300ex in the water question

Ok guys need help on this one. Was riding through some water the other day and it was not quite seat high, but it was just up to the muffler. Well while crossing the creek my atv seemed to hesitate a little as if it were going to die or putter out on me. I made it out of the water, but basically had to rev it up a couple seconds to keep it running, but then it ran just fine. Now the engine was pegged good enough not to let any water back in it and the water was not up to the airbox and i checked the airbox once i was out and it was dry. So what would have been making it want to die? All responses are appreciated. ***Note*** it runs fine out of water, but it did this twice while in water.

[yellowrider]

my 300ex does that. i got scared cause my polaris scrambler that i love before i destryed it was good in water i up to the seat some times and it was OK and t en i went where i went with my scrambler and it wasnt do so great.....

so anytips anybody anybody ever had this promblem

a little word of advise, try to avoid deeper what as much as possbile. I have seen it mess up many types of atvs and other vehicles around here. sometimes all it takes is a little water somewhere it dosn't need to be to ruin your fun. the reason for sputering when not full throttle is that the backpressure is greater at lower rpms. thats my guess. I have been in water on quads before and that happen, my new 300ex isn't touching water like my other one, and all my other quads I have had. my dads 4x4 just had to have 900.00 put into the rearend due to water destroying it beacause of a bad axle seal that we were unaware of.

[yellowrider]

i just checked it out in my owners manual htat my 300ex can go through 11inches of water...... thats not good is it ??? onluyy 11 inches?????

is there anything i can do to make things water proff so i do deeper my snorkel is up high. i never plan on going pass my tires anyways... so i was wondering is there anything i should do to my spark plug???

[250exen]

well for the polaris, you should not go oveer the foot rest in water. if you do when you are done riding there is a screw that emptys the whatchumacallit(where the belt is) any you should bee good to go. and for the honda its all enclosed except the chain but should go fine in the water
-250exen-

Come on guys we need some help. Its a serious question that deserves a serious answer. I use to have a mojave 110 when i was like 13yoa and i took that thing underwater, all the way over the headlight, and never had problems with it. So whats up with the 300ex? Has anyone on a 400ex experienced the same problems?

[MichaelS693]

i just got finished mud ridin in my pond and when i would get out of the water i would gas it and it would bog down and it would idle fine and it like did it alot and died on me in the water a few times but see this isnt deep water it just covered up half way to my rims whats goin on here?

[yellowrider]

ui just came back from trail riding and we went up a creek and i was lookin down at my spark plug seeing if it was getting weet and it wasnt even geting wet. and it was still acting like it was going to die. i didnt even get passed my tires. whats the deal??? does anybody know h ow to solve this promblem.. or what causes this promblem.

besides staying out of water caues i love going through water even though it is like 30 degrees outside

[4punksdad]

what you experienced was most likely a wet spark plug. the plug cap is not water tight. simply remove the plug cap & wipe the water off the plug & blow any excess water out of the cap. thats not the biggest concern.

I would suggest you check your oil after going through such deep water. if it appears at all milky or grey, change it. you might have to change it several times to get rid of all the water.

[Magicfan25]

Along with the plug if you look on the 300EX the plug wire goes up the the frame righ there it looks like it makes a connection. So even if its not the wet plug maybe its getting water in there..I've been in water probably half way up the wheels and never had a problem...but i was going pretty slow and didnt do it for very long.

[Lil90man!!]

I have the same problem with my 300ex it sux i had a trx300 and i could burry it like over the racks and it would run fine as long as u kept it running this bike (my ex) i have found the ONLY way to prevent it from sputtering is to a. avoid water that splashes towards the front of the bike or b (mi favorite) wheelie over or through it, it is actually pretty easy to wheelie thorough huge puddles!!! is there any way to waterproof the spark plug cap?? would like waterproofing silicone fix it or would it just cause it to not run at all??

[yellowrider]

hey you guys i post this on another site a while back ago i never did try it cause i didnt know if it will ruin my waranty or not so i never even bothered but half of you dont have a warranty so i share it with you all i should have it in like ten mins

they also gave me tips..

[yellowrider]

ok well something happend twith that site it sucks now big time anywyas it was atvtime.com

anyways things that they told me to do that i can remember
take the airbox apart and re seal it.
put some electiric greese on all of your connections.

and gave me some tips when going through deep water do not go fast just crawl through it end keep your rpms up .

and spray wd 40 on it after your down ..
i dont know why cause are ball bearings are sealed..
i personal do not like ball bearins sealed it scares me cause i dont know when to replace them i dont know how to take that stuff aprt and greese them. how am i supposed to know stuff like that i think they should hace zerks it would be so much easier and reliably in my opinion i think honda should look into that.

[stevengates45]

I got my old polaris trail boss 350 4x4 seriously stuck one day. I took it through a really deep & muddy creek type deal & because i stayed in there so long my belt got wet & if u gave it any gas it did nothin but rev. Anyway we had to TRX 300s trying to pull me out & I was stuck so good both of them were wheeling while trying to pull me out. I barely got mine out. haha, not a good feeling when u get stuck like i did. This thing could take some mud too. Another bad feeling is when u have a bike with a filter that hooks straight to the carb & u 4get about it & take it through TONS of deep water! wheew, anyway, i know this was off the subject sortof but anyway.

[trueblue450]

Well on the 300EX the snorkel is at the front of the bike by your handlbars. Its acually part of the frame. But anyways as long as you dont get that deep in water, then you should be fine. If you ever get to a deep part, just jump off and your light 300 will float up and be safe. Just remember not to let it go when you jump off or you could be swimin for a quad.

[yellowrider]

well i have never been passed my snorkel and i have lots of promblems keeping it running.

so does anybody know how to prevent these troubles and still be ably to swim.
i know somebody has been swimming with there 300ex so share your tips...