Coolant loss?

[ohiomxzrev]

2 weeks ago I decided it was time to clean up the sled for summer storage. When I pulled it out of the spot I parked it after the last ride, there was a 3 inch puddle of coolant under it. Then when I took off the side panels, the reservoir was empty. After further disassembly, I found some drops of coolant on the front of the non-PTO side of the engine block.

Took it to the dealer cuz I have warranty. After a week there, I got a call this week that they could not find anything wrong. Did pressure test and couldn't find any holes/crack in tunnel heat exchanger and that it was likely an "air pocket" in the system and that I should come pick it up and I owe them $150 for diagnostic work. My sled has almost 1000 miles on it and 2 seasons of riding!

The owner is out of town and I cant get a hold of him.....anybody got any ideas on what's wrong? I'm not buying the "air pocket" BS!
Thanks in advance for any insight you can send my way!

 

[Blk88GT]

Check the hose clamp on the upper host coming off the head. There was a recall. My 19 had pushed the hose out a 1/4". You can remove the clamp, push the hose on and install a worm-gear clamp. Good to go.

Hopefully that's it....

 

[salmonbum]

Was the sled up to operating temp when your parked or at the spot u found leak? Did it get extremely cold after? I believe the coolant system has constant pressure and if it gets cold enough to shrink the block just a cunthair and the clamp is not super tight (as in the style doo uses) it can push coolant out. Whne you take it to the dealer and the shop is 70 degrees inside they will never find a leak.

 

[TreewellDweller]

I have a 2018, 850, 165" with approximately 3500 miles on it. At a bit over 1900 miles the engine seized, and I mean seized, while going down the trail at around 30-35mph. Being it was under warranty I took it back to the dealer and BRP informed them to install a remanufactured long block, which they did. (they never did figure out what caused the original motor to seize) After several rides I noticed the coolant reservoir empty so added some antifreeze thinking we were just working the air pockets out of the system from the new motor installation. At 1600 more miles and refilling the coolant bottle every 3 or 4 rides I took it back into the shop. Also, could only pull about 7200 rpms.
Come to find out, RAVE servo was bad, a RAVE cable frayed, and a RAVE valve slot was not machined cleanly. Needless to say, this was the rpm problem.
With all of this testing, checking, and looking things over, they finally discovered that the base gaskets on the cylinders is where the antifreeze was seeping.
I haven't got it back but parts are ordered and I should be back in business. I HOPE!!! And, it should still be all under warranty.
Unfortunately, this pandemic has got all of the high elevation snowmobile parking lots closed, so might not get to test it out until next year.
Long story short, check the base gaskets!!!