Pull the carbs, drain the tank. Change the fuel filter. Grab some new plugs. Run a little two stroke oil down the cylinders. Work the engine around a bit to loosen things up by pulling the rope a bit. A little seafoam in some new fuel and u should be off to the races. The clutches may be sticky and could require cleaning. As far as the fuel pump goes i have not allot of experience with them. Make sure u clean the pilot jets. And it may or may not need a new set of needle and seats.

 

All what you said but the needle and seats are a little less common. Clean the MJ's and PJ's and ensure that you actually unscrew them and run a wire through each jet to ensure that it is not still blocked.

Check for varmint items like nests in/on the airbox, muffler, etc. If the plugs were left in the engine there should be minimal stuck cylinder/piston issues.

The fuel pump discussion is a valid one, often times when let sit the diaphragm will dry up and crack, a rebuild kit can be had for these dual-carb pumps through your Doo dealer or Kimpex/Royal Distributing.

Your fuel lines may also be hard and brittle now, watch out for splits. If she still has a primer that might also be dried up and leaking air now too.

 

Those are all worse case scenarios. Chances are you can just drain the tank and carbs, put in new fuel, some ISO-heat (or seafoam) and just run it. I'd mix the first tank of gas 50:1 and keep an eye on the oil reservoir to see if it is using oil at all.

Take a grease gun and pump grease into every zerk you can find in the suspension, driveshaft, and ski spindles.

 

Thanks everybody for your suggestions.

I bought new plugs at CAP auto. They were $1.99, so it was a no-brainer. I'm glad to hear that with the plugs in that cylinder rust should not be an issue.

I'll pull the carbs and clean them out. Thanks Stinky!

Running an oil mix for the first tank is a great safeguard against a problem with oil feed. Thanks Bear!

I bought a new fuel pump so I have it if needed. Can always return it if not needed!

Great idea to check the intake and exhaust for mouse debris. I once worked on an ATV that had been sitting and the mice built a nest in the airbox and then proceeded to use the intake down to the carb as a bathroom. The carb was filled with mouse pee!!!!! A real stinking mess, but it cleaned up just fine. Thanks Lab!!

Once I get a chance to dig into this, I'll report back what I find.

Dan

 

????

 

So... tearing up the trails yet or what?

 

I arrived at the cabin on Friday. It's a 1/2 mile walk through nearly 2 feet of fluffy snow to get there. The snowmobile is tucked in the back of a narrow storage area, behind a gas grill and a large hydraulic log splitter. It's a very cramped area with little headroom and I couldn't get the machine out due to the deep snow, and one of the doors being glued into the ground by ice. All I could do was pull the recoil starter and see that the engine does indeed turn over freely. It was too cramped in there to be able to give it a good pull without jabbing my elbo into a 2/x4 or some other object.

I'm crushed that I'm going to have to wait until spring to pull all this junk out and then get the skidoo out into the sunlight where I can see what I'm doing. Realistically, I think it would be best to do it right and go over the whole machine and get everything lubed up before committing it to snow.

I'll post back here when I get it out and am able to start to dig into it.

 

I think everyone hit on the big items...I can only second what they are saying about cleaning the carbs and draining all gas and starting with fresh gas. I just put my 98 Touring E 380 back together and it is still baffling me a bit. Had a great first ride last weekend (25+) miles with no issues. Took it out this weekend and we went 10 miles and it just died at a road crossing. Had the guy who put in the piston and ring for me look at it and he thinks it is having issues again. *sigh*

I guess I'd double check the oil injection system and make sure it is working properly.

 

I wanted to follow up on this post.

This summer I managed to get this machine pulled out of the storage area and out into the sunshine where I could work on it. Obviously, the battery was long gone. I replaced the plugs and dropped in some marvelous mystery oil. Just for kicks, before pulling the carbs, I put jumper cables on it and cranked the engine over. It cranked very well, but no life with choke on. I sprayed starter fluid into the carbs, no life. Pulled the plugs, checked for spark, and sprayed some starter fluid in and replaced the plugs. Then I got a few pops. Cranked some more, but held my hand onto one of the carbs until I felt cold gas on the inside. Took my hand off and started to get some ignition. I choked the other carb the same way and within a minute or two I had the machine running. It ran pretty rough at first but within a few minutes it was actually running fairly well. Wouldn't idle unless I put a stick under the throttle lever to get a faster idle. I was in utter disbelief that I didn't have to pull the carbs, etc.

All of the above was after doing nothing to the carbs, and this is with 6 year old gas in the tank. I spoke with the prior owner and he said that all he did was put fuel stablilzer in the tank. The tank was mostly full, so I filled it up the rest of the way with fresh gas. I lifted up the rear end with the tractor and ran the track and after a bit pushed it up to 80 mph on the speedometer, no problems.

Throughout the summer I started it every few weeks and let it run for 15 minutes or so each time. Now I can start it, and it will idle all day, still with 6 year old gas mixed with some fresh stuff. I'm getting some good blue smoke out of it, so I have confidence that the oil is mixing OK.

 

Just don't do too many wide open throttle runs until you clean the carbs.... that's how you cook an engine..... But then again, from first look you don't seem to be the "wide open" type of guy.....

 

I'd still advise cleaning your carbs. 6 years is a long time to sit full of fuel, it's highly likely that there is varnish and gum built up in the jets. By the sounds of it, the pilot jets were pretty well blocked at first and did open up some, but it would still be good to check and clean. It may seem to be running decent. but is a good way to risk expensive damage if the carbs aren't cleaned. Personally, I wouldn't bother running fuel that was that old either, it's just asking for trouble.

