98 zr blown piston question

[baitcaster]

We bought a 98 Arctic Cat zr 600 carb. that is in beautiful shape. The only problem is after driving it for 30 miles the engine blew. Brought it in and they said both pistons are scored and it needs to be re-nicked?? Cost is a cool $1000. Only paid $1300 for it. Is it worth fixing? Does that price sound reasonable? Should I look for a used engine? Not sure what to do.

Thanks for any input you can give.

[hydro]

That estimate sounds high. It would be a good idea to shop around and see if you can find another dealer or shop to look at it.

Did you clean out the old fuel and clean the carbs before you put on those 30 miles? If that was not done it may be the reason for the failure.

[Macgyver55]

It sounds maybe a bit high but not totally unreasonable to me for having it done. A ballpark price on re-niked jugs is about 250 exchange, (although dealers get them for less) Do that x 2 is 500 bucks. Throw in a decent piston kit with gaskets for say 275 (again dealers get them for less) and you'd only save maybe 225 by doing it yourself. Maybe not worth it if you know how to do it, but probably is if you dont know how.

What you need to decide is if the rest of the sled is in good enough condition to warrant spending that amount. A tested used motor may be a more economical alternative, but can still be a gamble.

By all means, do as Hydro says and clean the carbs and check the intake boots for cracks before you take off on it, whichever way you decide to go. If you do decide to have it done, maybe you could talk him into throwing in cleaning of the carbs as part of the deal.

[Korynta]

Find a scrap yard and get some used ones for cheap. Also see how bad they really are. They might say u need new ones, but if its just minor scratches u can still hone them lightly and still get good miles out of them. Did it on my EXT and ZL and still got about 2000mi before they hatched again. Not the perfect fix, but a cheaper one.

[broken_line]

go on the BAY look what everyone else is selling a crank for example and drop the price of yours $5 from everyone elses and you will be raking it in quickly (: i almost have a sled paid off from parting out my pro x 440 fan.