Subtopic	Posts		Updated
	Archive through January 14, 2001	7

By lilchief on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Hello can anyone help me???????????
I bought an ARGO 2 weeks ago and I am very happy with it. but I have a problem I think.. I have alot of chaine slapping in the channels is this normal??? Next and more important....
The first day I got it.. boy what power no hasitation it was great.. The next day it seemed like i had lost power, wasn't sure. Now every time I touch the throutle it puts out black smoke from running rich or is this normal, I cleaned the air filter and it was covered in gas.. I was wondering if maybe I can turn the gas down alittle or something... Maybe I'm getting to much and running rich would this cause a power loss??
I could use some help PLEASE...
I HOPE I DIDN'T GET BURNED...

By roadwolf on Unrecorded Date: Edit

ya maybe drivin around with yer choke on, or its' stuck or ya gotta damaged needle and seat in yer carb, and its tryin flood out tha motor. in anycase you definately should have known!

By Anthony McIntyre on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Have a brand new ARGO conquest. Have 10 hours on it. Bought it brand new 2 weeks ago. Turns bad on asphalt, really bad in high gear on asphalt. Not real good turning in water, but was never told it was. Turns great both high and low gear on what I bought it for, trail riding not street riding!!
Bought from Bill Barnes in Maryland. He delivered it on time and at the right price. Told up front,turn slow on asphalt, will rip up tires.
He did a great job of pointing out ARGO Conquest stengths and weakness`s.
Bill and Drew both did a super job on everything, delivery, teaching me how to use it, great with my family. Refreshing to buy something like an ARGO and see good old fashion service. Bill was a true gentleman. Pete in South Jersey also was a big help in talking about the ARGO. Its the hit in this South Jersey town, Everyone in this quad area loves it. FOR LACK OF BETTER WORDS ITS UNIQUE. I back up to thousands of acres of pine lands and nobody has one or seems to know what it is.
Route 6x6 was very helpful in educating me about these ATV`s but I think that the mean stuff about Max VS. The ARGO and 6x6 over Quads is over-done.
Would enjoy riding with with Max,ARGO,Quads,and Attex owners or anyone else who enjoys the outdoors and riding. Fred ever think of selling both? You seem very passionate about the sport. Many car dealers sell different types of cars they make more money and offer more choices for different taste. I bet you could sale the advantages of both to many buyers. Maybe someone likes the Max better than a ARGO for looks alone or vice-versa.
I am very happy with the ARGO, Heater works great, been every where I could test it near-by and got stuck only once. My approach out of the water was up a steep hidden underwater sand bank. Quads I was with could not go in the stream but got me un-stuck by putting the ARGO in neutral and pulling me out with a winch from solid ground.

I own a quad and enjoy it, but for me and my young family the ARGO is great because I can take them with me. 8x8 is a different animal tough to compare because they are so different. I have the best of both worlds I own both. I had my seventy four year old Mother in the back and she had a blast.Im sure Fred is partial to a Max it seems to me they are both great toys! I hope he sells a million !!! I bought a ARGO because it looks better (to me) and seems to have more leg room because Im 6-2 224lb and I know I was getting it to haul my wife and two kids around the woods. I will say the ARGO has taken on everything if not more than my powerful quad.

I have had the quad for two years so I manage to get dirty and have fun in the mud holes. My bet is the Max might be stronger in that area . For a Family Man like me who still likes a little crazy riding the ARGO has the necessary power for what we have in the NJ pines. I look forward to meeting new friends with this new hobby. Thanks 6x6 great web site!

By lilchief on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Thanks Roadwolf that gives me some Ideas on what to check. I did check to see if the choke was on it's not... I will pull the plugs today and see how much carbon is on them... It's hard to work on this mechine with out an service manual.. and the dealer didn't have any. so it is all guess work unless I call him to and take my bigfoot but then I will not see it for another 6 months. I prefer to do the work my self... Thanks for the help anyone else got any answers....
Maybe should of got a MAX

By kevinv123 on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Lilchief,
A 2 week old machine is under warranty, GET IT back to the dealer. They will never know or be able to tell the factory of any potential problems if you try to adjust it without their help. I too had some carb problems in the first year with my Vanguard. Dirty fuel filter and dirt in the bowl were two causes of many headaches. Chain slapping is caused by the primary drive chains on the output shafts of the trans being too loose. In the owners manual it clearly describes the procedure for adjusting these.

