STEP-BY-STEP RESUSCITATION

Step 1: Pull the ATV out of the water. Pop the lid off the airbox to see if that's where the trouble originated. If the airbox is soaked, pull out the spark plug, dry it off and set it aside. Dry out the spark plug cap with a dry cloth if possible. If the air filter is soaked, remove it and wring it out.

Step 2: If your quad is powered by a four-stroke engine, turn the on/off switch off and hit the electric start or kick the piston through, and watch all the water from the cylinder and exhaust blow out through the pipe. If water keeps coming out of the exhaust, stand it up on the grab bar and let it drain out. If your machine is a two-stroke, with the plug removed, tilt the ATV on its side or upside down and push the kickstarter several times to drain the water out of the cylinder and bottom end through the spark plug hole (you may find that two-stroke engines can hold a surprising amount of water!)

Step 3: Drain the float bowl. If you suspect that water got into the gas tank (you really have to sink a quad to do that), let the machine sit upright for a few minutes so the water can settle to the bottom of the tank. Then-turn the fuel petcock to reserve and drain some gas out (reserve takes fuel from the very bottom of the tank).

Step 4: Once all the water is out of the system, replace the spark plug and air filter, pull on the choke and try to start it. It will probably blubber and sputter, but don't hit the throttle to try to dry it out! Just let the engine idle—if you rev an engine with water in it, you can cause serious internal damage. After a few min­utes of idling, the engine should start drying itself out and sounding better. If it isn't running at all, pro­ceed to Step 5; otherwise skip to "When You Get Home."

Step 5: If none of the above has worked, either an electrical connec­tion or the stator has gotten wet (the CDI boxes on most quads are usually completely sealed). If you have the tools, remove the flywheel cover to see if the stator is wet If it is, dry it off.  If not, start blowing out all the electrical connections. If your quad still won't fire, and it's beginning to get dark, start pushing!

When You Get Home After a Drown-Out: Check all fluids (crankcase, tranny, shaft, front four-wheel drive). If any of the oil is milky, change it. Clean the air filter. Grease the heck out of everything you can (if you have zerks, blow out all the old grease completely). Lube all your cables with a light oil (don't use chain lube). Disassemble, clean and lube just about every part you have time for. Pull the flywheel cover off and spray down the stator with contact cleaner or WD-40. The next time you ride, check all the fluids again when you are done; the oil may still be milky from water left in there. In that case, change the oil again.

• Any time ATV engineers draw up plans for a new quad, they always plan for lots of water and mud abuse. Most folks who buy ATVs love to take them to the limits while crossing streams and mudbogs. And as most mechanics know, water and mud can wreak havoc on all things mechani­cal.

Fortunately, today's quads have lots of built-in water and mud defens­es. There are, however, plenty of potential mechanical troubles that can crop up if you spend too much time getting soaked. Following are some hot tips to keep your quad up and running despite the ill effects of H2O and mud.

PLAN AHEAD

•  Unless your quad runs strictly on dry surfaces, don't use an airbox with holes in it or with the lid off! Aftermarket airboxes aren't good for deep water, either. You can make your stock setup even more water­proof by building a duct-tape guard around the air scoop intake area to keep water from splashing in on the really wet rides.

• Many of the top Cross-Country racers use a Twin-Air filter with Liquid Power Filter Oil (also avail­able from Twin-Air). They claim it works great at keeping everything out of the air intake. If you want to simply waterproof your stock filter, add an Outerwears filter cover; it doesn't even let water in.

• Before riding in mud and/or water, grease every moving part you can. One of the best lubes to use is mining-grade industrial grease; it's real sticky and gooey and won't wash out. Something that might be easier to find is boat trailer wheel bearing grease, which also resists water and mud. Clean and take apart nearly every moving component and bear­ing more often than you would if you were riding in dry conditions.

• If you will be doing a lot of mud and water riding, your best bet is to run an 0-ring chain. If you have a non-0-ring chain, make sure it gets lubed every time you go riding.

SEAL AND GREASE

• Anywhere there's wire penetra­tion into the cases, seal it off with silicone. If there's a rubber boot at the base of it, secure it with a small zip-tie. Zip-ties can also be used on the rubber boots on the handlebar con­trols to keep mud out.

• On all electrical connections, use high-electrolyte silicone grease. This keeps moisture and dirt out and the 0-rings pliable. This includes spark plug caps as well (an unsealed spark plug cap will result in a missing engine after a dunking).

• Make sure the stator stays dry by checking to make sure the gasket is in good shape, and then seal off the cover with silicone.

• Owners of older Polaris models have to keep a special eye on the vent tube for the PVT belt-drive clutch. This tube normally runs up underneath the gas tank and poses no problem as long as the water level doesn't get that high. However, when the going gets real deep, water can quickly run down the tube into the tranny, causing the belt to slip and eventually bringing the machine to a halt. This doesn't, in itself, cause seri­ous damage. The cure is to get the machine out of the water, cut the zip-tie at the base of the hose where it connects to the clutch cover, start the machine up in neutral and run it as the water spews out and the heat of the clutch dries it out. Don't think you can just plug up the end of the vent tube- this will result in the PVT getting so hot that the clutch cover melts!

• If your quad has sealed drum brakes, take them apart occasionally and wash the brake drum cover with water and detergent. This will make the brakes last quite a bit longer.

•. If you spend a lot of time in deep water, you can re-route and add length to some of the vent tubes. However, don't get the overflow vent hose higher than the carb or it will flood the motor.

• When the differential gets hot and then cools during a long, deep stream crossing, the cooling air sucks water into the unit through the vent hose (if there is one). The same thing can happen with a crankcase vent hose. You can avoid this problem sim­ply by installing a one-way check valve (make sure it's installed in the right direction!).

GOT MILK?

• Check all fluids (crankcase, tranny, shaft, front four-wheel drive) after a deep water ride to see if any of the oil is milky (a sure sign that water got in there). It's too late if you wait until you hear funny noises coming from the drive train—those types of repairs can be real expensive! If there is milky oil in the crankcase, you can still ride it to get home, but take it slow and easy. Change it as soon as you can and then run it for a while. If it's still milky, change it again.

• If you know you will be spending lots of time in real deep water, attach a snorkel to the exhaust pipe and route it to the top of the quad. When a four-stroke engine drowns out, water can sometimes be sucked back in through the exhaust and may bend a connecting rod.

• Serious swamp and mud riders affix snorkel hoses made from PVC pipe or flexible rubber automotive or pool hose to their air intake, run­ning it up above the handlebars in the front of the machine. To describe how to make your own snorkel kit (right now no company sells them) would take an entire article—which in fact we did in the December 2000 issue of Dirt Wheels. Watch for an updated version of that story with the latest snorkel tricks in an upcom­ing issue.