starting problems

[codyone3]

I have an 03 predator and it just stopped starting with the electric start overnight. The starter turns the bike over just fine but won't fire, if I get a pull it will start right away, I'm looking for a little help to try and figure this out.

[project_tecate]

valves may need adjusted, sounds like they may have tightened up possibly??

[codyone3]

I have never adjusted the valves before, how hard of a job would that be to check and adjust? thanks for your reply

[scramblerracer]

it is easy if you know your way around your quad. Go to www.predatorowners.com and do a search for valve adjustment. There is a very easy to follow step by step instructions that one of the guys posted. Good luck.

[hannibal3495]

Check the battery, sounds like voltage may be low, wires loose or bad battery. Always turning over doesnt mean that it has enough battery power to start. Same thing happened to mine friends 03. Any luck it might be this simple. good luck

[bansheerider4]

yea hannibal is right my friend has a z400 and that starter does the same thing and they have to pull it with another wheeler to get it started(well actually his whole battery died but probly the same thing as yours):chinese:

[codyone3]

for some reason I can't search for valve adjustment or click on any of the threads in predatorowners.com it just brings me back to the home page??? I tested the battery with a volt meter and it checks out, but when I pull start it , it does not want to idle like it did before so I guess I am leaning towards the valves

[scramblerracer]

http://www.predatorowners.com/index.cfm?action=thread&catid=2&topid=4&thrid=26415

Subject: How to set your valve clearances.

Ok, first off make sure your work area and predadtor is clean!!!! Take the front plastic and gas tank off. duh Then take the timing plugs out of the stator side of the motor. There will be a 19mm nut where you can turn the motor over with. Turn it til there is a "T" lined up with the notch on the cover. That !should! (key word) put your cams in time. At this time take your valve cover off. there will be 4 8mm or 5/16" bolts holding it down, take them out. When ever i have bolts in a patern like this i always loosen them in a criss cross pattern, and tighten them down in that manner. Carefully remove the V.C. and make sure that the gasket comes off with it. It is re-useable. This will expose the cams and the cam "stay". Slide a feeler guage under the intake cam (the cam that is closest to the carb). Make sure there is oil in there and dont force it. It should be firm feel but not too tight with the feeler. There should .006" of clearance on the intake and .010" on the exhaust. You will have a .0019" tolerance plus or minus on BOTH cams.

The intake dots will be at 12 o'clock and 9 o'clock. The exhaust will be one tooth different than the intake.


preddy08
Jr. Admin
Supporting Member
Predator Owner

Member No. 2476
Registered: 28 Oct 04
Posts: 3807
From: Omaha, Nebraska


If your cams clearances are out of spec, say on the intake you have a .009" instead of the .006" then you will have to take the cams out and chain off. At this point you need to take the cam stay bolts out. There is 8 8mm bolts holding it down. Take them out in a cris cross pattern. There will be a C clip on each cam. MAKE sure you dont loose them in the motor somewhere. Other wise youll have to fishing with a magnet.

Now you will have to take the cam chain tensioner loose and the cams out. To do this i had to take the slip on off and the header loose, but not off to get to the tensioner. At the end of the tensioner there will be a 10mm bolt. Take it out. Polaris says that you have to have a special tool to take the tension off the tensioner. I used a VERY common 1/8th inch craftsman flathead screw driver with great results. Stick the screwdriver in an you will feel it catch, screw it out and you will feel the chain getting loose. I clamp a vice grip on the screw driver to hold the tension on the screw driver while you take the chain off.


ce you get the cams out, under the buckets is the shim. I use a maget to pull the bucket out, that way the shim comes with it. The buckets are just sitting in there with nothing holding them down. Most likely the number on the shim is worn off. If you take the shim along with what your current clearance, your shop SHOULD be able to aim you in the right direction, as far as what size your current shim size is and what you need to be at. Little FYI our Predators have the same shims as the Yamaha YFZ 450's.



Just make sure you dont get the shims confused. Each shim will be different. So it will be a good thing to write this down as you go. I wright down what each valve is at (clearance wise) and what shim is under each bucket. Take this to your dealer and they will know what to do.

At this point your ready to go back togeather. When going back togeather MAKE sure that the shims are sitting in the valve spring flat, then drop the bucket back on top. Put the right cam back in the right place. The exhaust cam will the de-compression lever on it. When the cams are in with the chain looped over each cam, put the "C" clip back on the cams. You will be able to rotate the cams from from the chain to get them in the right place. Then put the cam stay back on and tighten down to 7 ft/lbs in a cris cross pattern. Now make sure that your motor is at TDC with the "T" in the timing hole lined up. Put the cams in at the correct postiion with the dots lined up with the head, with the exhaust one tooth up from the line of the head just like the picture I showed before. At this point take the tension off the tensioner by backing out the flat head slowly until it stops. Then check and DOUBLE check the timing. Both the cams and the "T" mark are all in line!!!! Put the bolt back in the tensioner, it will also be tightened down to 7 ft/lbs. Then I roll over the motor a couple of times to make sure everything spins freely. Then i check the valve clearence again to make sure they are good once everything is seated. Just to make sure.

Just make sure you didnt forget any thing, c clips, shims, timing, and the motor spins freely.

Reassemble and enjoy your properly set valves.

Remember, this is a simple thing to do that mostly anyone can acomplish.

[codyone3]

thanks scamblerracer for the info, I'm not sure if I will attempt this on my own , but after reading more threads on this problem I am pretty sure that it is the valves, again thanks for the info much appriciated.