terrawombat Posted March 17, 2011 Share Posted March 17, 2011 Just picked this up. A little under 7100 miles on the odometer, 350cc, doesn't stay running, valves tap like crazy, muffler is shot, seat is destroyed, front bumper is broken, left rear tire is flat, right rear tire is full of plugs, and half of the plastics are falling off. The thing is beat to heck but when it comes with a price tag of FREE - it's hard to beat that. Current plans are to rebuild the card, get the thing to run right, adjust the valves, and then start piecing stuff together to get it back in usable condition. Pictures to follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 Fits in the back of the MJ pretty good: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alleydog Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 can't beat free! thats a nice size, you'll have a lotta fun with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 First things first. PULL THE CARB!!!! A gummed/plugged up carb has always been the root of running problems in my father's '95 and my '00 350 Wolverines. They share the same top-end and much of the bottom end as the Big Bear and Warrior. The carbs are extraordinarily easy to clean and tune. I can get one removed, tore down, cleaned and reinstalled within 30 minutes. Also pull the fuel petcock out of the tank and clean the straw filters followed by an air filter cleaning. Those 2-valve Yamaha 350s are hard to kill. I rebuilt an '87 Warrior (hence the screen name) but before I did the work I got it running on the stock, abused, 15 year old motor. It smoked, but ran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freakjeep93 Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 i ahve a 92 big bear 350 4x4 it looked like this when i bought it. ive fixed it up to this 87 warrior is right you can't kill these things. i rebuilt the top end of mine becasue it was burnin oil really bad but other than that this bike is a tank. the 350 yamahas a really torqey to there alot of fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 The carb definitely needs a good cleaning. The PO had removed the carb and did their best attempt at cleaning it, but it leaked fuel out of the rear of the carb after his "rebuild." Couple that with the various other problems it has and you get a frustrated owner and an angry wife telling him to junk it. It was the neighbor of a co-worker of mine and he informed me about it. I stopped by his neighbors house after work, introduced myself, and had the guy helping me load it in my MJ within 10 minutes. He wouldn't even accept two 20's for his help...nice guy. I've got the carb off and I want to get a rebuild kit for it, but am weary of the aftermarket ones out there so I may just replace the float bowl gasket and get a new float needle valve. I also pulled the starter and need new brushes - found this kit on e-bay for pretty cheap: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/STARTER- ... 0498454034 Also noticed that a whole new starter isn't much more: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Starter- ... ccessories Can't believe how cheap this stuff is compared to automotive parts lol Also looks like the battery on this rig is pretty new and it still holds a charge so that's good! I'll take the petcock off next week and clean that out too and make sure the tank is clean. It sat under a pine tree for a while and there is sap all over it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirteatr717 Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I have 2 85 yamaha moto-4s still running like tops, only one has had an engine rebuild due to rolling into the pond :doh:other then that it's hard to kill yamahas! Goodluck with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 Thanks guys. Ordered a starter rebuild kit for a little under $30 shipped. Pulled the float bowl off of the carb and it looks surprisingly clean inside. Probably just going to get a float bowl gasket and maybe the float needle valve. Need to disassemble the thing and then get my ultrasonic cleaner back from my friend so I can get this thing cleaned up. Also need to find a service manual for the thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Best Manual for ATVs I found back in the day: http://www.clymer.com/Book.aspx?bid=610 ... +1987-2004 Be sure to pull out the pilot jet, idle air screw and main (needle) jet and soak 'em then blow them clean. You have to clean every orifice too. It might be wise to just replace the main jet and needle due to wear. Short of random carb cleanings and re-jetting for Colorado, my machine has been trouble free. Granted I haven't taken it out much in the last 4 years... Father and Son: Image Not Found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 Picked up a carb rebuild kit, Clymer manual and an oil filter. PO called me this morning and said he found the airbox and attaching hardware, but the hose that goes to the carb is cracked. I'll see what I can do with it for a temporary fix until I can find one. They cost about $35 from the dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Search