I've been searching and can't find an answer, so I apologize

imroc · 03-03-2011, 10:40 PM

...if this topic has been brought up before.

I bought a pair of 1 yr old Tao Tao 110cc ATVs. The oil was was pretty black and the air filters were caked with dirt/dust/bugs, etc. I decided to do some maintenance on them and started with the black one. I cleaned the air filter in gasoline overnight and sprayed it with compressed air to dry it, oiled it and blew off excess oil. I went ahead and changed the oil. I don't have a means to measure the oil, so I went by the sight glass on the crankcase and filled half way. Oops! Had a ton of smoke and realized that the crankcase was too full. So, I immediately stopped the engine and drained it down and went by the level on the dipstick. Stupid mistake. I ran it for a few minutes to clear the oil that got into the piston/cylinder (i'm sure it did) until the smoke cleared. Now the poor ATV sputters badly. I thought that I may have damaged the rings or something, but seems to be an air/fuel problem. I decided to pull the air filter off and run it for a minute (don't start...I know). It ran like a champ, even better than it did when I got it. I looked through the air filter and can see light clearly and cleanly. I sprayed it with compressed air for shitz n grinz and re-installed. Same problem, lack of air as it seems. I ran it around the block a few times to get a feel for what's going on and this is what I found:

When in first gear, if you give it the throttle, fast or smooth, it sputters. When you let off for a split second and throttle again, it'll rev up. This may require a few times in each gear, sometimes, once. Inconsistent. Pull the filter and the thing will nearly pull the front wheels off the ground and feels smooth through all gears.

I don't want to rule out possible ring damage because of the overfill of oil, but it seems like a fuel/air issue. I just don't understand why cleaning the filter would make it seem worse then before the maintenance. I did pull the plug and clean off the carbon residue from the overfill and checked the gap as well.

Any info, input, comments would be great.

Side note:
While I had it down, I checked the sprockets, because the chain kept coming off. I ended up finding a tooth missing on the front sprocket and replaced it (cheap parts, huh?! I bought a few for spares). Adjusted the chain, and it's good.

03-03-2011, 10:40 PM	#1
imroc Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 35	I've been searching and can't find an answer, so I apologize ...if this topic has been brought up before. I bought a pair of 1 yr old Tao Tao 110cc ATVs. The oil was was pretty black and the air filters were caked with dirt/dust/bugs, etc. I decided to do some maintenance on them and started with the black one. I cleaned the air filter in gasoline overnight and sprayed it with compressed air to dry it, oiled it and blew off excess oil. I went ahead and changed the oil. I don't have a means to measure the oil, so I went by the sight glass on the crankcase and filled half way. Oops! Had a ton of smoke and realized that the crankcase was too full. So, I immediately stopped the engine and drained it down and went by the level on the dipstick. Stupid mistake. I ran it for a few minutes to clear the oil that got into the piston/cylinder (i'm sure it did) until the smoke cleared. Now the poor ATV sputters badly. I thought that I may have damaged the rings or something, but seems to be an air/fuel problem. I decided to pull the air filter off and run it for a minute (don't start...I know). It ran like a champ, even better than it did when I got it. I looked through the air filter and can see light clearly and cleanly. I sprayed it with compressed air for shitz n grinz and re-installed. Same problem, lack of air as it seems. I ran it around the block a few times to get a feel for what's going on and this is what I found: When in first gear, if you give it the throttle, fast or smooth, it sputters. When you let off for a split second and throttle again, it'll rev up. This may require a few times in each gear, sometimes, once. Inconsistent. Pull the filter and the thing will nearly pull the front wheels off the ground and feels smooth through all gears. I don't want to rule out possible ring damage because of the overfill of oil, but it seems like a fuel/air issue. I just don't understand why cleaning the filter would make it seem worse then before the maintenance. I did pull the plug and clean off the carbon residue from the overfill and checked the gap as well. Any info, input, comments would be great. Side note: While I had it down, I checked the sprockets, because the chain kept coming off. I ended up finding a tooth missing on the front sprocket and replaced it (cheap parts, huh?! I bought a few for spares). Adjusted the chain, and it's good.
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