Can it be done?

[Old Scud-doo]

So I am not crying, I am not asking for sympathy. I want to know if the Pro motor can be made reliable?

I had one of the first 11's and after 1 season I wanted a little more power. At the start of season 2 (11/12) I put on an SLP stage III kit and had problem after problem and eventually we tore the motor down with 60 miles on it with the SLP kit and found the pistons were knifing and the rings were chipped. Rebuilt and went back to stock. Didn't get warranty because of the kit even though the damage was there obviously when I installed the kit.

End of season I snow check a 13. Love the sled and at the end of last season I speak with my dealer. After almost 2 season and 1318 miles I want to get into the top end before I have any problems. Tear it down and see how things look. He gets into it and yes, just like the 11, the pistons are knifing and rings are chipped. So we decide to rebuild and go with a "durability kit" from MTNTEK. I put about 100 easy miles in two family rides on it and put it away for summer.

This year with the snow begin crappy I have only put about 200 miles additionally on the sled. Those were with my family at our Seeley Lake time share and I ride there with my wife and 3 young boys so nothing crazy. This last Saturday my dad and I head out on a much needed "guys ride", sorry and no offense to the ladies. We take off from the truck and we had been riding the trail so far and holding about 7000 or more rpm and a 1/2 to 3/4 throttle. On and off the throttle obviously as to not hold at one rpm for an extended period of time. At about 5 miles from the truck the motor starts clunking, drops a cylinder, start flashing orange lights and dEt on the gauge. Shut it off immediately and get towed back in.

So I have had 2 Pro 800's and will be on my third motor on my second. I have pretty much been Polaris loyal for many years but 300 miles on durablility kit? What would I have got on the stock kit? 100?

Can this motor be made reliable? I am really, really, really close to try a different brand sled. I run extra oil in every tank. I warm it up before taking off. I let the temp level out after sitting for a few minutes before taking off so not to "cold shot" the motor. I even have been running it in the Ethynol mode while not running Ehtynol fuel to make it rich! What else can I do? Or should I Doo?

I love the chassis, I love my dealer, but right now I do not love my Polaris motor! So.....Can it be done? Can the Pro 8 motor be fixed? I really don't want to rebuild and wait for it go like time bomb with a hidden timer.

 

[mt.aero]

I was in the same boat as you this last year. Love my pro chassis, but blew the motor and was nearly ready to make the switch to Doo or Cat, but I don't like either chassis as much as the pro.

I would talk to Dan at Indy Specialties about his long rod conversion. Only way in my opinion to really make the cfi-2 a reliable motor is to have it rebuilt as he does. He stands behind his product with a 3/5 year top to bottom warranty. Great guy to deal with, really top notch all around. Time will tell if my motor from him lasts (its new in my sled this season), but based on hours and hours of searching reviews of his product online, I have no doubt it will.

 

[GoBigParts]

I have 4,400 miles on my 2012. Brought in around 2500 miles to have pistons and rings looked at. Rebuilt under warranty then. Still running strong. With your piston issues I hope they are checking cylinders for taper, roundness and tolerance. I think if you have an extended warranty and a really good dealer you can be real happy on a pro.

 

[Old Scud-doo]

Was really happy on a Pro....until this fiasco. Just find it hard to keep throwing money at the motor. I have no problem throwing money at a sled to make it better but to keep throwing money at it so just simply runs is really starting to become a problem.

I wish Indy Dan was closer. I would seriously think about that as a solution. I am have to say that I am now not sold on the "durability/reliability kits". 300 miles? I would have got that out of the old worn out motor without rebuilding it.

I will make sure to mention that they should check taper and bore when they do the tear down and rebuild....just don't know what to rebuild it with. More MtnTek? Go back to OEM???

 

[BILTIT]

He (indy dan) is alot closer to you than me, i still sent mine to him.

He will look at both the cyl and piston and fit them both together properly, this is a big part of making this engine live IMO.

3 yr warrenty that he absolutely backs up is very nice aswell.

