newbie questions

[nj1978]

hi,new to the 400 and im sure that this wil be the first of many questions.i feel deprived for never owning one of these till my thirties but better late than never!so a few questions to start and any help that i can get is greatly appreciated.
1. i want to start to clean this thing up and im going over maint things. starting on my list is cleaning the carb. ive read about taking it apart and before i do it would like to know when i take out the jets is there a setting on them that i should remember or do they just tighen up all the way when they go back in. i plan on soaking the carb in carb cleaner and am wondering if i should just stuff the whole thing into a buck of the stuff and let it soak or do i have to take out the pieces and let them soak individually. also should i just wait and get a carb rebuild kit and do it all at once or is it ok to clean the pieces and put them back in,and when i do put them back in should i spray them with anything.
2.i want to check and lube my bearings,is there somewhere on here that has pics and step by step?
3.on my engine if your looking straight on,right side there is oil that seems to be leaking slowly.its not real bad but heres a slight build up and want to fix it.any ideas where to start looking?
4.just a real broad question but any kind of troubleshooting till i can describe it better would help-when im in first i seem to whine out real fast and have to shift.is that a normal thing with 400s or is there something i should be checking.
again thats for the help with any questions,im really glad ive found this site and hopefully i can get the knowledge to help another newb out one day

[nj1978]

k never mind the bearing question,found all that info in the manual

[matts27]

1st off, how do you know the carb needs cleaning, is it not running well, popping, running rich... etc??? If it's running good leave it alone. If not, get a shop manual and read through it, will help with lots of your questions. Second, post a pic of where the oil is leaking from, timing cover plug or shifter seal is my guess right now but that's just a wild guess. And if you deal clean the carb, gotta strip it, any rubber or plastic isn't gonna be happy in the carb dip.
You just gotta count the pilot jet's turns, gonna be around 2 to 3 if stock. Everything else is screwed into the carb

Good luck, Matt

[red_rider_069]

ok here's my question to you.
1.how long has your bike been sitting before u got ur hands on it
2. does the head tick hard when u start the bike, (when its at running tempreature) if so u might need ur valves adjusted,
2. as far as the carb, its jsut bolts and stuff, you'll be surprised how easy it is to take apart and put back together, jsut spray it down with carb cleaner and you'll see 2 bolts where the float bowl is, ( on the bottum side of the card) you dont need to take the jets out just spary them down, the jets will be 2 gold little nuts that u can use a flat head screw driver to take off, just put em back on snug when ur done, thats about all there is to it, i would recommend buying new gaskets for the card (look for a carb rebuild kit) and u should be fine
check brake pads, brake lines, air filter, brake fluid levers, thats about it, as long as you dont feel anything sketchy while ur riding it should be ready to hit the track or trails :)
fun riding!:macho

[nj1978]

ok
1.we ran it some before i took it so i dont think that it was sitting to long.it was a buddies spare for friends.
2.not sure about a tick but im definatley gonna listen for it
thanks for the carb advice.im not sure if it needs to be cleaned but it cant hurt right?i think i should take it apart anyway to see the size jets that are in it cause he put on a white bros exaust and a k n n . i was just reading some stuff on jets r us about reading the plugs to see if its running to lean or rich.i can figure out how to ge tthe plug out to check and it said to run it first but how long should i run it for. it gets pretty damn hot down there so whats the trick?

[red_rider_069]

Originally posted by nj1978
ok
1.we ran it some before i took it so i dont think that it was sitting to long.it was a buddies spare for friends.
2.not sure about a tick but im definatley gonna listen for it
thanks for the carb advice.im not sure if it needs to be cleaned but it cant hurt right?i think i should take it apart anyway to see the size jets that are in it cause he put on a white bros exaust and a k n n . i was just reading some stuff on jets r us about reading the plugs to see if its running to lean or rich.i can figure out how to ge tthe plug out to check and it said to run it first but how long should i run it for. it gets pretty damn hot down there so whats the trick? i dont understand your second question , you mean to check your jets after you install diffrent sizes?

