Flooding question

[JakeVIII]

So I rebuilt a 2002 Trail Touring. Took it out on a quick run on the lake near my house, it was running great. Super satisfying.
Then it starts to bog down and lose idle. I looked down and noticed somehow I knocked the machine into half choke. It died.
I tried to fire it up and almost got it to go after a LOT of pulling. Even pulled the plugs and put it on its side- no go, but so dang close.

Wound up walking away- only about half a mile to get home and it was getting dark. I'll go back out tomorrow morning and it should fire up fine.

So, all that considered, is there something I could do next time I accidentally kick the machine into half choke for who knows how long and then it dies? Or am I missing something and something more complicated happened?

Also, yeah, I usually go out with others but this was super low stakes in -10 celsius weather, so...

 

[BeartoothBaron]

If I ever accidentally turned on the choke, I don't remember it being a big deal. I've had to swap plugs after rolling the sled over before (it dumps the fuel bowls into the intake). Usually if I hold it wide open and keep pulling it clears the gas out and fires up after a few pulls (and I'm very glad it's easier to pull over one-handed than my 800 when I do that). You might also want to try iridium plugs: they seem to foul a lot less easily. Finally, if it's really being a pain, pull the plugs, turn off the gas, hold the throttle open, and pull, pull, pull. Then put the plugs back in (fresh plugs, if possible), turn on the gas, and pull, pull, pull. But my experience, in most cases, is if it's just loaded up for whatever reason, holding the throttle open and pulling will get it started eventually.

 

[JakeVIII]

Nice, I gotta say I didn't hold the throttle open. Seems like that could have made all the difference.

The choke thing is weird, I was surprised the machine made that big of a fuss over it. But the choke being on half is the only thing that really changed to cause the shutdown.

 

[BigAir]

Nice, I gotta say I didn't hold the throttle open. Seems like that could have made all the difference.

The choke thing is weird, I was surprised the machine made that big of a fuss over it. But the choke being on half is the only thing that really changed to cause the shutdown.

Holding the throttle wide open is imperative and the key to starting any flooded, carbureted machine. Lots of times that will get the machine to start without pulling the plugs or doing anything else.

 

[Sage Crusher]

If your going to pull the plugs and pull..pull..pull....the recoil, when trying to clear the cylinders of excess fuel, hit the kill switch or key off on the older sleds... while doing that procedure.
Yeah remember to reverse that when attempting to fire it back up.
If memory serves me correctly, on the older Polaris there is hex drain plug on the bottom front of the block below- under the Y pipe - I used to have to open that up to drain excess fuel from when people excessively flooded their engine.

 

[BeartoothBaron]

Good point on the kill switch: you could get some fuel spraying out the plug holes and ignite it with a stray spark if you're not careful. I've never pulled the drain plugs in the field, but that's another possibility (I'm not sure on the 550 fan, but on my 600 they're right where @Sage Crusher said; bit of a pain to get to though).

Anyway, holding the throttle open makes a big difference if it floods out. Come to think of it, the time or two I switched plugs to get going was when I just started riding, and I can't remember if I tried holding it open. I did switch to the iridium plugs fairly early on too; not sure if that helped, or it was better flooded start technique. I do know I've flooded it out (usually rolling it over up on the hill), and in almost every case I just make sure the switches are on, hold it wide open, and it'll start after 4-6 pulls.

 

[whoisthatguy]

So I rebuilt a 2002 Trail Touring. Took it out on a quick run on the lake near my house, it was running great. Super satisfying.
Then it starts to bog down and lose idle. I looked down and noticed somehow I knocked the machine into half choke. It died.
I tried to fire it up and almost got it to go after a LOT of pulling. Even pulled the plugs and put it on its side- no go, but so dang close.

Wound up walking away- only about half a mile to get home and it was getting dark. I'll go back out tomorrow morning and it should fire up fine.

So, all that considered, is there something I could do next time I accidentally kick the machine into half choke for who knows how long and then it dies? Or am I missing something and something more complicated happened?

Also, yeah, I usually go out with others but this was super low stakes in -10 celsius weather, so...

Carry starter fluid, extra new plugs and the tools to change them. You might want to check your choke adjustment because it is supposed to have some freeplay, where you can pull the choke level straight out about 3/16" before the choke level on the carburetor actually starts to extract the choke pin. The plugs are probably fowled and no longer will work no matter how much you clean them.

 

[whoisthatguy]

If your going to pull the plugs and pull..pull..pull....the recoil, when trying to clear the cylinders of excess fuel, hit the kill switch or key off on the older sleds... while doing that procedure.
Yeah remember to reverse that when attempting to fire it back up.
If memory serves me correctly, on the older Polaris there is hex drain plug on the bottom front of the block below- under the Y pipe - I used to have to open that up to drain excess fuel from when people excessively flooded their engine.

But it is impossible to get to the drain plug with the exhaust in place and the engine in the sled.

 

[JakeVIII]

Thanks guys! Turns out I blew the PTO side piston because the oil line somehow popped out of the block by the clutch. I am sort of looking forward to boring out the cylinder and putting new pistons in. I will probably delete the oil pump, though, so this can't happen again

 

[whoisthatguy]

Thanks guys! Turns out I blew the PTO side piston because the oil line somehow popped out of the block by the clutch. I am sort of looking forward to boring out the cylinder and putting new pistons in. I will probably delete the oil pump, though, so this can't happen again

Big mistake. The PTO oil injection tube that became disconnected, injects oil directly into the critical PTO crankshaft end bearings. You also have a tube that injects oil directly into the MAG end bearing. 1/6th of every cup of oil that is burned, is injected into each end bearing. 1/3rd of every cup of oil that is burned is injected into each carburetor stream. Total oil burn rate is 1 part oil to 40 parts fuel. If you take out the oil pump then no oil will be injected into the end bearings that will inevitably result in a premature PTO end bearing failure. And then you have to mix the oil with the fuel, which is a pain in the butt. Plus the oil settles in the tank. It is difficult to get oil to the PTO end bearing, especially on the engines where the crankcase contained no internal oil drip hole to the PTO end bearings, from the piston spray area. Very few of the engines contain that internal PTO oil drip hole. You could always drill it yourself, but you still are not maximizing the oil to the PTO end bearings. You more likely toasted your PTO end bearings, resulting in extra friction when the crankshaft turns, which the CDI picked up and automatically shut it down. The oil injection holes into the carburetor stream can also become plugged from oil solidifying in them over the summer. You should check those injection tubes to make sure that they are clear. If they become plugged, that will cause piston and ring failure rather quickly. Both PTO crankshaft end bearings can be manually removed with no special tools other than a hammer and a large flat head screwdriver. You buy new ones off of EBAY, and using a torch, you heat up the center race and drop it on. Don't forget the spacer washer.

 

[JakeVIII]

Hm, that seems like a pretty well informed argument. Guys in my neck of the woods were really into the oil pump delete game, but I was always wondering about that oil injection tube. Seems like it's best to do things right.