general advice

[Stiff]

Hey All,

I thought I’d throw out a request for advice on care and maintenance on sleds in general. I’m a relative novice regarding snowmobile ownership, but I figured the best way to learn is to own one. Right? So I recently bought a used ’93 Polaris Indy 500 EFI with 3100 miles on it. It seems to start and run well, but I don’t have a very good idea what types of things I should be doing in terms of preventative maintenance or what I should have checked before I take it out. How do I check if the suspension is adjusted correctly? Are there shop manuals available for sleds? What should I be careful “not to do”?

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Guest]

Hey Stiff,

First of all, how much do you weigh? Most Indys are set up for trail riding for about 180 pounds. Second, you will want to check the wearbars under the ski's and the hyfax (plastic slides on the rear suspension rails). You may also want to get the clutch checked out. It is also a good idea(with 3100 miles) to get a compression and leak down test done to your engine to check for wear. I work at a snowmobile dealership and we do a fall tune up that will cover all of those things and more for $90. As far as a shop manual you shuold be able to get one from any Polaris dealer.

[Stiff]

I weigh about 175 lbs and I don’t plan to ride very aggressively. The main reason I have a sled is for ice fishing, but I do occasionally take my son out as a passenger. BTW – he would be an additional 40 lbs or so. Does the suspension need to be re-adjusted over time, or do you just leave it alone once it’s set at the factory?

I plan to tow an otter sled, which pulls pretty easy. Do I need to take that into account?

[jkrash]

Here are a few things I do to my sleds to get ready for another season

Grease the suspension (front & back , I remove the back suspension and clean and greese the axles.

Adjust the track (tension & alignment)

Clean the clutches and replace the parts that are wore (springs, rollers, roller pins, weight pins, buttons and bushings)

Check the fluids ( coolant, chaincase oil and brake fluid)

Seal the pipes with high temp silicone (if needed)

On the EFI's make sure you have a good battery

You can adjust the rear suspension and I would tighten it up.

Towing a sled is no big deal, we pull ours 50 mph no problem, just make sure you have a OEM hitch.