94 Polaris SLT 750 No Throttle Spring Retention

[acgriggs]

Polaris Gurus,
Greetings! I have a 94 SLT 750 on my hands. My research shows the last time this ski has been on the water was 2016. Was in fairly rough shape but did some basic maintenance and it fires if a little "go juice" is poured/sprayed down the carbs. Before I dumped gas in, the forums suggest fuel issues are the primary issues of most of these skis and decided to start with a clean slate. Plan is to rebuild carbs, replace old fuel lines, and finally fuel tank/pickup cleaning.

Initially, I did noticed the Throttle lever was very stiff. You could not depress it fully and it did not spring back. I suspected perhaps a rusted cable. When I removed the carbs I realized its not the cable but the carbs themselves. You can rotate the carb throttle assembly manually but it will not "spring" back like say how the choke assembly does. I can verify all throttle springs are present, can not detect any binding with manual rotation, do not see any broke springs, and have lubed up the areas associated with that entire rail that I can see.

Now, full disclosure here...I can tell someone has been in these carbs before based on the screw heads showing signs of rounding.

Given all that, I am requested some wisdom on how to proceed. Is that lack of spring tension a function of old springs? Is there something down the "rail" binding it I can't see? I have not been "in" the carbs yet so is there something inside them gumming it up so bad the spring tension is being overcome? Most of the research shows you don't need to take these apart individually; rather you build them all still attached together. Didn't want to separate them if not needed but will if you recommend. I have a rebuild kit ready to execute however did not want to waste the money on carbs that might be broken as these rebuild kits are not cheap.

Anyone experienced this before?

v/r
Andy

[pascoea]

Hey Andy, welcome!

Me, personally, I'd tear them down as far as you can to inspect/clean/replace all the "goodies" inside. Unless something is bent, or assembled incorrectly, I'd say you've got some gummed up throttle shafts. Hard to diagnose with them all still linked together. When I did mine I took them off the rack so I could work on each one easier. The reassembly process is a bit fiddly, but not that hard to do. Having them apart will help you figure out if it's something in the linkage binding, or something internal to one or all of the carbs.

Just my 2c, take it for what it's worth.

Oh, and what rebuild kits did you buy? Most everyone on here has pretty strong opinions about using the non-Mikuni kits, so that's the only way I've gone. IMO it's enough of a pain in the ass to remove the carbs and rebuild them that saving a couple bucks on the cheap kits isn't really worth it.

Last part, post up some pictures. Everyone loves project pics!

[xlint89]

Welcome to the Hulk.

Pascoea summed it up rather nicely.

It's not common for the throttle plates to be sticking. That would be my first thing to try and remedy. Soak them in carb cleaner over night or blast them with degreaser or something to see if the will free up.

A tip for adressing the carb screws. Sometimes they can be real difficult to remove which makes them easy to strip the heads. An impact screwdriver (the old-school hit with a hammer type, not the cordless drill type) does wonders.

When you disassemble the carbs, there are tiny orifices that should also be cleaned. Use a tiny rigid wire bent like an "L" to clean them out. You do not want to enlarge them.

Also note: if using carb spray, definitely wear safety glasses. It's not uncommon to find a passage that sprays it back at you and carb cleaner in the eyes burn like a mother.

I do HIGHLY suggest Mikuni rebuild kits. The aftermarket kits just seem to cause problems with performance. Then everyone scratches their head as to what is causing it because "the carbs were just rebuilt".

Yes, please post up some pics and we'll help you out as much as we can.