I wish i could say i have a ton of miles on and going strong but i dont. Just cant get the miles in.

 

[geo]

How do you help a guy with a post like this. I mean I feel for you old sd. I've had the same mixed feelings in the past from sleds I've owned.

I will say something. Don't take this wrong but everything from the scenario you posted of the last 10min. of the motors life made me shudder.
The throttle position, the time frame, the rpm. Especially because I know what I had to do to my '13 to just tolerate that scenario.

Life is short, make a decision and be happy with it.

 

[beamslayer]

What happened to the MTNtk kit ?

 

[Butta]

Seems like you got the longest life out of the stock set up. I ran my '12 Pro for 3 seasons and 900 miles, no issues. I'm only 100 miles on my '15, but I plan to keep it stock. Good fuel, proper warm up time, watch your temps, etc etc. I ride with a lot of other Pro's, and none of them have gone down in the last 4 years. Some had over 2300 miles on the original parts. I've got a great dealer, maybe they set it up correctly? Dunno....feel for you though.

I think money is better spent on appropriate suspension, over motor upgrades. This chassis just plain works in the mountains. To me, the power is sufficient, and at my 245#, the suspension got the upgrades first.

 

[Old Scud-doo]

Not sure yet what happened exactly to the kit. I won't know the extent until the dealer finds time to tear into it. I did speak with MtnTek though and they believe something possibly wasn't installed right. I pin might have worked it's way out or such. The guy I spoke to there was very helpful on what to keep an eye out for. Said they have never had an issue with anything with this low of miles and light of duty. Told him I wish I could say I had been whipping it like a mule but I had actually not even gone climbing or highmarking with it yet. Just boondocking and trail riding with the kids.

I hate just sitting and waiting to see 1. What actually went wrong. 2. If I am going to get stuck with 100% with the cost. Makes me sick to my stomach. Might be my last Polaris though depending on how it all turns out. I would rather be 50# heavier and riding each weekend than dealing with this again for the 3rd time in 5 years. I am super stuborn Polaris loyalist since 2002 and even rode IQ's when they were the bottom of the heap so it has to be bad for me to even think about brand x.

 

[mtncat1]

if i was a betting i would say that there was a crack in the cylinder skirt that was missed during the initial repair and inspection . but it would be nice to know what happened for sure. it sucks that you have had bad luck but some times if follows people , in general if you install just about anyones kit , the engines are fine .

 

[Old Scud-doo]

How do you help a guy with a post like this. I mean I feel for you old sd. I've had the same mixed feelings in the past from sleds I've owned.

I will say something. Don't take this wrong but everything from the scenario you posted of the last 10min. of the motors life made me shudder.
The throttle position, the time frame, the rpm. Especially because I know what I had to do to my '13 to just tolerate that scenario.

Life is short, make a decision and be happy with it.

So you think running down the trail behind another Pro 8 while varying the throttle position and watching temps to make sure they don't go over 140 makes you shutter. Add in adding oil to your tank and running in ethanol mode even though you don't have ethanol fuel so your sled runs rich. How the hell do you get to the area you actually ride? Helicopter? That's right I must be an idiot. Not that I have been riding and owning sleds since I was teenager.

Seriously though, I don't want your sympathy nor did I ask for it. I want an actual fix. Whether you think I am an idiot or I think you are an idiot is not relevant to what I asked.


Mtncat1: I agree. That is also why I let the professionals at the dealership do my motor repairs.

BTW: Has anyone heard of a 13 or 14 loosing a cylinder skirt? I know the 11 and 12 models had that problem for sure. Thanks!

Is Indy Dan the only true fix for these motors? I felt I had done and had been doing what I needed to do to get a good 1500 miles minimum out of these motors and wanted information to see if there was anything I was missing.

Once the motor is apart I will post what failed. As I stated earlier, MtnTek feels that a cylinder probably cracked or a pin worked it's way loose. We will find out later this week I guess.

 

[geo]

Never called you an idiot. Your anger took you there.

