If we had a nickel for every old, non-running snowmobile laying idle across the Snowbelt, we’d have enough material to chrome the Statue Of Liberty. But that might be a poor use of legal tender, not to mention there are some who might object to making our giant green lady the world’s largest single consumer of bumper polish.
No sir, better use of the nickels would be to throw a few at each dead snowmobile, and chances are you know where one resides. Dig it out and pull it to a suitable workstation. Ignore the cosmetics. That crusty, orange sponge of a seat can wait for the full restoration when the mood strikes. A simple carb rebuild might be what gets that old sled chuffing back to life for a pleasurable vintage ride.
Carburetors can be intimidating with the intricate parts, springs and lack of understanding to the complete inner workings. The good news is that the old “pumper” diaphragm carbs used in vintage snow machinery are less complex than the modern Mikuni, and far easier to work on. Muster the courage, get a few supplies and get cracking. The sense of accomplishment for getting a dead sled running again is amazing — and should serve as adequate incentive to place a parts order…
To download the rest of the article, please visit our Downloads page and scroll to “Rebuild a Vintage Snowmobile Carburetor” or click on the image to the left. This article covers the steps required to service a carburetor in a vintage snowmobile, specifically, the Walbro WF series pumper carburetor that was commonly used on early snowmobile engines. Parts for those old carburetors are readily available, but the intricate nature of the device might prevent some vintage snowmobile enthusiasts from digging in, but this article includes detailed instructions and photographs to make the job easy to perform.
Hello, I came across your article on rebuilding vintage carburetors but cannot download them to my iPad. Is the article available for purchase anywhere else. I am trying to get a 73 Panther 440 running again after 20 years. Everything is working except for the carb now. Thanks.
I have a 1976 Massey Ferguson whirlwind 340 cyclone motor in good condition and the carburetor is feeding to much gas it’s hard start and it doesn’t want to idle I had my Massey furgeson whirlwind running last winter but this winter I can’t seem to get it to stay running need to fix it because it is a vintage sled and I’d really would love to be able ride it again.