Clogged pilot jet in ATV --- Anybody use Seafoam?

[Bob Borzelleri]

I can't resist asking even though I have a strong feeling what the answer is. My Polaris ATV was running fine when I plowed off the last snow last month. I went out and fired it up and it won't idle. Classic fuel contamination symptoms (gum and varnish).

I can take the carb off and clean it out or I can try something like Seafoam that is advertised to dissolve icky stuff that clogs pilot jets. Has anyone here successfuly used this product when they had clogged carb jets?

[Scott T Smith]

Yes, I have used Seafoam (in my Polaris Ranger to clean the injectors, and in other small engines to clean out the varnish) and it works as well as any of the carb cleaners. It seems to work best if you catch the problem early; else you will need to remove and clean manually.

[Lewis Ehrhardt]

I would try the Seafoam first and then run some 93 Bp afterward. This has worked well for me several times.Hope this helps Lewis

[Dave Lehnert]

Yes on the Seafoam. Seems to work.

Dump some in the carb and gas tank then turn the engine just enough to suck it in. Let sit for a few. Then start the engine.
After it sits and smokes for a bit remove the air filter and cover the air intake off and on with your hand. Seems to help suck some of the garbage out of the carb.

[Brent Gamble]

This was a continuing problem for our ATV's that were only used during hunting season. After cleaning/rebuilding/replacing a few carbs I discovered Stabil fuel treatment. Now I don't put gas in any small engine without it. No more problems.

[Paul Ryan]

If you are capable I would remove the carb and clean it completely. Seafoam is more of a short term fix, it will never get all of the crap out and you will be in for trouble again shortly down the road. Stabile is a good product when used sparingly. Too much stabile concentrated will gum up things too DAMHIKT.

[Bob Borzelleri]

Thanks for the replies. I raced motorcycles for about 20 years back in another life; used to rebuild top ends in the pits. When I took enough "stuff" off the Polaris to be able to see the carb, I had a pile of parts that was about the size of many of the bikes I used to race.

I'm resigned to banging my knuckles and cursing a bit in order to eventually physically clean out the carb, but I wanted to see if there was a chance of "dissolving" the gunk in the pilot jet. I'll give Seafoam a try and, at the same time, order the service manual for the Polaris so I can be sure to get all of the unnecessary plastic parts back together.

[Marty Paulus]

Thanks for the replies. I raced motorcycles for about 20 years back in another life; used to rebuild top ends in the pits. When I took enough "stuff" off the Polaris to be able to see the carb, I had a pile of parts that was about the size of many of the bikes I used to race.

I'm resigned to banging my knuckles and cursing a bit in order to eventually physically clean out the carb, but I wanted to see if there was a chance of "dissolving" the gunk in the pilot jet. I'll give Seafoam a try and, at the same time, order the service manual for the Polaris so I can be sure to get all of the unnecessary plastic parts back together.

Not to hijack this thread but when did it become unacceptable to open the hood of a car and see the engine? Even the ATV's have way too much plastic covering the engine for my taste. Most cars today require an hour of removing covers before you can actually see the motor.

[Van Huskey]

Not to hijack this thread but when did it become unacceptable to open the hood of a car and see the engine? Even the ATV's have way too much plastic covering the engine for my taste. Most cars today require an hour of removing covers before you can actually see the motor.


When engines become ugly.

Gotta appreciate a car company that puts a clear window over the engine, a small scuderia in Italy is able to make even a modern engine look like sculpture. I laughed out load when Chevrolet did it with the ZR-1 just so you could see the boring top of the supercharger, they just didn't get it.

[AL Ursich]

If it is a Carb unit with a float bowl.... Sediment in the very bottom center of the bowl collects hard stuff. I have had 2 lawn mowers and a snow blower that acted starved of fuel... In all 3 cases I removed the bowl and that big nut and scraped the hard stuff from the big nut bottom and cured all 3.

AL

[Bob Borzelleri]

This is barely short of miraculous, in my view. I had something like 20% hopes of getting this thing to idle without dismantling the carb and manually cleaning out the jets. I even ordered the service manual so I can keep track of all the wild looking hoses and stuff sticking out of and around the carb.

But, this morning, I out 4 ounces of Seafoam in a 4 gallon gas jug and filled up the Polaris. I thought about running the stuff into the throat of the carb, but I couldn't find the spray version of Seafoam and since the throat is close to horizontal to the ground, I didn't want to make a mess pouring it all over the place.

So I went with the additive in the tank and rode off to try to get the stuff to circulate through the fuel system. It still wouldn't idle for the 10-15 minutes I rode around the property so I headed back up to the garage to park it and wait until the service manual arrives next week. When I stopped, the engine throttled down and, instead of crapping out on the spot as it has done for the past few days, it just blubbered along like it did the day I bought it.

The dealer wanted $170 to clean out the pilot jet.

Seafoam. Who would have thunk?