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An official CFI Engine Failure Thread

o9 d8 under 1200 mi.

2009 Dragon 800 163
New top end at 1045 mi.
No warrenty, less than 100 miles later (beginning of 3rd tank of gas)
Same symptoms in the shop now dont know what will happen.
All service work done at shop with last service at about 900 mi.
Ethanol wires unpluged
Only things added were left hand throttle and wheel kit (Cant afford anymore cause its always broken)
Took the shop 2 weeks to get it in and 3 weeks to fix it the first time, So i havent had a snowmobile season this year. By the time the snow got good the sled wouldnt run.

Under 400 mi. per rebuild is unacceptable, I know i will never be giving poolaris any more of my hard earned money. it will probably be a while before i dump money into snowmobiling. Way to go POO youve lost another customer.
 

2XM3

Well-known member
Premium Member
Oct 6, 2008
3,280
1,370
113
Bitteroot valley,MT
Yes its just a better grade of bandaid, I think the 2010 jug, the "fix" kit and the proper clearance, careful heat soaks ( i'd do 5-6) a prayer and hangin a lucky ju-ju doll in the engine compartment and your good to go.
 
C

Clarke673

Somewhere between too dumb to quit and flat earth
Dec 2, 2007
3,138
483
83
Gardiner Montana
two friends of mine both ordered spi pistons and they thought the quality was great. One was in a m1000 turbo and the other was in a 600r engine with 800 jugs. So far they are doing good and they are happy as can be.
 

milehighassassin

Moderator: Premium Member
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Nov 16, 2005
7,464
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FOCO/VAIL
two friends of mine both ordered spi pistons and they thought the quality was great. One was in a m1000 turbo and the other was in a 600r engine with 800 jugs. So far they are doing good and they are happy as can be.

That's great but honestly unless you are talking the exact same motor it doesn't really matter.

Anyone try SPI pistons on the 800 cfi?

Polaris pistons are usually top notch.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

jimjr1968

New member
Premium Member
Oct 4, 2009
4
1
3
65
clearfield , utah
one more dead poo

Date of Failure 02/14/2011
Year 20011
Make poo
Model dradon
Mileage 1.400
Engine Displacement 800
Track Length 163
Brand of fuel and octane 91 OC
Oil Used red line
Mapping 2010 up date
Ethanol Resistor connected 0
Elevation that you ride 6000 /9000
Area's or locations that you ride utah



Modifications, Turbo's, Pipes, Cans, Brands slp
Fuel Controller's none
Intake Modifications slp
Clutch Mod's, kit slp
Gearing, if other than stock
Fuel filter Replacement, when and at what mileage 800
Engine mods, t-stat mods, porting, etc. none
Aftermarket Boards... yes
Drop N Roll yes
Any prior service or warranty work performed at the dealer yes up date


EDIT I've added a few more questions


Warranty yes or no no
When did Warranty Expire 12/14/2010
Updated Pistons yes or no yes
Type of Failure ie Piston, (from lean, deto,oil ) Crank and or Bearing, Rod, etc. piston
Compression Test/Results if done
Was check Engine Light Blinking Prior to failure no





Edit 2-12-11 Thanks to 2dabar


Injector Color

Also:

Type of Sled Transportation, Enclosed, Open, Deck, etc. enclosed
Sled Storage, Indoors, Outdoors, Enclosed Trailer, Heated Shop, Unheated, Summertime Storage, etc. shpo
Weather Conditions, Air Temp on the date of failure sun 22 de
How may miles into the ride failure occurred
8




EDIT...ADDED INFO ASKED FOR BY wstilson, Thank you.


Has clutch been balanced...yes or no no
 
R
Dec 10, 2007
86
8
8
Polaris Stand Behind The Junk You Built

After reading these posts. I would say it is clear. The 2009 800 engine is and was junk. Folks spent there very hard earned $s. Only to find out they were lied to by a manufacture that seems to only have one goal. That goal is to turn record profits. I understand turning profit is the mission of all successful
companies. But to screw the consumer is not. Polaris step up to the plate and
take care of the customer. You seem to have a great product in the 2011 engine. But you crapped on all the folks that thought you had a great product, AS YOU SAID YOU DID in 2008-2010.A great company would come out and say a mistake was made and we are going to fix it for you. Until that is done you have lost all trust.I hope your 2011 and newer sleds remain solid.
The sad thing is us sledheads have short memory. This sledhead is not going to forget about your prior junk until you fix it.You Polaris could take care of your past blunders in a number of different ways. Ignore the problem because the warranty is up is not professional solution.
 