for a dealer called 'NCY Yamaha' and call them with your parts needs. I think they are out of California. Then ask for a discount. Some 7 years ago when I was rebuilding the warrior I was buying a lot of dealer only parts and NCY would give a discount if asked for. OEM ATV parts are really expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 Ordered the parts Thursday night and had them this morning. That was quick! Tore down the carb, cleaned it in my ultrasonic cleaner with a distilled white vinegar/dish detergent solution. Blew out every passage way with carb cleaner and compressed air. Installed all of the new jets, o-rings, gaskets, and c-clips. Set float height and mixture screw based on my new Clymers manual (that manual ROCKS!). Rebuilt my starter with new brushes and put that back on the engine. Cranked it over and it eventually fired up and ran kind of funky for a bit. Let it warm up and revved it up a bit and it seems to run real smooth. No hesitation in the throttle - nice and crisp. LOUD as heck right now because the muffler is completely deteriorated and there's not much left to it. Found a used muffler on e-bay for less than half the cost of a new one. Looks like it's gonna need some paint, but should be okay - once I get that and a new air filter I'll put this thing back together and go riding! Two of the four tires are going a little flat from sitting over the weekend. While I'm waiting for some of the other parts to come in, I'll see if I can find and patch up the slow leaks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted March 22, 2011 Share Posted March 22, 2011 :clapping: Sweet deal! The Clymers is absolutely amazing. Had to fire my Wolverine up this weekend to pull my MJ shell around the yard. It had sat for over a year. Took me three tries with the start button and about 10 minutes of high idle for it to run smooth as butter :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 The amount of detail in the Clymers is pretty amazing. Lots of parts diagrams, but even better, LOTS of ACTUAL pictures of parts. The step-by-step directions are thorough and everything seems very well laid-out. I think it's just about as thick as my FSM for my '92 MJ. One of the first things my Big Bear will be doing is towing my '99XJ out of my shop. It has no engine/trans/tcase and I have someone that may be coming to take the shell off my hands. The low range should be nice for that :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted March 22, 2011 Author Share Posted March 22, 2011 Decided to spend a little bit of money and bought a new set of rear tires for the thing. The right rear is very dry rotted and not holding air and the left rear has a giant hole in it that was patched with about six tire plugs. The fronts will eventually need to be replaced too because of dry rotting issues, but they seem to still hold air fine and should be okay for a while when I get some more funds for this thing - just about tapped out budget wise - got about $300 into it. Probably could only sell it for $600-$700 so I don't want to go too crazy with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted March 28, 2011 Author Share Posted March 28, 2011 Got the used muffler, hit it with the wire wheel, cleaned it and sprayed it with some engine paint. Here's why the thing was so loud before: Got the airbox back in and fired it up. Seems to run pretty good and I took it for a test drive around my shop and then ran outta gas. Was fun while it lasted, though! Also got the near rubber for the rear. One of these days I'll get to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrawombat Posted April 1, 2011 Author Share Posted April 1, 2011 Got the new rubber on the rear. I was able to get the old tires off myself using a 4x4 piece of lumber and my MJ. Put a little bit of air in the tire (5psi), place the 4x4 on the tire and drive up and watch the bead pop - flip tire over and repeat. Now, getting the new tires on was a whole different story. I eventually gave up and gave them to my Dad, who took them out to a guy he knows who put cleaned up the rims, installed a new valve steam and mounted the new tires for $12 each. He had a pretty nice machine to do it and even he complained about how stiff the new tires were. Put the wheels back on the quad and took it for a good spin today in the muddy weather. Definitely a lot of fun, even for a 2WD. My parents have a 1999 Honda TRX300 2WD, 2000 Honda Rancher TRX350 2WD, and another 2001 Honda Rancher. I've ridden on those for thousands of miles and I have to say that they ride 5 times better than the Big Bear. Even with the tires all set at 5psi and the shocks on their softest setting, the Big Bear bounces me around like crazy. Also, the higher handle bars seem to make the steering a little wonky and I'm not quite used to it. But, all in all, not a bad little quad for free (well, $300 in parts). Still need: Front brakes bled Clutch adjusted (seems to slip a little in 1st) Seat recovered Front light bulbs replaced Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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