How To Fix a Stuck Snowmobile Throttle

Summer is officially over (finally!) and we’re closing in on the time of year to pull sleds out of storage and get them ready for the snowmobiling season. You’re hoping that your snowmobile will just need a few shots of grease, some fresh fuel and a once-over with a wrench to make sure the bolts are tight. But what if you run into a stuck throttle lever?

This is actually a fairly common problem with round-slide carburetors. It can be caused by sticky residue from old fuel that collected between the throttle valve and carburetor bore. No, fuel doesn’t flow through this area, but fuel vapor makes its way up there. Unscrew the carburetor caps and inspect the slides.

You’ll likely see a sticky, yellow film on the slides and in the carburetor bore. If so, spray carburetor cleaner on a shop towel and wipe the yellow residue until it disappears from the slide valve and bore, then remove and disassemble the carburetors. Clean every jet and passageway with carburetor cleaner and compressed air. Make sure the pilot and main jets are clean so it idles and runs well above idle and at wide-open throttle.

If a carb cleaning doesn’t fix the problem the problem might reside inside the plastic housing on the throttle cable assembly. Drill a hole in the plastic case and squirt a little WD-40 and try to work loose the cable. There is a chance that moisture inside the black plastic tube that the metal cable slides within has caused corrosion. Spray penetrating oil between the sheath and cable to help loosen it.

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