03RMK800

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 26, 2007
452
173
43
Kremmling, Colorado
MileHiAssassin- you mention "top notch" polaris pistons. Take a look at my post in this string for some piston dimensions--mine were far too small (.035 in). There is also a thread on piston dimension. Polaris really blew it with both the pistons and the cylinders.
Apologies about off topic, but ...
One "add" to my tale of woe-- in March (third trip after last rebuild) The clutch shaft broke between the sheaves as I was starting up a hill. Seems that Polaris changed the taper and thinned the clutch shaft compared to prior years. The sound of an engine going to zero RPM from somewhere above engagement rpm in a single revolution is, um, unique. New clutch, new weldments, new motormounts, new wye pipe, new throttle body clamps, new torque limiter. Went and bought a Skidoo the next week. For Sale, one 2009 Dragon w/ Wiseco pistons, lots of new parts; lots of parts with less than 300 miles, CHEAP. Oh yeah-- the 03 RMK 151 800 is for sale too, for less dollars despite the fact its worth more in reliability than any dragon. Yep, dragon-- ride it out and drag it on home.
 

Ex-Flit

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Dec 16, 2007
189
47
28
North Branch, MN
Date of Failure March 12, 2011
Year 08
Make Polaris
Model dragon
Mileage 2400
Engine Displacement 800
Track Length 163
Brand of fuel and octane 91
Oil Used Amsoil
Mapping Dynotech
Ethanol Resistor connected NO
Elevation that you ride 0 to 12,000
Area's or locations that you ride
Minn. WY ID



Modifications, Turbo's, Pipes, Cans, Brands slp can
Fuel Controller's PCV
Intake Modifications no
Clutch Mod's, kit Carls
Gearing, if other than stock 19/42
Fuel filter Replacement, when and at what mileage every thousand
Engine mods, t-stat mods, porting, etc. no
Aftermarket Boards... no
Drop N Roll no
Any prior service or warranty work performed at the dealer top end update kit


EDIT I've added a few more questions


Warranty yes or no no
When did Warranty Expire last year
Updated Pistons yes or no yes
Type of Failure ie Piston, (from lean, deto,oil ) Crank and or Bearing, Rod, etc. bearing ,rod, light scoring on pistons
Compression Test/Results if done NO
Was check Engine Light Blinking Prior to failure No





Edit 2-12-11 Thanks to 2dabar


Injector Color Yellow ( i think)

Also:

Type of Sled Transportation, Enclosed, Open, Deck, etc. enclosed
Sled Storage, Indoors, Outdoors, Enclosed Trailer, Heated Shop, Unheated, Summertime Storage, etc. indoor heated / enclosed trailer
Weather Conditions, Air Temp on the date of failure 15 degrees
How may miles into the ride failure occurred 5 miles




EDIT...ADDED INFO ASKED FOR BY wstilson, Thank you.


Has clutch been balanced...yes or no No
 
Last edited:
B
Jan 4, 2011
105
41
28
Duluth, MN
Date of Failure 12/27/10
Year 2009
Make Polaris
Model Dragon RMK
Mileage 2,000
Engine Displacement 800
Track Length 155
Brand of fuel and octane Exxon 91 octane
Oil Used Amsoil Interceptor
Mapping PCIII SLP map
Ethanol Resistor connected NO
Elevation that you ride 1,000-2,000 and 8,000-10,000 failure at about 8,200
Area's or locations that you ride MN, Cooke City MT, Island Park ID



Modifications, SLP Single Pipe, Vents everywhere
Fuel Controller's PCIII
Intake Modifications SLP High Flow
Clutch Mod's, Balancing and shaving weights to exact
Gearing Stock
Fuel filter Replacement, None
Engine mods, None
Aftermarket Boards... Better Boards
Drop N Roll NO
Any prior service or warranty work performed at the dealer No


Warranty yes or no no
When did Warranty Expire 10/31/2010
Updated Pistons yes or no yes
Type of Failure ie Piston, (from lean, deto,oil ) Crank and or Bearing, Rod, etc. Total Engine, disintegrated piston, nothing salvageable
Compression Test/Results if done 138
Was check Engine Light Blinking Prior to failure Blinked at exact moment it blew


