2007 Dragon Over heating

[Schmidty]

Alright, So while I was heading up the trail to some snow on Baldy I had noticed that my temp was WAYY above normal. It got up to 220 degrees before it limited my acceleration. I was going about 8 MPH due to the horrible trail while pulling a terribly tied down jet sled. It was about 27 degrees outside and I have only gone about 5miles, about a mile going 30MPH.

Anyway, when i noticed the temperature I stopped and opened the cowling so it would cool faster. My first instinct was to make sure I didn't puncture my cooling plate on my tunnel. When I bent down to check I rested my hand on my tunnel which to my amazement was really hot as well.

Not that it really matter but, I "blew" a belt the day after the sled had over heated(spent the night up there) and was wondering if this could have been caused from it getting so hot. I was riding along a ridge at like 10 MPH and noticed it riding funny, checked the belt and noticed the inside "ribs" were being stripped off.

My question is, Could it over heating be caused by the lack of snow on the cooling plate on the tunnel, old Coolant, or could it be that the coolant lines are clogged somewhere?

I noticed that the Coolant was really cloudy and determined that It probably haven't been changed anytime recently. How would I go about draining all of the coolant out? Is there a flush kit that I can get?

If this has nothing to do with the coolant, would adding some vents help? If so, Which ones would be most effective and worth while?

Any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

Different Matter:
I have a 1990 Tundra that the Track keeps coming off of, i have tried to align it but have had no success. Are there any tips to aligning the track?

 

[beamslayer]

Try putting on some scatchers or bolts in the skis.You can check the coolant with a gauge from napa.If you are pulling a sled you may want to gear down and do some reclutching.Yes heat will destroy a belt. Vents are always a good thing do. You can do a search on here for venting. I run 2coolvents great product and I have also made some out of pet screen and aluminum.Good luck

 

[winter4ever]

I would say the towing is what caused your belt to fail, not the engine temp. youll definately want to get some vents on the clutch if your towing a lot, to save you belts. Its not going to do much for your engine temps though, thats a matter of getting snow on the exchangers.

 

[Schmidty]

I wasn't pulling anything heavy in the sled, just a tent and a sleeping bag. Not worth gearing it down or reclutching. The belt started stripping when I was riding without towing a sled. Even when I do not pull a sled it starts to over heat. Would scratchers really do that good of a job and throw that much snow to keep it cool?

Thanks

 

[winter4ever]

yes they do. dont even think about it, just buy em.

 

[Schmidty]

Alright. Ill get those soon. I still need to drain and replace my Coolant. Any tips?

 

[Schmidty]

Alright. Which ones are better. Holz ice scratchers or Slidekicks?

 

[winter4ever]

The cable ones are nice because you can leave them down all the time. but it seams like the wire type fling more snow, especially on hard pack, but if you forget about them and hit reverse those type will break. I would check your coolant before you drain it though, if it is ok just leave it, it can be a pain to get all of the air bubbles out of the system in a snowmobile.

 

[skibreeze]

Since you are really having an overheat issue, skip the slidekicks and get the spring style. They work better, period. No need to replace the coolant due to overheat, just make sure that it was properly bled. The fastest way to cool the sled would have been to throw snow all over the tunnel, but now with scratchers you will not have an issue.

 

[fonetikal]

I was creeping down a bumpy trail yesterday, doubling my buddy, and going extra slow because every other sled had suspension issues that day (all skidoos, haha!) noticed halfway down we were at about 145*, dropped my scratchers and in about 2 minutes we were back at 123ish. They work good.

Back out onto the icy hard road and all the skidoos were overheating, stopping to fill their tracks and tunnels with whatever they could scratch off the side of the road. My buddy and I didn't stop once, kept an eye on the temp, steady 126.

 

[skibreeze]

I was creeping down a bumpy trail yesterday, doubling my buddy, and going extra slow because every other sled had suspension issues that day (all skidoos, haha!) noticed halfway down we were at about 145*, dropped my scratchers and in about 2 minutes we were back at 123ish. They work good.

Back out onto the icy hard road and all the skidoos were overheating, stopping to fill their tracks and tunnels with whatever they could scratch off the side of the road. My buddy and I didn't stop once, kept an eye on the temp, steady 126.

Why can't you say that all the sleds w/o scratchers were overheating? Why say the Skidoos were overheating?

 

[Schmidty]

Seems like a really good investment. I did not get them before because I didn't think it would throw up enough snow. Holz scratchers r the way to go? Simple install I'm hoping?

 

[Minten]

"Simple install I'm hoping?"

Very simple. Just have to make sure they fit right on your skid and drill the hole. Heck, I did it myself and I'm only 14...

 

[sevenhundo]

yes buy scratchers and yes change the anti freeze if its been a while antifreeze breaks down over time and it can freeze which would make a huge disaster wont have to worry about your motor overheating anymore. And bad antifreeze will cause overheating issues too. Its no just antifreeze its coolant also check thermostat also. I just unhook my lowest hose and let it run out into a pan not sure if theres a better way. but when you fill make sure your sled is at a 45 degree angle and start dumping in the COOLANT when it gets to the max mark start it and let it run at a slightly high idle. Watch the level and keep filling it then start cracking the bleeder to you have no more air. Very important that the front of the sled is elevated or you will be fighting air. Last time i did it i had very little to no air at all

 

[Schmidty]

I think I will test the antifreeze before I change hopefully I can put it off til summer if it isn't horrible. Thanks for your help.

 

[fonetikal]

Very simple. Just have to make sure they fit right on your skid and drill the hole.

I didn't even bother drilling a hole, I just run mine over the rail. Even got to lose a couple wheels, saves a little weight?

 

[coyoteman]

Seems like a really good investment. I did not get them before because I didn't think it would throw up enough snow. Holz scratchers r the way to go? Simple install I'm hoping?

5 min. installation, with only a couple wrenches. I would never run a sled w/o them anymore.