Buying 2021 CTEC2 8000 - Watchouts?

[RiotCountry]

Hi all - I am sure this has probably been covered in past posts, but only seeing posts from late last season. I have been doing some searching and have found a number of threads on engine failures with the CTEC2 8000's. Most of what I have seen is issues with 18-20 model year sleds. I am planning to pull the trigger on a brand new hold over 2021 Riot X and am wondering if most of these issues were fixed on the 2021's or if they have put out any corrective actions to mitigate the issues? Anything I need to look forward upon delivery or is it a totally random issue and hard to tell until it fails? Maybe the posts I have seen are blowing it out of proportion, wouldn't be the first time.

Any insights you have would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
David

 

[bjd68]

Dont read too much of what u hear on the world wide web, yes some ctecs failed but so have 850 etec, 850 patriot, if u look hard enough they all have had failures and I can say I have had the 850 etec which performed awesome up to 2000 kms when i got rid of it, to now I have a 18 cat with the ctec 800 and have 2200 kms and still riding it no issues. So my experiance ctec so far so good.

 

[RiotCountry]

Dont read too much of what u hear on the world wide web, yes some ctecs failed but so have 850 etec, 850 patriot, if u look hard enough they all have had failures and I can say I have had the 850 etec which performed awesome up to 2000 kms when i got rid of it, to now I have a 18 cat with the ctec 800 and have 2200 kms and still riding it no issues. So my experiance ctec so far so good.

Thank you, I figured as much and fully agree. For every complaint you find online, there are 1000's of others without issues that don't come to the web to share their positive feedback Just thought I would inquire to see if there is anything specific to look for when I pick up the sled.

 

[hansenmac]

ive ridden my 18 mtn cat for 3 years, it had 400 miles when i got it and it now has 1700. It has been pull and go. the main problem they had i believe was the air intake vents up by the handlebars werent sealed well at all. there is the top frog skins you can see, but underneath there is a triangular piece that clips in and it forms the bottom of the air intake vent. they dont clip in very well to form a good seal and snow gets sucked in and boom goes your piston. I took my hood off and used black rtv silicone to seal it up and its been perfect. also just make sure that the hood is on properly in the front where the intake tracts go together and seal, not hard at all but have read of some guys just shoving it together and it wasnt lined up then they sucked in some snow. some guys have had trouble with the auto tensioner in the chain case but mine has been good. I love the ctec2 i dont care what the dyno says, ive ridden 2 850 skidoo sleds and the cat had way more pull, and climbed way better.

 

[boondocker97]

Some of the early Ctec 800s 2018-2019 dropped rod bearings. Haven't seen or heard of one on the second Gen. The 2021s can have random issue with the center worm drive on the crank. Heard from a good source that if they make it past 250 mountain miles they won't be an issue. If they give out before that then at least there's warranty. I know that doesn't help much when it ruins a riding day. Other than that make sure the intake is sealed up well and you get it together properly if you take the hood off. The 2022s have some nice sealing foam tape between parts of the intake that previous years did not.

 

[RiotCountry]

ive ridden my 18 mtn cat for 3 years, it had 400 miles when i got it and it now has 1700. It has been pull and go. the main problem they had i believe was the air intake vents up by the handlebars werent sealed well at all. there is the top frog skins you can see, but underneath there is a triangular piece that clips in and it forms the bottom of the air intake vent. they dont clip in very well to form a good seal and snow gets sucked in and boom goes your piston. I took my hood off and used black rtv silicone to seal it up and its been perfect. also just make sure that the hood is on properly in the front where the intake tracts go together and seal, not hard at all but have read of some guys just shoving it together and it wasnt lined up then they sucked in some snow. some guys have had trouble with the auto tensioner in the chain case but mine has been good. I love the ctec2 i dont care what the dyno says, ive ridden 2 850 skidoo sleds and the cat had way more pull, and climbed way better.

Thanks for the heads up on the screens, I will give it a good look over and seal up anything that could create snow ingestion. Still amazed they haven't figured out how to seal these things up, seems like it's been a problem since the 2012 models.

 

[RiotCountry]

Some of the early Ctec 800s 2018-2019 dropped rod bearings. Haven't seen or heard of one on the second Gen. The 2021s can have random issue with the center worm drive on the crank. Heard from a good source that if they make it past 250 mountain miles they won't be an issue. If they give out before that then at least there's warranty. I know that doesn't help much when it ruins a riding day. Other than that make sure the intake is sealed up well and you get it together properly if you take the hood off. The 2022s have some nice sealing foam tape between parts of the intake that previous years did not.

Good to know, too bad this is more of a wait and see failure mode lol. I plan to buy the extended warranty for it so hopefully that will put me at ease for a few years.

 

[IDspud]

2 19’s over 3000 each no engine issues.

 

[TrivanovicRobert]

Main thing taking out the engines is the clutch exploding and taking out the crank... Check your clutch for cracks before every ride

 

[IDspud]

Possibly overstated.

 

[bjd68]

Main thing taking out the engines is the clutch exploding and taking out the crank... Check your clutch for cracks before every ride

Yes Clutch would be the main thing I would consider taking a very close look at because I have seen them crack on the sheaves and cap.

 

[sno*jet]

the intake screen gaps were improved by 2019. you shouldnt really have to worry about anything. unless you ride tons of deep pow and notice it bogging, but i doubt you will on a 21 riot x. you can put a lower intake screen from bdx or mountain fit in if it happens.
go through your manual, check the apv cables, throttle cable, and track tension spec. stuff dealers often overlook. then just ride the piss outa it!

 

[RiotCountry]

Thank you all so far for your input. I will keep an eye out for the clutches and snow ingestion in the intake.