Also:

Type of Sled Transportation, Enclosed
Sled Storage, Indoors, Heated Shop
Weather Conditions, Air Temp on the date of failure 18
How may miles into the ride failure occurred
20


Has clutch been balanced...yes
 
N
Jul 30, 2011
5
1
3
okey, The problem is the cylinder and the pistons! The cylinder have to thin walls and cracks and go down ruin the motor. And it´s because of to big clearance between the piston and the cylinder. sometimes just the piston skirt broke but sometimes even the cylinder break...

The update all got is exaktly the same bad pistons and cylinder they only did that so they would hold up during the warranty time. But Polaris themselfs have dona a big miss and practically say what the problem is! But they never gone out to the public and told them what they did on the 10´s.

On the 2010 800 engine they have NEW cylinders with thicker cylinder walls so it wont break off AND new pistons to. The 2010 cylinder will not fit the -08 and -09 crank without some machining done to the crank. you need to bore up the upper crank half to accept the new thicker cylinder walls.

Some -10 have gone down to but the cylinderskirts do not broke on them. I personally recomend to get the 2010 cylinder (it´s more expensive but worth it) and some wiseco pistons. the wiseco´s have really good fitt and are a lot lighter so they both hold up better AND give you better throttle response cause of less rotating mass!
 
2010 Polaris 800 Dragon failure

Please list the following:


Date of Failure 1/15/11-1/27/11- 2/10/11-4/15/11
Year-2010
Make-Polaris
Model - Dragon 800
Mileage- 520
Engine Displacement - 800
Track Length-163
Brand of fuel and octane- 91 octane non ethenol
Oil Used- Polaris
Mapping- stock
Ethanol Resistor connected-?
Elevation that you ride- 3500 to 6500
Area's or locations that you ride- Washington state



Modifications, Turbo's, Pipes, Cans, Brands- SLP can
Fuel Controller's-none
Intake Modifications-none
Clutch Mod's, kit-none
Gearing, if other than stock-stock
Fuel filter Replacement, when and at what mileage- each time it had a failure
Engine mods, t-stat mods, porting, etc.-none
Aftermarket Boards... - none
Drop N Roll-none
Any prior service or warranty work performed at the dealer- none/bought new
Warranty yes or no-yes
When did Warranty Expire- 1/1/12
Updated Pistons yes or no-?
Type of Failure ie Piston, (from lean, deto,oil ) Crank and or Bearing, Rod, etc.- First failure was the stater,2nd top end and crank shaft,3rd top end.
Compression Test/Results if done- under a 100 on mag side
Was check Engine Light Blinking Prior to failure- after it started to stumble.









Injector Color-?

Also:

Type of Sled Transportation, Enclosed, Open, Deck, etc.-deck
Sled Storage, Indoors, Outdoors, Enclosed Trailer, Heated Shop, Unheated, Summertime Storage, etc. Winters its mostly stored in a heated shop at the Polaris dealer and the same goeas for summer and fall storage.
Weather Conditions, Air Temp on the date of failure first three failures were in the mid to low 20's and the last one was around 30 to 32
How may miles into the ride failure occurred-18--275-500
Has clutch been balanced...yes or no- stock
 
I

INDEEP

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2007
1,786
303
83
Post Falls, ID
Lots of Dragon's for sale in the swap meet with new motors or top ends. Most never posted in this thread. Weird huh? :face-icon-small-sho
 

milehighassassin

Moderator: Premium Member
Staff member
Premium Member
Nov 16, 2005
7,464
2,060
113
FOCO/VAIL
Lots of Dragon's for sale in the swap meet with new motors or top ends. Most never posted in this thread. Weird huh? :face-icon-small-sho

Lots of people posting about a failure that never posted anything else either... strange huh?


Or nothing about an IQ prior to the failure.
 
S

schtann

New member
Jan 2, 2010
3
0
1
Has anyone put any miles on a 800CFI and made it work ??
Mine is now ready to go ONE MORE TIME (Dec 2011) with all the parts and mods I can think of and over $4000 into it this time. Maybe going to be WASTE of CASH but what can one do with a sled (2009 IQ Shift) with a smoked motor with a bad reputation !!!!
 
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