Was comparing what my '13 (worst year for this spot IMO) does at that throttle position and load. My sled has lived most it's life with 20+ % added in that area (20 to 60% throttle, 6250 to 7250 rpm) just for ride up. Little extra to make me feel safe, not enough extra to notice with my ear. That's what made me shudder.
That's been my way of making my sled live. More fuel where needed.

 

[Old Scud-doo]

Well from my side it sounded like it. Sorry to offend.

 

[beamslayer]

I am sorry to inform you but because they work at a dealership does not make them a mechanic . They do not pay well so you do not get the best . If they are factory trained they are programmed to change parts . $$$$$$ This of course is my opinion . This may sound stupid but when talking to a sled mechanic I always ask if they stay current on Snowest or some other forum and do they ride and mod their sleds . If they say no I do not take much comfort in having them touch my sled hence I do most all my own work .
I would like to know what happened to the last engine because MTNTK has one of the best fix kits out there . That is why a lot are coping it . I own a 11 Assault and have had every problem that poo can dish up . Plus I wrench on the side to pay to keep my Pro running . Polaris is the opposite of the MayTag repairman .
But so far I have not found another sled I want to ride .

 

[Reg2view]

OP - I don't think your expectations are too high. You should expect a level of reliability, and without pipe or intake mods, any motor, stock or proven fix kit, should be able to handle a ride to the pow with the stock ECU. I say should, knowing the lean spots introduced in the 13 map. Also recall the 08/09 800 CFI4 timebomb (which had big midrange throttle issues, mainly due to port timing and VES design, not just mapping). You've done everything right as much as you could, your expectations are not out of line.

Given how you want to ride, your dealer, and loving the chassis, I'd lean heavily to getting a 3 or 4 year OEM warranty on a new pro, than either flipping it near the end of the warranty period, or getting an Indy Specialties motor/warranty with a freshened up Indy Dan motor at the end of the OEM warranty. You could go Indy Dan next if you want to keep the current sled. Ride the XM and M for at least a few hours each before you make a switch decision, of course. Hopefully, you get covered and treated well on the 13 fail.

 

[geo]

Well from my side it sounded like it. Sorry to offend.

No offense taken. Just clearing the air on what I was thinking.

R2V is correct that this stuff shouldn't need to be dealt with. The sled should compensate for any riding style or situation.

Personally I haven't trusted a stock ECU on any sled that was mine in a long time. I had a PCV installed on mine before I even started it. I was adding fuel before my first heat cycle ended just by ear. I treated it like it was way lean for along time until I trusted it.
I did this because of experiences in the past, things I read and I just like things rich everywhere.

I hope they find an obvious mechanical failure and they are good enough to analyze the info give you an answer to your question. It may be totally different than mine.

 

[Old Scud-doo]

I will post what the problem is/was once I hear from the dealer. I wish I was "Motorhead" enough to work on my own motors. Other than just replacing a head and such, I am way out of my league. I would do more damage than good....but there has been little good so maybe I wouldn't.

 

[Norway]

I'll repeat some pro intel that I've picked up:

- polaris piston size is quite consistent, cylinder bore not so much (might have improved after 11/12). Have a shop YOU TRUST check this as part of your fix so you know for sure that piston clearance is good.
- Have the repair shop tell you what the ring end-gap is, crucial.
- What is oil consumption? Lot of sleds ran way low on oil usage.
- Indydan motor w/waranty is one way
- Carls Cycle 660 kit in a 600 is another dependable option.
- Cat or Doo has you covered to if the blues is to heavy in camp polaris.

Also, life is short like mentioned. Get past it anyway you can and go ride!


RS

 

[sledneck_03]

yah. just dont have a lemon. lots of pros run 5000 miles no issues. guys with cats have issues, guys with doos have issues

 

[mountaincat 800]

yah. just dont have a lemon. lots of pros run 5000 miles no issues. guys with cats have issues, guys with doos have issues

Seriously!? WTF?