Polaris - indy 500 help

[Sorgy]

With all the knowledge on this site I figured I would run or issues by the forum users.

The sled is a 97 Polaris Indy Classic Touring 500. Milage of 4450.

The sled is loosing coolant- not a lot. But there seems to be a leak of some sort by the exhaust. I think that the sled lost 3 oz of coolant over a 30 mile ride. What kind of problem do you expect?

It also seems to leak crank case lube. What is the common cause and is it a big job to repair?

My uncle is dropping it off to have it looked at. Just trying to make sure we are not getting the hose job.

They will also do a complete carb teardown and cleaning while it is in the shop.

Thanks

Happy New Year

Steve

[Eelpout08]

first thing to check with the coolant leak is all the hose clamps, hopefully it is that simple. otherwise it could be the water pump seal, although im not very familiar with those sleds so i dont know exactly where it is. Where are you seeing the oil? if oil is seeping out of around the crankshaft that means the crank seals are leaking, very bad, engine will need to be completely tore down to repair if i am not mistaken,

[Sorgy]

Just to clarify.

1) I believe the coolant is leaking by the exhaust pipe.

2) It is leaking gear lube - Is it a seal or something that needs replacing?

Thanks for the help.

Steve

[Surface Tension]

I would check the torque on the head bolts. I wonder how many guys do that after the 100 mile break-in check list of things to do. You might get lucky there but a new head gasket is easy enough too.

The leak at the chain case, could be a drive shaft seal or as simple as loose bolt on the case.

[Sorgy]

Thanks for the help.

I am hoping that it is a head gasket or just the torque on the head bolts.

It is getting dropped off on Monday.

Is the 500 liquid cooled the 488 motor or is that a different motor? It says 500 on the head.

Later

Steve

[hanson]

First off... the 500cc is a 488cc.

In diagnosing your problem, there is no "crank case lube". The only gear oil in a snowmobile (2 stroke) is in the chaincase, which is on the right had side of the motor and should be very easy to determine if there is a leak there or not.

The crank on a 2 stroke is lubricated by the fuel/oil mixture from the intake (carbs). The intake stroke sucks the fuel/oil into the motor and down to the crank. The transfer ports suck the fuel/oil back up from the crank to the combustion chamber. The exhaust ports spit the exhaust out into the pipe. Simple as that.

If you are leaking anything, it will either be a crankshaft seal, crankcase seal, cylinder head/block seal, or a head/cylinder seal. Not much else that could leak.

If you are losing coolant, coolant will make its way through nearly all those components. Coolant enters the motor at one point and leaves the motor at another point. Check both those connections. Water pump on these motors should be on the right hand side near the recoil. Once again, a connection going into and out of the water pump. (Without pulling up a manual, a bit unsure on the water pump. My older 500 had a belt driven pump on the recoil side of the motor. Yours may or may not be the same).

My guess is you aren't losing coolant at the motor but rather somewhere else. You'd have probably blown the motor by now if it was leaking into it.

If it is leaking by the exhaust pipe... are we sure what specifically is leaking out?? Is it just a tar/exhaust residue?? Could just be the gasket between the pipe(s) and the heads, or a manifold (y-pipe) between the pipe and heads if its got 1 pipe.

Big question is... how does the motor run??

[Sorgy]

Chris,

Thanks for your help. You are right on with the kind of help I am looking for.

As far as the coolant leaking. The motor does not have any excessive smoking. The motor is running very good. The carb cleaning will help with startups and prevent future issues.

I think that the residue I have noticed may just be a tar exhaust residue however it is bad enough to drip below.

The chaincase leak should not be to hard to locate and fix I hope.

Thanks for the help.

Later

Steve

[Shack]

If memory serves me right, the coolant over flow bottle is on the right side, above the exhaust. Maybe a burp cause some to leak out the excess tube running down to the belly pan/bulk head?

If you can not locate the leak, you could go to Napa and buy some coolant leak tracer dye. Put it in and run it. After search the area with a black light (those pen lights work well and are cheap). Some times just going over the area with a black light can show the coolant also.

Just a thought

[Sorgy]

Shack,

Welcome Back- I followed your fight from early on.

Thanks for the tips. You are right it is on the right hand side. I am leaning more towards a leak as several of the guys have suggested.

The difficulty is the sled is up on Lake Vermilion and I am sitting in Lino Lakes.

Hopefully we will get things ironed out over the next week or two with it. Clean Carbs, locate leaks in coolant and chain case, fix exhaust leak and have entire sled checked over.

Thanks Shack- Welcome Back

Steve