By pete6x6 on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Lilchief,

Your engine is running rich too rich! If you have gas in the air cleaner you need to adjust your carb down a bit. I'm assuming you have a big briggs in it so a manual for that engine will help alot. There are jets on the carb with slots for a standard screwdriver you simply adjust them by turning them. The manual for that engine wil ltell you what the proper settings and procedure for that will be.

By david berger (David3rdd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

lilchief,
get it over with now, chainge that pice of shit carb to a micuni !!!ask brandon!

By roadwolf on Unrecorded Date: Edit

lilchief,
if it is a new machine and ya don't want yer monkey mittens to void the warranty, tell yer dealer.
if it is a used machine you can check your float height, make sure your float is airtight an not fillin up w/gas and holdin the needle and seat open.
the last thing for now i can think is, check that your airscrew valve has not fallen completely out, and is about 2 to 3 turns out from tha seated position.

By lilchief on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Thanks for the feed back on my problem with the ARGO carb...
This Mechine is brand new.. But if I told the Dealer that I was loosoing power and he said there is no way. He said I am just getting useto it... But I know better... I solved the Chain problem. needed to tighten the chain tightens didn't know how now I do.
The dealer had no service manuals. on this mechine. he doesn't order any he wants people to bring there mechines back to him.
I also needed cleats and he gives me the runaround. He was ahowing me an 8wheeler he was workingon he had it in hes shop for six months and screwed up the fuel system by letting it sit to long with out stabbleizeing the fuel. so I don't want him working on mine unless it is something I can't do.
I will try to find Brandon and see how he switched carbs.

By Mark M (Mark2) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

lilchief I was told by my dealer when I bought my Conquest that you may experience a hunting idle, rough running engine. He had advise to take it easy on the engine and let it break in first. The idle may do all kinds of crazy things as it does break in but will stabilize. Sorry to hear that you have such a bad experience with your dealer. I bought my Conquest from the same place that Anthony had said in his post above and those guys were very helpful and knew what they were doing. Maybe you can locate another dealer to service your Argo. How many hours do you have on your Argo?

With a new purchase you should receive a bunch of paperwork to go with your Argo. There is a service manual for the Argo and one for the engine. Any accessories that you may have will have accompaning manual to go with it. I got a service video also. Oh and don't forget you warrenty information and title or bill or sale. There may be other stuff that I'm forgetting but I'm sure someone else on the boards knows.

By lilchief on Unrecorded Date: Edit

hello Mark. I got a few papers but no manuals to talk about I got a video of do's and dont's but nothing on serviceing my ARGO. The Dealer said if there would be any services then he would pick it up and do it them selfs. I asked for a service repair manual and he said he would through one in, and then changed his mind and said Oh I'm sorry I don't have any. The Dealer is not very prepaired as far as stock goes I had to drive 200 miles just to pick up the tongue to my hitch becouse he forgot to give it to me.. When I called him about it he said ( I will get it down to you some how or when I come through your area I will drop it off) Ya right... I got a manual on parts for the b,S engine and one on the transmitsion, and a list of hours when to greese change oil and clean filter ets. but nothing else on serving or even how to change the oil or filter. I have to figure this out on my own. all the Dealer said to me was make sure you change the oil after breakin. and then said he uses and recommends me going to vip and buying a pump to drain the oil other wisw it will take all day to change. ... This dealer works off the east coast in Elsworth maine. and there is no other dealer around here accept in Maryland..
I want to buy books or manually and parts and accessery if I can... Hell I can't even find out where I can buy parts for this thing and it really is makeing me mad..
I have at the moment 47hrs on my BIGFOOT it hasn't say very long believe me. Still runs great just haveing a power loss. I will try some carb cleaner in the gas tank and see how that works.
I'm thinking about becomeing a parts dealer for the 6x6s and maybe then we can all get parts that we need.
I think I will have to call Bill Barns in order to get anything done. This Dealer in Maine is a nice guy but not very well equipt for parts or acc.

