Can it be done?

[Old Scud-doo]

I definitely want to just go out and ride but at the moment the sled is in ICU. That's reason for my thread. I am going to need to put the beast back together and I want to make sure it goes together better this time so I can somewhat add durability to the motor. Only have one Polaris dealer here and not sure if they are awesome at it or not. Don't really have another option as far as that. Will for sure ask on the ring gap....assuming it goes back together in the some what immediate future.

 

[sledneck_03]

Seriously!? WTF?

YAH seriously. one of the few MTNTK kits ive heard go down.

 

[Old Scud-doo]

Sounds like the oil pump failed taking out the crank. Thank god for the Teflon coated pistons, they saved the cylinders.

BTW: Been running the $14.95 XPS Ski-doo cap and they said the oil just ran out when they pulled the hose from the pump. That is a good thing.

 

[keithw]

Sounds like the oil pump failed taking out the crank. Thank god for the Teflon coated pistons, they saved the cylinders.





BTW: Been running the $14.95 XPS Ski-doo cap and they said the oil just ran out when they pulled the hose from the pump. That is a good thing.

My understanding is the crank bearing failures from yesteryear have been resolved. However when my 13 went down it was the crank bearing that failed (fortunately under warranty) just short of 1700 miles. Which makes me wonder more about oil lubrication to the crankshaft being more problematic than piston issues. Either way hoping the new HO motor holds up and we finally get a more reliable power plant. Heard rumors they have been running it for a few years from two different dealer service contacts I know, but no way of substantiating those claims.

 

[Old Scud-doo]

Wish I had warranty. $2600.00 bucks to fix. 2 months out of warranty. Just goes to prove you do everything you can to be proactive and something else fails tearing out your wallet.

They don't know why it happened since oil is extremely available to the pump thanks to the XPS oil cap. It took out the crank though and then snowballed. I know its not the motor that gave out but I have given enough $ to Polaris for now.

 

[BILTIT]

Try talking to INDY DAN, he might be able to fix it for the same or less and have warranty.

 

[beamslayer]

Yes I would have Indy Dan do your lower end or whole engine which ever you need . Hard to beat a 3 to 5 yr warranty . I just received a 09 Dragon lower end and the turn around time and service was A #1 . Thanks Dan.

 

[mtnsledder]

Just had Curt at Fastrax replace the pistons in my 2011 Pro 163 after 5428 trouble free miles.

While the compression was still good and motor still ran smooth I noticed it was making more noise at idle.

Curt said there was almost 10 thousands piston to cylinder clearance (yikes) but both pistons and cylinders were good, no issues. Also replaced the spark plug caps due to wear and will be replacing the engine mount donuts next week.

Hope to get another 5K trouble free miles out of her, best sled I've ever owned and I've had a few in my 30+ years of riding.

 

[Old Scud-doo]

I don't think I'll be riding Polaris next year. Certainly not this one. Going to snow check something. Might have to go with something a little heavier that holds up better. I know there are people getting a lot of miles on their machines with no problem. I am old. Mid 40's but I like to ride the machine.

I remember when my 11 was having issues the tech at Curts put it on the tattle tale device and said, "You know you are full throttle 5% of the time?" I thought he was making fun of me since that doesn't sound like much so I replied, "Dude, I am up here with my wife and kids. Cut me a break. It would be much more if I was riding with the guys!" He laughed and said that 5% is a lot!! Not a little. Maybe I run them hard. Maybe I don't. I have always ran extra oil in my tank, always turned up the pump, always made sure to not take off to soon after starting the motor whether warm or cold.

I have had two Pro's and now 5 engines. I don't mind spending money to make something better but to throw 2 to 3 thousand dollars every year at a sled to keep it running is silly.

I like my dealer. I like my service department. I like the parts department. I like the chassis. I hate the motor. After almost 6k in motors/top ends I think I have given it enough time and benefit of the doubt. I seriously can't justify putting Indy Dan in a machine I am not going to keep. Be a great option if I was.

 

[BILTIT]

Fair enough.

What are thinking of going to next year?

 

[Old Scud-doo]

Honestly, I am leaning towards a T3 174. Going to sit back and see what snow check brings. I have a hard time believing that Polaris has their motor fixed. Electronically controlled oil pump? Just one more thing to "give out" and fail. Sorry to be so cynical. 5 motors in 5 seasons does that to a guy.

I think I just need to vote with my $ next year instead of being a complainer and a sheep. Even if the Scud is 40# heavier, if I don't have to rebuild it at the end of the season I would call it a success. I just don't have unlimited $ or corporate support to fund my obsession.

 

[BILTIT]

Ya i am sure the T3's are pretty good machines.

I ride with a friend who runs an '11 etec (now its a '13) with a 174x3" and it tractors through snow like nobodys business.