 

Just don't do too many wide open throttle runs until you clean the carbs.... that's how you cook an engine..... But then again, from first look you don't seem to be the "wide open" type of guy.....

Yup, this machine will be used primarily as a sherpa to carry provisions up and down the hill when there's snow on the ground, making it impossible to get in by Jeep. It won't be going fast unless I figure out how to get to the trails.

 

I'd still advise cleaning your carbs. 6 years is a long time to sit full of fuel, it's highly likely that there is varnish and gum built up in the jets. By the sounds of it, the pilot jets were pretty well blocked at first and did open up some, but it would still be good to check and clean. It may seem to be running decent. but is a good way to risk expensive damage if the carbs aren't cleaned. Personally, I wouldn't bother running fuel that was that old either, it's just asking for trouble.

Thanks for the advise. I'll get the gas changed out. That's a pretty easy thing to do.

Not trying to be difficult, but how does a little varnish in a carb damage an engine if the engine is running well, which implies that it's getting a good air/fuel mix?

 

Yeah x2 from above, get all that crap gas out and make sure to clean those carbs! 380 is a great motor, congrats

 

Check the fan belt. Make sure the pulleys are clean. Idle time should be lowered to about 3 minutes. She will be cooking in 15!

 

Pilot jets, main jets, needle jets and jet needles could be gummed up. Even if it seems to run perfect, it may be running too lean at certain throttle settings and you may not realize till the damage has been done. There is likely some debris in the carb bowls as well, which could be sucked up into the jets without warning and partially plug one. The best running two stroke is a lean mix, right before it melts down..

 

The best running two stroke is a lean mix, right before it melts down..

Truer words were never spoken...

 

Truer words were never spoken...

Every mechanic has heard the words "It was running great right before it seized."

 

I siphoned about 6 gallons of old fuel out of the tank. It didn't smell old but it sure was a piss-like yellow-ish color. I put 6 gallons of fresh gas into it and added stabilizer. I confirmed with the seller that it really has been sitting for 6 years. It starts up and sure does run nicely. I notice that it's idling a lot faster than it was before.

I agree that there could be some gunk in the carbs, but if it's firing on both cylinders, I don't understand how that gunk could wreck an engine. I can see how if one cylinder is running excessively lean, that the whole engine could be driven by the other cylinder and the lean cylinder could end up being deprived of lubrication. But if it's running strong on both cylinders with good blue smoke, that tells me that I should be good. Please convince me that I'm wrong. I hate cleaning carbs, and this thing has two of them, so I want to be really sure that pulling it all apart is absolutely necessary, especially now that it's getting much colder.

 

I agree that there could be some gunk in the carbs, but if it's firing on both cylinders, I don't understand how that gunk could wreck an engine.

For the time it takes you should really clean the carb, i tell you why, if by chance one or both of the jets (main and idle) is partially blocked by gunk the engine may idle well but as soon as you power up and start driving there may not be sufficient gas/air mixture, a lean engine sounds good but as the boys say an engine sounds best just before she blows, i don't want to tell you later this winter, "i told you so"...better safe then sorry! :wink_old:

 

I siphoned about 6 gallons of old fuel out of the tank. It didn't smell old but it sure was a "edit for bad language"-like yellow-ish color. I put 6 gallons of fresh gas into it and added stabilizer. I confirmed with the seller that it really has been sitting for 6 years. It starts up and sure does run nicely. I notice that it's idling a lot faster than it was before.

I agree that there could be some gunk in the carbs, but if it's firing on both cylinders, I don't understand how that gunk could wreck an engine. I can see how if one cylinder is running excessively lean, that the whole engine could be driven by the other cylinder and the lean cylinder could end up being deprived of lubrication. But if it's running strong on both cylinders with good blue smoke, that tells me that I should be good. Please convince me that I'm wrong. I hate cleaning carbs, and this thing has two of them, so I want to be really sure that pulling it all apart is absolutely necessary, especially now that it's getting much colder.

You've already been told by several folks on here who hang their hats on getting home with their sleds by properly taking care of them. Clean the carbs. Sled love you long time.

 

Guys,

I figured that I would update you on the status of this machine. Early in the winter I changed out the gas and put fresh gas in. The old gas smelled fine, but was a sick yellow color. I also added some fuel stabilizer as I chose to live risky and not take out the carbs and go through cleaning them. I do appreciate the advise to do that, but just didn't want to go that far with it. I was willing to take the risk, especially since I was not going to be doing any "wide open" operation.

Once we had enough snow, I was able to use the machine to haul in provisions to the cabin. Throughout this winter I probably made 50 trips up and down the hill pulling a Jet Sled Jr filled with stuff. Each round trip is about a mile. The machine and the sled performed wonderfully. The Jet Sled Jr was much better once I welded up a steel draw bar so it wouldn't keep running off the path when going back down the hill.

I did have one scare however on this last trip. On one of the return trips down the hill, the engine started to sound a bit raspy and then stalled. Turns out that the engine overheated because the fan belt broke. When that happened, I was thinking that I'd have to come back here and admit to you guys that my engine was cooked because I was too lazy to clean the carbs. After some Marvelous Mystery Oil in the cylinders and a new belt, the machine runs good as new again. We also adjusted the oil pump to give it just a bit more oil.

Looks like we might be done for the year as all the snow in NH is now gone.

 

I usually just use just 2 stroke oil down the cylinders when it is going to sit for a while. Fill the primer with it too, it won't seep out and will keep the primer's O-ring from drying out.

 

Just also got a hand-me-down 2001 Touring 380 that we've been cleaning up. We're curious if you know the mpg that you are getting with this sled. Thanks!