By lilchief on Unrecorded Date: Edit

When I got my BIGFOOT I took it out and on the second day I almost lost two tires. Iwent to chect the air presure becouse it kept turning to the left and found 4 lugs almost off I believe they were on by not more then 3 threads and the track one of the Pins was comeing out so I had to tap it back in with a hammer and found the set screw is gone... I tryed to fold down the windshield for the hell of it just to see what it would look like and the susport arm on the driverside was not even matched up I had to remeove it and line it up myself...
He also told me my chain had automatic tighteners on it so would not have to worry about it... well they don't when the chain gets noise i reached down and had to apply a little preasure and they snapped in place so I still have to mess with them.. I'm not happy with the top eather so far five of the snaps have screwed up all ready and the zipper on the left door doesn't work with a crap. But if I say anything to them all I will get is... Well your to rough or you did this wrong or some line.. so it is best to shut up and deal with it. ..
I will call bill barns and see what can be done.. heck I ordered cleats and The dealer says he get any for me ... I believe I will go to the sorce. and see what happens. thanks. for the help

By Lazerman (Lazerman) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Lilchief
As far as the engine problems go why not just take it to your local Briggs Dealer. These engines are used on all kinds of equipment and they probably know more about them than most AATV dealers. I've talked with two in my area about jetting my carb. They were very helpful and have any parts you might need, (engine parts only). I sure wouldn’t take it back to the dealer you purchased it from if he’s acting like you said. Or, like someone else posted, find another dealer in your area.
Incase anyone once to know, the reason I want to re-jet my carb is, I have a 14hp Briggs and the only difference between the 14hp and the 16hp is the jetting in the carburetor. Three different Briggs dealers told me the same thing. If you look at the specs on the engine, bore, stroke etc. all are the same. Hope this gives you some options. Just had one other thought! Check with the factory (Argo) and ask them if having an authorized Briggs dealer take a look at you machine or for that matter working on the engine would void your warranty. I can’t see where they would have a problem with that as long as it was an authorize Briggs dealer. The key word being. authorized. They may even fix it at no charge because it is a new Briggs engine still under the factory warranty

By Robert Sprain on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Reading these posts, everyone is talking about the briggs engine. Is it better than the Kaw option?

By ISAAC EISENMAN (Tropicjungleboy) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

HEY ROBERT: people talk about u.s. briggs straton air cooled vanguard engines (they are as a matter of fact japanese mitsubishi) because are the standard from 1990 thru now on ri and argo...kawasaki engine (also japanese) produced the powerfull 440, a two-cycle engine, air cooled, rated at 40 h.p ( the water cooled version was used on jet ski)....now argo offer the water cooled, 4 cycle, 20 h.p. engine on their 8x8........on the long term be aware of liquid cooling system...they just fails with out proper manteniance........on aatv you should go for simplicity...

By beeman on Unrecorded Date: Edit

For changing the oil, gallon sized ziplock bags are the key, the oil drain plug is a pain to get to the first time, but after that you get the hang of it. Drain the oil into the ziplock bag, very little mess, and easy to deal with. Sorry to hear you are having so many problems, there are boneheads everywhere. Hope everything works out, it was finally above zero here, took my conquest out for an extended journey into the bush, went from minus 49 on wed. to plus 28 today, a heat wave.

Dave Beeman
Eielson AFB Alaska

By BMoreland on Unrecorded Date: Edit

hello everyone,
I just got my Bigfoot and had to do the 8 hour oil and filter change. I switched over to synthetic oil for temperature range considerations. The ziplock bag trick won't work for me because the genius that installed the bilge pump chose to place it right dead in front of the oil drain plug. I was able to get 80% of the oil into a baggie and mop the rest out of the bilge with paper towels. I gotta either relocate the bilge pump or try to retrofit one of those quick drain plug valve things with the plastic tube like I have on my Craftsman 20 horse Briggs lawn tractor. If the female thread on both blocks is the same it should make an easy solution.Question: Why does the manual say to have the vehicle sitting level when I would get lots better drainage with the vehicle sitting with the front slightly uphill? Another Question: I have an annoying throttle lag so that I have to keep twittching the throttle to keep up the revs. Is that something I'm gonna have to get used to or is that something I can adjust on and improve. Any comments on the lag thing are most welcome and thanks in advance for them.

