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Something's foul in Maine

4K views 22 replies 9 participants last post by  kopeck 
#1 ·
This is strange.

When I woke my T660 Turbo up this winter it started kind of hard and didn't idle well, like it was missing on one cylinder. I suspected a plug, so I picked up a pack (4) and pulled the plugs. I found 2 that were grey/white and one that was more brown/tan. None looked fouled but for the fun of it I replaced just the one that was colored different (Brown/Tan) then the other two. Started up and idles fine now. Ran it around the field a bit and seems to go well.

Fast forward to today. My dad gets out his T660 NA. Starts it up, it runs like crap. He has to play with the throttle to keep it going. Pulls the plugs and one is clearly fouled, the other two look OK. He replaces all 3 and his machine now idles fine and runs around the field like it should.

We both did our normal summerization processes.

How weird is that, fouled plugs are rare on the T660 and we had two sleds do it right off the bat this year. I suspect the gas we got wasn't great and even with stabil went bad enough to foul out plugs.

K
 
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#2 ·
Did you guys get the last fill up at the same place before storage last spring?

Have you ever tried seafoam? Not saying it would have prevented this incident, but for a reason I can no longer remember I switched to seafoam years ago. I've had no fuel issues since. I even use the fuel stored in my sled over the summer...I used to siphon it out and put it in my truck at the beginning of winter.
 
#3 ·
We did.

What I usually do is put Stabil in my tank if my machines are going to sit more then a week or two. So when I got home I threw some in. I've never had issues doing this in the past.

When we had 2-Strokes I would do the same thing but at the end of the season run the carbs dry and like you syphon out the gas in the tank. I have syphoned my wife machine in the past when it didn't get much use and had gas that was a season old when I up them away...

I've never had an issue doing this and my '04 is 13 years old now (holy cow!). Dad's machine has 5k on the original plugs, I replaced mine a few years ago, probably around 5k when I was doing a tune up, I don't think they needed it. They last well but apparently do not like bad gas at all!

K
 
#5 ·
Never had issue with mine. Always use Stabil in spring and Seafoam throughout the season. I did change plugs at the 5K mark when I did my valve shims just because. I still have the old ones in my tool box. It was hard to find them and ended up buying them at Cat.
 
#7 ·
I've seen more fuel related issues from people using Sta-Bil than those not. I've never used it in 30+ years of storing everything from aircraft to implements both summer and winter. I've also never had a start up issue. That includes storing and running E-10 for over a year. A friend of mine who owns a small engine repair business LOVES it though. Gets all sorts of people coming in with carb bowls/needles gummed up with dried up Sta-Bil residue.

Unless you're truly "storing"(over 9 months) anything...you're better off simply starving the fuel system/carbs and either topping off or draining the fuel tank. Also, rather than using Seafoam as a stabilizer...substitue that with Berrymans B-12. 1/2 the price and is a stronger solvent. SeaFoam is little more than kerosene with a few additives.
 
#14 ·
I missed this originally. It's funny, I've had really good luck with Sta-Bil. I've got quite a few engines kicking around that that do more sitting then running and this is the first fuel issue I've had in many, many years. I do add it to fresh gas though so maybe that helps out. It's always interesting how people have different luck with products. I think you have to do what works best for you.

I've never really used Seafoam. I bought a can 10 or so years ago and just used it up a few weeks ago. :)

Bad gas is just bad gas I guess, nothing's going to save it. I was surprised how quickly it did plugs in on the T660. Still getting 5k out of a set of plugs in this sort of application isn't bad and they're not terribly hard to replace (I'm looking at you Z1s).

K
 
#8 ·
Yeah sometimes things are foul up here. Lone rider trying to warn a group of 8 sleds to slow down as two moose were just on the trail that I passed slowly ahead of them. It should be a law to pass by other sleds with respect and to the right. What I got was a finger and they went faster, where is respect and common sense anymore? First 4 seemed to be racing??
 
