of price paid or value of the sled if the seals are shot the sled wont run well and will self distuct sooner than later

here in central IN there are tons on vintage sleds jammed in barns .every winter kids with just enough mechanical knowledge to get some of these out and running will call me with the same comments " now i really dont want to work on this thing or spend any money on it either "" just want to ride it a little" but then are upset when the thing burns up over a set of $5.00 seals and a couple hours to put them in go figure


in my shop now i have an ss440 a couple of young men dropped off that "cant have much wrong with it , we just had it running " that has 40 lbs on one side and 80 lbs on the other ... anyhow wade