 

[Octanee]

To my knowledge or reading, I don't believe the change up engine is any more reliable than the first 18-19 engine, Seems like a lot of the failures ended up being snow ingestion? And again reading, the newer ones werent any better and or intake wise too, my 2019 alpha was OK but it sure did have some holes around which I sealed up. Infact I got HAIL in my upper intake where the screens are while driving down highway through a flurry which prompted me to seal it up, people talk about the lower airbox like headlights down but my issue was up top there (did it all). I have approx 3800KM trouble free so far, I have a uncle IIRC at about 5800 km on his 18 ctec 800?.

Like anything too from the factory, sometimes theres just them lemon engines/not assembled correctly.

Clutches are said to let go, I deff inspect mine after every ride. apparently the clutch factory shimming is wrong and if i remember right the spider hits the cover before the 2 sheaves bottom out together? causes stress cracks, I baby my sled and don't gun it down the drail or on ice, only in the powder, so it should in theory keep that clutch from shifting that far, and so far OK.


Others add oil to the fuel, I do a tad just because but the way this thing is designed it mixes it anyways.



If yours is a mono rail, I recommend to CLIP every track window. Factory clips are very pricey but you can do flat squares for cheap and crimp them on otherwise it will wear through the rubber to cords and beyond over time, big pressure points happening from the single rail when you sidehill and even from the paddles torqueing you can find or see the extra wear from it as it wears as its at an angle and into the corner of outside nubs.

 

[Old & slow]

For the cost of a BDX Pro-Tectair it is not worth keeping an eye on it. I would just install it and ride. Every AC from the first proclimb to current models should have that or something like that installed. It should have been done at the factory but that's another topic.

 

[RiotCountry]

To my knowledge or reading, I don't believe the change up engine is any more reliable than the first 18-19 engine, Seems like a lot of the failures ended up being snow ingestion? And again reading, the newer ones werent any better and or intake wise too, my 2019 alpha was OK but it sure did have some holes around which I sealed up. Infact I got HAIL in my upper intake where the screens are while driving down highway through a flurry which prompted me to seal it up, people talk about the lower airbox like headlights down but my issue was up top there (did it all). I have approx 3800KM trouble free so far, I have a uncle IIRC at about 5800 km on his 18 ctec 800?.

Like anything too from the factory, sometimes theres just them lemon engines/not assembled correctly.

Clutches are said to let go, I deff inspect mine after every ride. apparently the clutch factory shimming is wrong and if i remember right the spider hits the cover before the 2 sheaves bottom out together? causes stress cracks, I baby my sled and don't gun it down the drail or on ice, only in the powder, so it should in theory keep that clutch from shifting that far, and so far OK.


Others add oil to the fuel, I do a tad just because but the way this thing is designed it mixes it anyways.



If yours is a mono rail, I recommend to CLIP every track window. Factory clips are very pricey but you can do flat squares for cheap and crimp them on otherwise it will wear through the rubber to cords and beyond over time, big pressure points happening from the single rail when you sidehill and even from the paddles torqueing you can find or see the extra wear from it as it wears as its at an angle and into the corner of outside nubs.

Good info. I have seen much on engine from my searches on this forum, but have seen quite a few on other forums (Arcticchat and Hardcoresledder) which is what prompted my post. I'll be sure to seal up all of the intake inlets (even the ones you can't see lol). I may consider running a little oil in the tank too, I usually do this with the first tank of the season just in case the oil pumps froze up over the summer, probably not a bad idea to do more consistently throughout the season.

Out of curiosity, where do you get the flat square track clips?

 

[RiotCountry]

For the cost of a BDX Pro-Tectair it is not worth keeping an eye on it. I would just install it and ride. Every AC from the first proclimb to current models should have that or something like that installed. It should have been done at the factory but that's another topic.

I couldn't agree more. I have had 3 proclimbs and the fact that this issue is still lingering almost 10 years later is ridiculous.

 

[sno*jet]

id pull the primary spring out and verify, but i believe the clutch shimming issue was corrected before or sometime in '20. easy to check.
get ya a glide washer for the clutch cover side to keep the spring from wearing into the cover while youre in there. you can check your weights on a gram scale and get them matched better while youre at it.
must be our wet snow but ive never had enough issue with my proclimb to warrant a lower screen. had it submarining quite a bit too. some water got in once on a stream crossing tho, that wasnt fun.

 

[Octanee]

Good info. I have seen much on engine from my searches on this forum, but have seen quite a few on other forums (Arcticchat and Hardcoresledder) which is what prompted my post. I'll be sure to seal up all of the intake inlets (even the ones you can't see lol). I may consider running a little oil in the tank too, I usually do this with the first tank of the season just in case the oil pumps froze up over the summer, probably not a bad idea to do more consistently throughout the season.

Out of curiosity, where do you get the flat square track clips?

I think I made or there was a post on, here with, the track clips and part #, I don't have it any longer but I do recall a discussion that came up and the idea to take bolt cutters and cut them to shape to crimp on the track clips. The clips are generic snowmobile ones, the ones I got had long sides so I had to cut them down to be a square. Can't remember size.

 

[zl5600]

Good info. I have seen much on engine from my searches on this forum, but have seen quite a few on other forums (Arcticchat and Hardcoresledder) which is what prompted my post. I'll be sure to seal up all of the intake inlets (even the ones you can't see lol). I may consider running a little oil in the tank too, I usually do this with the first tank of the season just in case the oil pumps froze up over the summer, probably not a bad idea to do more consistently throughout the season.

Out of curiosity, where do you get the flat square track clips?

The oil pump is electronic so you do not need any oil in the tank. Actually leans it out.