Snowmobile Repair: sled diagnostic, carburetor rebuild kit, articat

Question
hi i dont have an articat but i was woundering if you could help me out. i have a ski doo mxz 1993 snowmobile and it starts fine when i prime it and runs good if i hold the throttle but the minute i let go of the throttle it bogs out and dies and if i floor the throttle it bogs then takes off. i cleaned the floats and they were a bit sticky but im still having the problem and im not really sure how sled work but i know its a fuel issue for a fact because just before it dies i can push the primer and it will run again. but when it settles down it dies so if you could do your best to help me out i appreciate it, even if your not sure i would appreciate any info at all thank you.

Answer
Hello Travis,

   You have probably one of the most popular problems with a sled, but hard to diagnose sometimes too. It sounds like you have sticking inlet needle(s), the little needle in side the carb, that is moved by the floats. Although the best thing you can do is buy a carburetor rebuild kit, and completely imerse that carb in solvent first, here are a few tips. Check the float arm to make sure it is completely level. You can bend the small tang that touches the inlet needle to get it just  right. Also, be sure to use the correctly gapped plugs, they are: NGK BR9ES gapped at 0.020. Sometimes, it can seem like the sled is getting to much gas, when it really is just fouling plugs, the bogging you described sounds alot like running on one cylinder. You could put BR8ES sparkplugs in, and see if that helps, although the engine would probably run a bit hotter. My # 1 recomendation is to just fully clean and rebuild the carb. One other thing to check is the exhaust ports, make sure they aren't clogged. Good luck with the Doo, hope you get running good! Let me know if I can help you at all with any other questions. --Arcticatman