Summer sled maintenance & upgrades!

It's time for "almost" everyone to get their sleds ready for storage. The owners manual probably gives some good points, but you cant beat some good advice from some of the seasoned riders on SW! If you have some good tips post them up!

Some basics to look at and do:
-Grease everything "really" good! You would be surprised how much water gets inside some of the suspension fittings and tubes. Sometimes water skipping is a must for some of the spring glacier or mountain rides I do, but water still finds its way in just normal deep snow riding.
-Clean your clutches!! Clean the faces with scotch bright pad (don't get aggressive), blow out with compressed air as a minimum.
-Top off your gas tank and add a stabilizer. I even add a little 2 stroke oil. Never leave regular ethanal gas in your sled! It absorbs water and breaks down the rubber fuel lines and gaskets plus its corrosive to some internals of your EFI or carbs.
-Check and or replace your Hifax. Quick and easy to do this time of year and gets you ready for next year. I like to take out my whole rear skid to grease everything and then do this.
-Check all the boggy wheels and bearings
-Add some dryer sheets under the hood to help keep out the summer critters like chipmunks
-Compression test and/or Leak down test. Great time to see if things need freshened up over the summer or to at least establish a base line.
-Fresh coat of wax on the sled

This is a great time to look for any broken bent parts, you could find deals later at Haydays or up grade to some aftermarket items like some light weight goodies.
If your new to the Axys there are a number of companies that sell some pretty cool bolt ons!
-Send off your clutches! You would be shocked to find out how out of balance many are. This is a great time to send them off to a place like Indy Specialty https://www.indyspecialty.com to have them machined to proper specs, balanced, new springs and weights. You will thank me next year when everything works the way its supposed to!

-I also recommend getting your shocks re-valved and rebuilt for "your" riding style and size. This makes a huge difference to how the sled handles and how quick it reacts. A good shock company should have a check sheet with questions for you or ask you specifics that they write down. Check out a number of great shock places like: https://carlscycle.com
There are many more things to do and add to this list. I know Mountain Horse had a good write up with points to grease if anyone can add it.

bobback said:

Or have the dealer do it. ha Really a minimal price if you trust your local dealer, which I do.

Although some great tips by OP!

Click to expand...

Your right some dealers do a great job. Some dealers here have a "pre" season tune up special in the fall, which is good, however it doesn't fog the motor for the season or get the water out of the suspension before rusting all summer.

Ok, which of you stragglers hasn't done some summer maintenance yet?! A fellow Snowest'er just left my shop after we checked over his 800 RMK. (Don't worry I won't call you out crash lol). He thought his sled was "good to go", here is some of what we found:
Carbides were both bent, one was missing most of the carbide. One ski was pretty bent, we were able to straighten it almost back to normal with lots of boiling water poured on it in the shop sink. Shock was bent and wouldn't go through full travel and seal was leaking (surprised:face-icon-small-dis) Replaced a bad grip heater, found some worn spots on a heater hose and electrical wire loom. Clutchs were crazy dirty, and way out of spec, belt was shot, so was his spare. Checked plugs, we won't change them until after he fires it up this winter because we fogged everything and it will probably foul them. However, we found he didnt have the right spare plugs with him. One of the rubber spark plug boots was really covered with carbon on the inside, so we changed that out. While checking the plugs we ran it first quick then did a compression test and a leak down. His was down but he never did a base line after break in for us to compare it too. Interesting we ran my scope down the cylinders and found some wear. He is running an aftermarket oil that he had lots of from a couple years ago "HayDay's special deal". I'm not impressed and he just really shorted the life of his motor. This could also be why he has gone through so many plugs last winter.
Belly pan had a nice crack in it and the outlet to the muffler (can) was partially bent from what ever he hit. QD belt was toast as well and he didn't have a spare! Hyfax was really warn in the front almost to the rails. Front track arm was slightly bent so we pulled the skid to grease everything. He said he didnt do any water crossings this winter, so he was surprised when he had so much water in a couple of the bushings. Also, he crosses the roads where they use salt, and he didn't wash off the salt at the end of the season so some of it was getting rusty for only being 2 years old. He has some parts to order and needs to at least freshen up the top end and get some good oil. What have you overlooked? What about you're riding buddies? Some of this is what will leave you stranded next winter or why you will be towing your buddy out of the woods. Remember, he told me his sled was "good to go already".

