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Am I doing the right thing?

Kd2006

Member
Lifetime Membership
Jan 30, 2013
50
12
8
North Central Montana
Howdy all

I have a 2003 Polaris RMK 800 151" track that I bought roughly 2 years ago with 3100 miles for $2600, and the seller claimed that there were only 50 miles on a fresh rebuild with new Wiseco pistons, new welded crank, and some other fresh odds and ends.

A couple weeks ago I brought it into work to do some tuning and adjusting on it to get it ready for winter. Anyways, while it was idling, I noticed a puddle of coolant growing right underneath the exhaust pipe where it goes through the belly pan. I immediately shut it down and ran to a guy I know that is a genius when it comes to snowmobile motors. He thought it was either a cracked cylinder or a bad head gasket. I've been wanting to trail port and polish it with the setup he has for SLP exhaust and airbox gutting. I haven't heard a single bad thing about the setup he has for it.

Anyways, he tore it apart down to the crankshaft because I had previously complained about possible coolant in the crank case. Needless to say, after he tore it down, he found that the crank was not welded, has 2 bad crank bearings, and possibly more bearings out. The coating on the pistons were already showing some pretty alarming wear marks. He is shipping the crank off to SLP to have them take a second look. And I told him to put some new pistons in it if the crank came back ok and depending on costs.

With him porting/polishing the cylinders, resealing the crankcase and putting a brand new complete seal kit in the entire motor, new pistons, v-force reeds and some other odds and ends, and with him cutting me a deal because a) He didn't have some stuff he previously he thought he had to get me up and running, and b) he wants to help me out, its going to cost me at least a $1000 bucks, with a rebuilt crank, if SLP can even fix it. The pto and mag ends of the crank look good, but have "stock" bearings on each end.

Basically, I'm having my entire motor rebuilt. I trust this guy, he really knows his stuff.

I'm wondering if I am just wasting money, or actually doing some good to this sled and making it last a couple more years?

Any thoughts/inputs would be appreciated, and I am not looking at anything as negative criticism, just asking for other peoples opinion. I have had a couple people tell me that I'm doing the right thing, considering I cannot afford to do the "right" thing to clear all this stuff up and buying a new sled. If things seem murky to you, just ask, and I can try and clear some of this explanation up.

Thanks everyone, and have a good night. And let it snow.


!!For the second edit, I forgot to mention that I have only put roughly 350 miles on this "rebuilt" motor.!!
 
Last edited:

sled_guy

Well-known member
Premium Member
Jul 5, 2001
3,566
843
113
Riverton, Utah
Did he actually say to you "cracked cylinder or bad head gasket"? If he did... don't trust him.

They don't have head gaskets, they have O-rings and no engine guy that knows Polaris 800s is ever going to say head gasket on a motor that has O-rings. There are about 10 other things that can cause that leaking antifreeze before assuming a cracked cylinder.

Did he actually figure out why or where it was leaking?

As to your question, $1000 to get an 800 completely fresh is a heck of a deal. What you going to do with it if you don't fix it? Part it out? You'll only get a few hundred bucks if you do that.

sled_guy
 

Kd2006

Member
Lifetime Membership
Jan 30, 2013
50
12
8
North Central Montana
Thanks for the reply.

I apologize about not adding the information.

I had him tear it down as soon as he could. It was definitely a bad O-ring.

I used to be a car mechanic. I just have a habit of calling things on a sled the same thing as what's on a car if it pretty much does the same thing in theory. I apologize.

I would have looked at doing this myself, but I've never done one of these motors, and I didn't have the time. Plus, as I said, this guy is good
 

sled_guy

Well-known member
Premium Member
Jul 5, 2001
3,566
843
113
Riverton, Utah
No need to apologize, sounds like he's getting it sorted for you.

In my opinion the Edge is still a decent chassis. Yeah, it's no Pro, but for a budget sled that you can have fun on it's a good sled. So for $1000 you are basically getting a brand new motor from someone you really trust, as I said before, I think that's a dang good deal.

sled_guy
 
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