2003 Arctic cat mountain cat 900 1m----- any good?

[fishtank]

Im still trying to figure out what year mine is. Some say 2004, some say 2003. Im pretty sure its 2003.5 since it has the drop and roll (but I guess that coulda been put in afterwards). But its green/black. Its got a 162 CR tunnel so Im not sure what the original was. Certificate of authenticity or whatever says it was manufactured in October 2003 and its got the 2003 jetting instructions on the airbox.


ps, thats not me.

 

[KMMAC]

running boards

I thought some said another way to tell if the sled was an early or late build was look at the running boards to see if they had the star holes cut in them. Meaning if they have the star holes it's an 03.5. This my not be evident if the boards were modified with no snows of some type or the tunnel has been updated.

 

[fishtank]

Its got a 162 CR tunnel so Im not sure what the original was.

Not sure whats involved with a tunnel replacement, if the running boards are replaced also, But yeah I just saw a pic and it has the "star" holes cut in them.

Its wierd, I have never seen another pic the same color as my sled. Ive seen probably 15-20 other users on various forums showing the red 2004 EFI model. Seems way more popular than my carbie!!! 8)

 

[Twostroke]

Is there no way to tell by the vin?

 

[PowderCrew]

Also look at the tunnel coolers to determine the year. '03 had the coolers on the outer corner of the tunnel, '03.5 and newer had them running more down the center. Problems I've noticed on mine: pull the front side panels if you ever get the chance and look overall for cracks in the welds. Had to replace an a-arm this year and found 4 small cracks in the bulkhead. Not too big a deal, just had them re-welded/re-inforced. Had the re-inforce the steering support (even had to fab an aluminum support for more strength)...of course I have risers. Check the can along the chaincase, i bought mine with aftermarket and whoever installed it didnt account for clearence. It was rubbing a hole in the case cover. Mine had SLP single on it, east to correct. I would check to see if it has outer running board coolers (edge of the boards). I disconnected the hoses on mine and plugged them. If you catch a rock hard enough and rupture that, could make it awful hard to get back to the truck!

 

[Repoman]

PowderCrew, you have the tunnel coolers backwards, they are run down the center on the earlier models and ran on the edges in the '03 1/2 & newer. I have an '03 1/2 and mine are run on the edges of the tunnel.

 

[vdo1948]

X 2 on what Repoman said!

 

[Ultra]

You guys are pretty close...the production 03's and newer have the coolers in the corners and the stars on the running boards. The early build 03's which were actually built in 02 had the center coolers and no stars. The 03 1/2 got a color change and a 159'.