storing sled for summer

[mrjigger]

i purchased my first sled this winter. what do i need to do to the sled before storing it away for the summer. i was going to use fogging oil and put some stabile in the gas.

anyone have anymore recommendations for me? thanks.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Here's what I do.

1. Hit all the zerk fittings with grease.

2. Syphon out most of the gas, add Stabil and run it until you can smell the stabil in the exhaust.

3. Take out spark plugs, pour a little oil down the hole, pull the rope a couple times. This moves the pistons up and down to smear oil all over everything.

4. Take of belt.

5. Loosen track.

6. Shove a rag up the exhaust pipe to keep out unwanted pests such as mice.

7. Put cover on.

8. put sled on a dolly, or blocks of wood or something to get it up off of the floor.

9. Say good-bye until next winter.

[Shane683]

Another good idea is to take your sled to the carwash and get all the dirt, salt, etc.. off and then spray all the metal surfaces with WD-40 to prevent rust.

[minneman]

one thing Ill be doing different this year is Filling the tank (w/stabilized gas) to avoid condensation.

[hanson]

One thing I'll be doing differently this summer is having my dealership 'summerize' my sled for me.

Huh? You ask.

When I pulled my 02 ZR600 EFI out of the garage this fall to start it up, my engine was seized on it. You guessed it- the crank bearings rusted during summer storage. Did I properly prepare my sled for storage? Apparently not.

The repair bill from the cat dealership ended up close to $2,000 for a rebuilt crankshaft, new pistons & rings, gaskets & seals, and labor. After many conversations with my extended warranty company, the bill was taken care of by them and I was politely told that they will not cover any more damage as a result of poor maintenance if I don't have my dealership service my sled for me.

I was not about to argue with them after they saved my butt on that bill so I will be having my dealer take care of the summerization.

For you newer owners of sleds under warranty, make sure you document all your maintenance (receipts, etc.) in case you get in a situation like I had this year.

[knoppers]

also I was told to run injector cleaner in the last tank of gas in the EFI. I had no problems with fogging the cylinders and putting stablizer in the remaining gas thats left in tank after removing all gas that I can.

hansen, I never heard of crank bearings rusting, did you sink your sled that year?

I have had 5 new sleds over the years, and did the same as explained above with no problems.

well at least I have one more year of warrenty still going for me.

[lawdog]

I pretty much do what Boilerguy says except a couple things. I think the spray fogging oil is better than dumping oil in the cylinders. Then make sure those two pulls on the rope are REAL SLOW, you don't want to wipe the oil off, just spread it around. Also, I fog the carbs too, spray it in air intake with the motor running until it smokes real heavy and then kill it with the choke.

Also, someone else mentioned the WD-40, I spray that everywhere BUT THE CLUTCHES, don't want junk on them. Either in the fall or spring, you should take your clutch off too though, just to make sure its not cracked and so it doesn't seize on there. Put some never seize on and torque it back down.

I've never heard of crank bearings rusting either. There was something beyond normal summerizing issues going on with that sled!