how to store your sled for the summer

The end has come, the snow is gone, the birds are chirping, and your sled is in dire need of summerization. What does it take to make your sled summer ready? There are a few major items that need attention for summer storage: engine and drive train, painted metal parts and the track.

Lets start with the heart of your sled- the engine. So what needs to be done to the motor for the long summer hibernation? One of the major parts of the motor that needs to be attended to is the fuel system. After time gasoline octane breaks down and turns to a varnish-like substance.

The smaller the amount of gasoline the faster this process happens. This plays havoc with the insides of your carburetors. When this varnish-like substance forms, it makes the passages in the carb smaller. This is just like jetting your sled down five jet sizes. And what happens when we jet the motor down too much? SEIZURE! OUCH!

This catastrophic problem can be avoided by filling your fuel tank with a high quality premium fuel (92 octane or more). The reason we fill the tank is to prevent the possibility of condensation inside the fuel tank. Water is just as much as an enemy to your engine as broken down fuel. After the tank is filled, put the correct amount of fuel stabilizer (like Sta-Bil) into the fuel tank with the fresh fuel.

Run the machine for 5 to 10 minutes to get the fuel stabilizer into the carburetors. When fall comes drain the entire fuel system and fill it with fresh fuel. Now your fuel system is ready to go!

The biggest problem with not running your sled for long periods of time (30 days or more) is that the internal parts are susceptible to rust. Rust attacks the crankshaft bearings, the rod bearings, the crankshaft journals, the wristpins and the cylinder walls. Once the motor is fired up after rust has set in, it is a slow and painful death for the motor. The rust grinds and eats the chrome off of the ball and roller bearings and eats the coating off of the piston rings. So you might be well into your snowmobiling season, when all of a sudden your motor starts losing some of its power (worn out piston rings), or a bearing goes out in the crankshaft or a wristpin bearing fails.

That is a very costly repair that could have been avoided with some simple springtime maintenance. Why does this happen? The reason this happens is very simple-lack of lubrication. As time goes by the oil that is on the metal surfaces slowly but surely runs off and the metal surface dries up and rust sets in. This process can take as little as a couple of weeks to as long as 90 days. Why the time frame difference you ask? It all depends on the type of oil you run in your sled. Petroleum-based oil tends to stick to the metal parts better so it takes longer for the oil to dissipate. Synthetic oils have become more widely used as of late, but tend not to have the additives to prevent rust like the petroleum-based oils do.

But how do we go about making your internal engine parts safe? We need to get a healthy coating of lubricant on the internal engine parts. We can achieve that by simply removing the spark plugs and pouring three to four ounces of high quality two-stroke petroleum-based oil down each plug hole. After you pour the oil down the plug holes, cover the plug holes with a rag (DO NOT PUT THE PLUGS BACK IN YET), and pull over the motor SLOWLY! This slow rotation of the motor gets the oil to all the motor parts.

If you pull the rope fast, the oil shoots out of the plug holes at a high rate of speed-it will make a mess of your garage ceiling. The reason we do not put the plugs back into the holes is because oil does not compress. With the large amount of oil that was poured down the plug holes, there is the possibility of bending connecting rods, because the amount of oil is greater than the cc volume of the head chamber.

We also need to give some attention to the clutches. A good cleaning of both the primary and secondary is always a good thing to do prior to summer storage. After the clutches are cleaned, a light coat of lubricant, like LPS-3, Justice Brothers silicone lubricant or JB80, keeps rust and corrosion from forming on these parts.

Now that the heart of the sled is safe, we need to concentrate on the outside of your sled. All the painted metal parts are very susceptible to rust and corrosion, depending on where you store your sled. You should pick a spot that is dry, not damp. With dampness comes rust and corrosion. You can prevent this rust and corrosion by applying a light coat of oil, like LPS-3, to all the painted parts.

This type of oil sticks to metal parts and protects them from the harshness of the summer's elements. It can be wiped clean in the fall to reveal your sled looking like new! The parts that need the most attention are the skis, the rear suspension, and the front suspension parts.

After all of the above are done, we need to put the beloved sled to bed for the summer. I suggest raising both the front and rear of the sled off the ground. The reasoning for the rear is two fold, one is to ensure that the track does not rot from being in contact with the ground. The other reason is to take the load off of the suspension shocks and springs.

After time suspension springs go flat, so this gives the springs a little more life. The reasoning for raising the front of the sled is, like the rear, is to give the suspension springs and shocks a little rest.

If you follow my simple guidelines, your sled will run and look like new for many years to come! Happy Trails, talk to you next fall!