Teth-Air said:

What do feel is the easiest way to fog these sleds with the air boxes being a PITA to remove?

Click to expand...

Besides using Non ethanol fuel, adding some stabilizer and a little Polaris 2stroke oil in the gas I pull the plugs and manually spray a fogger down the cylinders while slowly turning it over. Im sure others have their own way, but this works for me because of the air box being so time consuming to remove as you mentioned.
Note: When I do start it at the beginning of the season I do it outside because of the initial smoke. Then I change the plugs so they're not fouled.
I probably don't need to do this, but many times I empty the fuel anyway at the start of the season and use it in my snowblower. Then start with fresh fuel in my sled. I like to keep the tank full in the sled so it doesn't absorb moisture over the summer. If you want to know if this is an issue buy one of these water removing filters such as this: https://www.amazon.com/Mr-Funnel-AF3CB-Fuel-Filter/dp/B000SOIRCG Then drain your snowmobile tank through this into 5 gallon cans. You might be surprised to see what is your tank. Some of you might be getting good fuel where your at? I travel to much and it can be pretty sketchy at times.
I do the same with some of my hot rods I build.

Reg2view said:

What was the oil - not trying to start another debate or get anyone butt-hurt.

Click to expand...

Mercury Marine premium 2 stroke oil. In his defense he read the bottle and it claims to "meet TC-W3 standards, cleanest burning, reduces carbon build up in exhaust and good in pre-mix or oil injected 2 cycle applications". However, I would not use this in my sled for many reasons. 1st of all the lakes are frozen when we ride sleds so pour temperature rating would be way different. And the list goes on. Just because its a good deal at the swap meets, doesn't mean it's going to work for you I told him.

Teth-Air said:

I have thought about drilling small holes in the air-box and use plugs in the holes but always have ended up doing it your way as I couldn't decide the best place to drill and did not want to chance plastic shavings falling inside. It would be nice if there were factory fogging holes with plugs. I'm sure Polaris could now add a summerization mode now too like Ski-Doo since they have an electric oil pump.

Click to expand...

I use a rubber plug in the plastic air box of my old QuadZilla 500 2 stroke 4 wheeler. Once we bored and stroked the motor I no longer had enough weight to kick start it with out a little laughing gas squirt through the air box plug lol. Thinking of that old rattling death trap still gets my heart beating lol. Plug worked great!

This is the description from Polaris Fogging oil: Polaris rust preventative Fogging Oil eliminates rust and corrosion on internal and external engine parts during out of season storage or prolonged inactive periods. Stable residual lubricant film provides a "friendly" surface for the engine oil when the vehicle is placed back into service.
Outstanding moisture displacement and water resistance
For all 2 and 4 cycle applications
Excellent rust preventative
https://lubricants.polaris.com/en-us/shop/lubricants/snowmobile/maintenance-lubricants/2870791/

They should be careful using the words "friendly" or the kids that eat Tide Pods will be sniffing it :face-icon-small-dis

Reg2view said:

Thanks, makes sense, results not a surprise, even if it was their Plus. +8k rpm, 150hp, 0 degrees F, what could go wrong.

Click to expand...

Agreed. I talked to an old friend last week that graduated from MI Tech and now works at Merc marine division in WI. He said they test their oil in all kinds of conditions but would never ever put it in a newer sled. They make great stuff but totally different environments, stress loads and exhaust valves etc.
Personally Im sticking with the new Polaris VES Extreme oil. https://lubricants.polaris.com/en-us/shop/lubricants/snowmobile/2-cycle-oils/ves-extreme/

Ok, so Haydays is coming up, and it won't be long before you need to get your sled out of storage. After looking your sled over, anyone looking for part specials at Haydays??

Wintertime said:

Yes, I will be looking for deals. Front bumper is top on the list. One because I'll be there, no shipping.
It will be my first time at Hay Days just looking forward to seeing everything. I'm sure I'll find other things.

Click to expand...

Great, I always enjoy running into other Snowest’ers at Haydays! I will be searching for deals as well