I have ridden a few doo etecs and they work fine, i just couldnt get used to the handling/body positioning. Actually most the guys i ride with are on doos.

I was unlucky/lucky one weekend to have my polaris seize a motor 3km down the trail on the first day into our mountain trip.

I rode a friends '14 Xm all that day and then a '12 big bore cat for the next two days.

It was a good opportunity to compare all three manufacturers for me.



They all work, just differently.

Only thing to keep in mind with a 3" is cooling can be an issue depending where you ride and the snow conditions. Some people are coming up with some good methods of helping them stay cool now though.

My buddy with his 3" said he would never own two of them, they are just too much of a deep snow only setup. He cannot run it here at home as it just overheats. He is the first to stop on the trail up to cool down aswell.

The newer T3's may be better than his setup though.


Also, the etecs use an electronically controlled oil pump. Just an FYI.

 

[sledheader]

Well it sounds like you have had a run of very bad luck. You may be right that Polaris doesn't have it fixed yet with the 800 ho, but I do hope you are wrong. As far as the electronically controlled oil pump goes, I don't see them being a problem. It isn't like they are a new concept to any part of the automotive industry.

We are seeing so far that the 800 ho engines have been reliable. But that raises the question of, what was it like the first year of Polaris' last 800 engine? Were there similar results; that is, were the flatlanders seeing reliability within 500-1500 miles on them?

 

[dttrusko]

What failed on the oil pump? Was it blocked or was it an actual mechanical failure? The same style pump has been used for the past 15+ years and you rarely hear of one failing. I have seen engines fail rod bearings within 200 miles if the pumps are not bled properly after a rebuild.

Yes, you have had ****ty luck. Needing a top end in 1500 miles sucks on a new sled (mountain miles that is usually over 100 hours), but I would look to the quality of work your dealer is doing more than ripping on the engine. Are you sure they are measuring all of the parts with the correct tools to ensure they are within the tolerances given in the service manual?

So, in reality "5 engines" is 2 sets of pistons and a crank bearing AFTER a rebuild/sitting all summer as well as a hypothetical engine that isn't built yet and an engine that could still be running in the '11 you sold after replacing the top end.. What is making the cost of this new engine rebuild $2600?? You have pictures of the old pistons your dealer took out?

I'm not trying to be cynical either, but I've seen a few posts where you say you're on 5 engines when in reality you've replaced 2 top ends and the crank bearing was likely due to an assembly error by the dealer that they don't want to own up to.. Just my $.02

Any interest in selling the sled with the blown engine?

 

[rmscustom]

5 engines in 5 years I'd be switching... Going on my 3rd year, 2800 miles so far with the Pro and did the top end after the first year mostly because of hype.
Fyi this year I know of an etec getting its second motor in 2 years and 2 "bullet proof" Cat motors going down. Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

 

[Old Scud-doo]

1200.00 a top end. They don't know why the pump failed. Just no oil to the bearings and such. Air in the lines too. Never been more than a quart low in tank. Can't vouch for the quality of workers putting sled together. Crank alone is 600 for rebuilt, 1300 for new. 400 for Pistons.... Just adds up and up.

 

[Old Scud-doo]

What failed on the oil pump? Was it blocked or was it an actual mechanical failure? The same style pump has been used for the past 15+ years and you rarely hear of one failing. I have seen engines fail rod bearings within 200 miles if the pumps are not bled properly after a rebuild

Possible but not something I can prove. Tried talking to dealer but he is not willing to do anything.

To me two top ends are motors. Not complete motors but motors. The oiling issue took out the pistons too. So in my thinking I have had 2 oem motors, 2 top end rebuilds, 1 full crank up rebuild. To my simple thinking that is 5 motors.

 

[780ghostrider]

Ive owned skidoo, they blow up too sounds like if you want reliability buy a yamaha, but nothing id for sure.

 

[geo]

If your oil pump truly did fail, you definitely have been unlucky.

Since it's your dime, I suggest you get very involved and makes sure a very thorough effort is done to clean all check valves, distribution lines and fittings before they bolt things back together.

I've seen one oil pump failure in my life and it was immediately spit back as "denied" from warranty. Even Suzuki wanted it in their hands to believe it.

 

[mountainhorse]

Sincere question to all.

I really have not seen an epidemic of failed 2013 or 2014 800's.... but maybe I've been looking in the wrong place.

Can you, all, point me in the right direction?

If you have a link or to a thread or some pics of one of your own on these years... please post them up.


Makes me wonder if the problems for the most part were put behind....
Taking into account that for any high performance 2 stroke with user maintenance/fuel/oil/mod/riding-style variables... that there will always be SOME failures.
I've seen a failure here and there on the 2013 or 2014's, but nothing more than the norm for the highest volume sold 800 mountain machine out there.



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