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

OOH THE FROUNT UPHILL TRICK WORKS GOOD TO DRAIN IT BUT THEY WORRIED YOU WILL FORGET TO PUT IT ON THE LEAVLE BEFORE YOU REFILL IT, IT NEEDS TO BE ON THE LEVEL FOR REFILING,
DON'T FORGET TO REMOVE THE FUEL PUMP VACUME HOSE WILE YOU REFILL OR YOU MAY RUIN YOUR FUEL PUMP.

THE LAG TIME ECT.. IS FROM YOUR GOVENER, GET USED TO IT OR BYPASS THE GOVENER,
THE TRICK TO BYPASSING GOVENER THOUGH IS NOT TO FORGET TO KEEP A TIGHT SPRING ON THE ARM COMING OUT OF BLOCK, OTHERWISE THE INTERNALE GOPVENER PARTS WILL SCATTER AND DESTROY YOUR BLOCK!
BEST IDEA IS FIRST LOOK AT A FEW THAT HAVE BINE BYPASSED BY OTHER PEOPLE,

By TIM O'KEEFE on Unrecorded Date: Edit

GOOD ADVICE DAVE! I USE A DRILL PUMP FOR MY B/F OIL DRAIN. I HAVE BEEN DOING IT FOR YEARS. JUST MAKE SURE YOU USE A POWER DRILL AND OIL IS WARM. THEY USE VACUUM PUMPS ON BOATS AND AT GO CART TRACKS ALL THE TIME. YOUR OIL FILTER SHOULD TAKE CARE OF ANY METAL FILINGS AT BOTTOM OF PAN.

By JESSE VOIGHT (Voight24) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Bmoreland , no need to do 8 hour oil changes, I use a vacuum pump (they sell at walmart for less than $10) I have had one for my inboard boat motor for years. You just pump the oil out the dipstick hole vey simple and fast takes 10 minutes. Or Daves drill pump will work. I also just put 0-30w mobil one synthetic oil in for temperature reasons its very old here in Minnesota the high today is gonna be 8.
I also put synthetic gear oil on the transmition amsoil 75-90w. Machine only has 38 hours on it.

By BMoreland on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Thanks for the comebacks everyone. I gotta look into that vacume pump deal. I didn't see anything about a fuel pump vacume hose in the manual so I didn't disconnect anything. I hope I have'nt screwed up.
Hear in SE Mass, the temp rocketed all the way to 20 today so maybe I'll change the tranny oil over to synthetic also. Is that amsoil sposta be good stuff? If anyone could give me a good step by step set of instructions on bypassing the govenor, I'd appreciate it. I think I have the only argo within 100 miles so looking at someone else's bypass job is gonna be difficult. Thanks again for the replies

By Timothy Schotanus (Mudbuster) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

I live between Worcester and Rhode island and my gov is bypassed. We should get together for a ride and check each others machine out.

By newmax on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Tim is your machine alot faster now

By JESSE VOIGHT (Voight24) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Bmoreland , I have been using amsoil in snomobiles , cars trucks you name it for years.
Great stuff, I put the synthetic gear oil in my front and rear diffs in my 4x4 truck and get beter gas milage it also will not freeze like regular gear oil. Have you ever tried to get a truck moving at 20 below 0 and noticed the gear oil is froze and you have to give it gas to break free? Just imagine what the tranny in the argo is like with the regular gear oil. If you dont believe me try pouring a quart of regular gear oil at 20 below. Amsoil will poor at 40 below 0.

By Timothy Schotanus (Mudbuster) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

It's an absolute screemer. But I did a lot more to the engine than just bypass the gov. It is now safe to run my engine 6000RPM all day. I have new dome top pistons,I-beam connocting rods,valve spring retainers and more. If you do bypass your governor without any other modifications keep in mind that everytime you overrev you are taking a chance. I know people that have done it without problems, it's just something to keep in mind when your on that long smooth down grade and your engine sounds like a 2-stroke.