#15 ·
OP--What kind of Sta-Bil did you use? Blue or red? Red stinks. Need to use the blue (marine) Sta-Bil or as others pointed out, Sea-foam or Star-Tron. I've used Star-Tron for few years and no prob. Tigger needs super gas, but other 2 just the el-cheapo gas so I use it in all 3 anyways. Sleds usually have 5 gallons or so over the summer months. Come fall/pre-season checkover, shop takes gas out and use in their trucks and then I add fresh gas for the season around Christmas time. Still have orig plugs in my '07 Z1 (4300 miles).
 
#16 ·
I've used red for the most part, I have used blue though and it seemed to work well too.

Red is good for 24 months, Blue is good for 12.

Blue does a better job of dealing with water/separation. Red lasts longer and supposably has some magic that help clean injectors and that sort of thing. If I was dealing with a 2-Stoke I think I would go blue since a lean condition usually ends badly. 4-Strokes tend to be much more forgiving. Heck my old Farmalls will burn just about anything I pour in the tank. They specialize in disposal of aged gas. :)

I've heard good things about Star-Tron too. I've wondered why Seafoam worked as a gasoline preservative. It's made up of some pretty basic stuff. I can see how it can helps clean up carbon, that why I had that can I reference earlier. Not saying it can't/doesn't work but it's not really what it was designed for.

K
 
#17 ·
I've used the red Sta-bil since 98 in my 93 Pantera without issue. I have used it in my T660 since 2006. I have used it for years in all my lawn equipment and my 05 300 quad I don't use in winter. The exhaust really stinks so I know it has been run through the carbs or EFI throttle body. I use premium NON-ethanol fuel in everything, only because no ethanol. First tanks after startup get double the Seafoam recommended and is used throughout the season.
 
#18 ·
How much snow you Maine folks have to ride on up there? There has been talk by a few of my buddies about heading that way, just can't seem to find decent info on where to go and ride at. I mean, there are hundreds of websites with info about places I don't know, it's a lot to digest and decide on a 12-14 hour ride towing the sled trailer. Just curious how far do you have to travel to find good trails.
 
#19 ·
This thread seems to be weaving about. :)

The best riding by far is in Aroostook County. I just got back from there yesterday. I was riding is Central and Northern Aroostook and they have 2+ feet of snow and the trails are in really good shape other then a few wet spots. On our drive back home the trails looked decent (from the truck) right down into Houlton (last stop on I95) although there isn't quite as much snow in the southern part of the the County (FYI, people in Maine refer to Aroostook as "The County"). We're getting hit by a messy storm tomorrow but from the looks of it northern Maine is going to be getting more snow then anything which is awesome.

You could also try western Maine, the closer you get to the mountains the more snow you will find. They don't have as big a trail system as Aroostook and you take a bit of a chance of running out of snow depending on where you go. Honestly if I was driving all the way from PA I would go for the home run and just go to Aroostook.

I stay in Caribou and just take off and ride from there. It's centrally located, plenty of places to stay and the local club is top notch. If you didn't want to drive that much further you can stay in Houlton but your trail options are much more limited. You can get to any trail from Houlton but I think you will be a little more limited on where you can go.

Midelfi I think is from Grand Isle (think Canada), I'm sure he will chime in too.

PA, and I was complaining about the drive up from Mid-Coast Maine!

K
 
#20 ·
And I do apologize to all for the thread getting an off track by some snow-less guy from PA. I appreciate the straight talk and apologize if I annoyed anyone by asking.

I'm familiar with Aroostook County, I shot a bear there in the fall of 2000 around Smyrna Mills. I stayed south of Caribou a good bit though, Winsome Camps and Eatery I think was the place. I have been to Houlton and as far down the coast as Princeton, Maine too, beautiful country.

Thank you for the information and opinions to consider, yeah it's a long way to drive, but spring, summer, and fall seem to last longer and are much tougher to ride around here. I probably should just buy a jet ski with all the global warming....nah.
 
#22 ·
The Crown of Maine report

Yesterday it was reported the trails at the top of Maine have not been this nice for years. What a fine day it was, sunny, no wind and the trails are fantastic. Worth the trip if you love to ride. I have over 850 miles on the new T-cat Turbo and if interested check out this Snow Trax ride review on this great sled.


Sorry about my long winded previous rant earlier posting
 
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