[nj1978]

wel everything im reading says that usually factory jets arent the right sizes for aftermarket stuff.unless im readin it wrong which could definately be a possibility thats why when i have the carb apart to clean it im gonna look at the sizes.unless i should check the plug first and go from there

[Snipe]

Check jets while in there main jet will be setting high righ in center shouldnt have to remove to read it pilot will be right next to it kinda down inside.

Pilot should be fine with what your running only the main should be checked and you wont have to remove it to see what kind.

As for cleaning just use a carb cleaner and spray it thats if its dirty if not just put it back and leave alone.

Ticking all 400's tick expecially after reaching there normal temp when you have metal rockers rubbing on metal cam bangin several thousand RPM your bound to have some noice.

Your best bet for buying a used bike is to run the over head.

[red_rider_069]

yea forgot to mention the ticking part.. only iff its excessice, theres a normal ick to it while running, but thats your valves, if you think its louder than it should be check your clearances, and the way your saying about the jets, i'd just go with a dyno jet kit, i think what your trying to say is that it has pipe and filter on it but your not sure if it was rejetted, if so i would replace the jet needle and the needle jet, best bet would to buy a dyno jet kit, rockymountainatv.com has em for like 50 bucks i think.. :) has instructions on how to jet according to mods and elevation

[nj1978]

yea thats definatley what im trying to say as far as the jetting-thanks,im gonna look into the dyno

[nj1978]

got any advice on an easy way to check the plug color? and sorry but what do you mean by running the over head

[BakerRacing40]

running overhead.. setting the clearances of the rockers to the valves..

[bigd's ex]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by nj1978
[B]got any advice on an easy way to check the plug color?


http://www.atvriders.com/articles/sparkplug.html

[nj1978]

nice-thanks.ill be back with my clutch/shifting question when i can get a better description

[Snipe]

yeah first thing you would want to do is check the valves make sure there not floated, baked or to tight.

Check your oils, engine oil, brakes adjust brakes replace pads if needed. Check chain and sprockets. Make sure sprockets teeth are straight and unbent and chain isnt over stretched or wore out.

then check your bushings on all. Shocks, Aarms swingarm make sure there all there and not dry rotted out. Make sure your carb is adjusted right as the WOT (Wide Open Throttle) is adjusted right with the thumb throttle when you have it off. Make sure cables are adjusted on brake levers and clutch.

[red_rider_069]

spark plugs are cheap, you should get your bike jetted with a dyno jet first. then see what color the plug goes.. if it goes too lean you'll know but color, then u can jsut adjust ur fuel mixture screw bye 1/8-1/4 turns ,, i dont think you'll need many spark plugs, thats the poor mans way to do it, if you were near by where im at we could hook it up to an EGA machine and not worry about that just adjust it while its runnning.. :)

[02' trx400ex]

Originally posted by red_rider_069
yea forgot to mention the ticking part.. only iff its excessice, theres a normal ick to it while running, but thats your valves, if you think its louder than it should be check your clearances, and the way your saying about the jets, i'd just go with a dyno jet kit, i think what your trying to say is that it has pipe and filter on it but your not sure if it was rejetted, if so i would replace the jet needle and the needle jet, best bet would to buy a dyno jet kit, rockymountainatv.com has em for like 50 bucks i think.. :) has instructions on how to jet according to mods and elevation


i think the jet kits are a waste of money. you can buy jets for really cheap and if its getting to much or not enough fuel you can allways take them back and get different sizes.

[red_rider_069]

Originally posted by 02' trx400ex
i think the jet kits are a waste of money. you can buy jets for really cheap and if its getting to much or not enough fuel you can allways take them back and get different sizes. you really want to be going back and fourth to the dealership if its not the right one?.. couple extra bucks wont hurt.. extra jets are always good.. anything extra is good.. but since you can jet your bike perfectly on the first try u just buy 1 jet at a time huh? how do u mess with ur jet needle?.. wow.. :):macho

[Snipe]

I dont like the idea of the kit either but thats only cause a local shop sells individual jets and its cheaper to do the jets along than to buy the kit and I can get needles and such online.