Help! - Sportsman w. coolant/oil issue

[Carpenter]

I've been helping a buddy with a 2006 Sportsman 500 EFI. He's getting coolant in the oil. Any thoughts?

We found a hairline crack in his oil tank, we drained the oil, fixed the tank, changed filter, filled oil (primed pump) ran it for 20 minutes or so and did another oil change. We marked the coolant level and he took it home. Now the oil is milky again and the coolant might be slightly lower than the mark.

Any help, ideas would be appreciated.

[Dave S]

I'm hesitant to say a bad/cracked head or head gasket since I've never heard of them being an issue on the 500. I do know there was an issue with the water pump leaking on the first model year of the 700 but I don't know if the same impeller/seals were used in the 500 that year.

To get all of the water out of the oil, it will take more than an extra oil change. Often times it will take 3-4, depending how bad it is.

[mnscruff]

Sounds like my '06 500 efi you'll need to change out the mechanical water pump seal,and the oil seal behind it. Both can be done with motor in place and is acessible through water pump area. Pretty common failure on these machines.

[aczr2k]

Yep, I'm with the others. Most common is the the mechanical seal in the water pump.

[Carpenter]

I have the service manual on the 500's, but is it an easy fix? I've done quite a bit of work on my own 500, but haven't done the seals. Do you need any special tools?

[mnscruff]

You can do it without the special tools. Search the net for polaris atv water pump seal replacement,there's a couple forums that give you step by step replacement with pics. just take your time and don't damage the pump shaft