2012 RMK Pro w/Garrett Turbo running HOT

[lunytnz]

I have a new-to-me 2012 RMK Pro with a Garrett 3071 turbo and the sled is also outfitted with an intercooler.

It's running hot once it get's warmed up... it will get over 200 (and even over 210) degrees. I've been stopping to pile snow on the back to cool it down.

I don't believe it is running excessively high boost.

Looking for some tips and experience with this kind of issue and what I might be able to do about it.

I really appreciate this community!

 

[BeartoothBaron]

That's pretty hot... Is this on the trail or packed snow? Scratchers down and flap installed (assuming it's overheating on-trail)? Mine's never got that hot; I tend to start worrying if I see 150 or more. Best case cooling is loose snow and moving at moderate or better speed; if it's overheating in that, then it might be a problem like air in the system, or a bad thermostat. I have no personal experience with turbo setups, but it could be the intercooler is part of the problem, restricting flow or adding more heat than it can handle. I can tell you that the Pros are marginal when it comes to cooling, so a poorly thought-out intercooler would be gas on that fire. Mine has a aftermarket cooler, which helps a lot, but even that can get iffy on really crusty spring snow.

 

[lunytnz]

That's pretty hot... Is this on the trail or packed snow? Scratchers down and flap installed (assuming it's overheating on-trail)? Mine's never got that hot; I tend to start worrying if I see 150 or more. Best case cooling is loose snow and moving at moderate or better speed; if it's overheating in that, then it might be a problem like air in the system, or a bad thermostat. I have no personal experience with turbo setups, but it could be the intercooler is part of the problem, restricting flow or adding more heat than it can handle. I can tell you that the Pros are marginal when it comes to cooling, so a poorly thought-out intercooler would be gas on that fire. Mine has a aftermarket cooler, which helps a lot, but even that can get iffy on really crusty spring snow.

It's happening on the trail with scratchers down. It's also happening when off the trail in plenty of soft snow.

 

[BeartoothBaron]

That's definitely a problem. Have you felt the top of the tunnel while it's warming up, and after running around off trail? If you start it cold and can feel the top of the tunnel warming up with the engine, that's a good sign, but if the engine gets hot riding around while the tunnel is still cold, then coolant flow is weak or blocked. I'd start by pulling the thermostat and make sure it's opening where it should, then burp the system to make sure you don't have air bubbles. You'll need to get the nose up a couple feet in the air, top it off, and keep topping it while you idle the engine. If you confirm a good thermostat and get all the air out and it's still overheating, then it could be a bad water pump, or something else is restricting it. My first suspicion in that case would be the intercooler: if it's too small to all full coolant flow and there's no bypass, that could be the problem. Hopefully you didn't end up buying somebody else's problems, but start with the simple stuff if you haven't already.

 

[lunytnz]

Thanks for the suggestions.
The tunnel is very hot while running around on or off trail. When I stop to pile snow on the tunnel, the snow melts *really* fast, which also brings the temp down significantly (so that tells me it's circulating, but I don't know how well).

 

[BeartoothBaron]

The tunnel could still get pretty warm with poor coolant flow if it's not getting enough snow on it, but it doesn't sound like anything majorly wrong. Like I mentioned, the systems on the Pro are on the marginal side, but if you're on good snow, you should at least be able to do some moderate off-trail riding (as in running around on mostly level ground, mostly mid-range throttle) without getting hot at all (I think with the OE thermostat, they should run around 120). If the thermostat is good and the system is properly bled, the remaining options would be to bypass the intercooler and return it to the original coolant routing, or start upgrading.

The turbo and intercooler can only add to the problem, but they shouldn't overwhelm the stock coolers on good snow unless you're riding hard and getting into boost. I wouldn't expect it to be overheating that badly. That said, cooling upgrades are popular on Pros. My sled was actually a turbo returned to stock before I bought it, and it came with an add-on cooler and a Ski-Doo remote thermostat upgrade. The added cooler may have been more to help cope with marginal snow; can't say on that. I can tell you the Doo thermostat is more about maintaining consistent temperatures, although it does improve cooling.

It wouldn't hurt to dig through the turbo subforum and see if what you can find on cooling with turbo'd Pros. Regarding the thermostat upgrade, this thread has all the details, and a ton of good info pertaining to cooling on the Pro: https://www.snowest.com/forum/threads/bypass-thermostat-upgrade-previously-28-upgrade.339282/

 

[chevy_man]

Sounds like you're running lean. Fuel cools....

Your two threads should only be one. Your afr is way lean and causing both issues. Condense your issues into the same thread so everyone can see the whole picture.

 

[NapaMatt]

Do you have too much pressure in the cooling system>>?

AKA Got it too hot and melted the O-Rings..

Pushing air in to your cooling system>???

 

[chevy_man]

Did you ever get your afr down to 12:1 to see what that fixes? 15:1 is lean and will run hot!