there is so much talk about the 800"s,11's are better than 10's,12's are better than 11's,13's are way better than all of them, but you still here 13's going down as much as anything else......it seems that piston failure is the most common problem,however you here alot a crank stories also.....whats the prevention if any to make these things last?......pistons at 2000 miles? upgrades? turn oil pump up?.....?????????
2013 800 when should it be freshened up?
- Thread starter the-mickster
- Start date
I was having the 2011 and 2012 cylinder in hand .... my 2011 cylinder have thicker skirt than the 2012
It depends on many factors.
How hard do you hammer it... do you ride in over the hood pow with it pinned all the time or are you an easier rider... heavy guy, light guy (or gal)... oil used, quality of gas, state of tune, overheated on occasion etc etc.
For me... I like to have un-interrupted seasons... so pistons at 1500 miles, turn up oiler... use quality oil and gas.... I like adding a BD Box to add some fuel where the factory, due to EPA regs, may not be able to do.....
But for the most part... the 13/14's have shown to be really reliable... so yes, pistons at 2000 true off trail miles... turned up oiler and good maintenance.
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How hard do you hammer it... do you ride in over the hood pow with it pinned all the time or are you an easier rider... heavy guy, light guy (or gal)... oil used, quality of gas, state of tune, overheated on occasion etc etc.
For me... I like to have un-interrupted seasons... so pistons at 1500 miles, turn up oiler... use quality oil and gas.... I like adding a BD Box to add some fuel where the factory, due to EPA regs, may not be able to do.....
But for the most part... the 13/14's have shown to be really reliable... so yes, pistons at 2000 true off trail miles... turned up oiler and good maintenance.
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3 turns on the oiler and use the poo gold oil….. and mix 80 to 1 oil in the gas, I use mineral oil for the mix it blends better than synthetic with gasoline. Then every 2k miles freshen up the top end. Highly unlikly youll have crank failure with the turned up oil, and the mix will make your topend happy
so,is there an easy way to turn oiler up?
Posted a separate thread but after 1300 miles I have chipping/flaking rings and blow-by. I am 230# in gear and ride about 5% of the time WFO in powder or climbing. Polaris mechanic at Seeley plugged my sled in to the tattle tail box and said that "The computer says you ride full throttle about 5% of the time." I told him that, "Well I have my wife and kids with me 50% of the time or that number would be bigger."...trying to defend my honor/man hood. He laughed and said that 5% is actually a lot . To me it sounds like I am letting off to many times for obstacles 
I haven't had a crank problem or cylinder skirt problem but my 11' and now my 13' have only had the pistons and rings last 1300 or so miles.
I haven't had a crank problem or cylinder skirt problem but my 11' and now my 13' have only had the pistons and rings last 1300 or so miles.
G
geo
Well-known member
5% is really high at WFO. My dealer checks this if you want to trade (don't know why lol). Mine showed 10% and the tech asked me if I race or something lol.
Glad I had to keep it 'cause I got to see inside and make it better.
MH covered it IMO. Fuel and oil. I say lots of it too. Yamalube in the tank and Redline Racing in the premix. Fuel up the EPA tested midrange big time.
Yamalube is the best at staying there when not in use (snowmobiles sit for long times and go from hot to cold often) and Redline is pretty close to the best at being slippery and attracted to hot spots (synthetic bean oil).
Rings and lands are prematurely destroyed by poor chamfer. Check and fix before re-assembly.
Glad I had to keep it 'cause I got to see inside and make it better.
MH covered it IMO. Fuel and oil. I say lots of it too. Yamalube in the tank and Redline Racing in the premix. Fuel up the EPA tested midrange big time.
Yamalube is the best at staying there when not in use (snowmobiles sit for long times and go from hot to cold often) and Redline is pretty close to the best at being slippery and attracted to hot spots (synthetic bean oil).
Rings and lands are prematurely destroyed by poor chamfer. Check and fix before re-assembly.
Once you have the hood off, it's 10 minutes if you've done it before, and you're being really careful and taking your time, on a 11-14 800s. No need to pull off any other components, just the hood, you need to have extensions and a long screw driver. Did it to my 14 RMK 8 this year in 10 or less.
I've seen 600s with a tie wrapped harness that you have to work around abit so it could take longer if you don't want to take anything else off, one of them was mine.
That doesn't tell you how to do it. Lots of threads and pictures here on that. Reading about it takes much longer than doing it.
Only time will tell if my research was right, but before buying my Pro I read endlessly of failures and what people suggested. I think moutainhorse is correct about these failures being related to what people are doing to their sleds.
People will disagree with me, but I am OK with that. My sled has only 600 miles, but hope to get 3k before it dips below 110 in each cyl. Time will only tell. I am a computer programmer and not an engine builder.
Bought it new and heat soaked it a few times right off the bat. 180 degrees let it cool 180 degrees again. This took a bit, but read multiple times a heat soak is needed for the bottom end.
I then took it out and the sled was low idle or to the bar, off and on, for about 30 miles. It was annoying, but pressure is needed to seat rings.
Took it home and drained the poo oil out of it. Filled it with Castrol GTX. This engine is not a honda with tight clearances that needs super high tech oil. I also think everybody should run a non-syn oil before summer storage.
I did not mess with my oil pump. Left it stock. I think too much oil is a very bad thing. Especially when the engine is young in life. Very minimal, but oil does lower your octane.
Our fuel is junk ethanol mix. Run in eth mode. I always put 91 octane in it and put a little lucas octane booster in it. Just a little and I believe it is snake oil to a point. Makes me feel better and a bottle goes a long way. I am not trying to make it 104 octane, but just make sure it is 91.
I have never let the sled get over 190 degrees. I will pull over at 160.
I try to let the sled hit 125 before taking off, but in reality it is 110 from time to time. My friends just think I am putting my gloves on slower.
My assumption is people with failures are most likely using nice oil, cranking up oiler and where nice to it during the break in. I do not think anybody will argue with me on the bad gas and not letting a sled heat up.
N
Newby2sleds
Member
Number one problem is oil cap not venting!!I would highly suggest you either drill a couple holes in your cap or put a vent line on the tank.It might seem like its using plenty of oil but if pump starves for oil you might go a mile with zero oil.I lost two motors in a month,second one was a LRTM.
wow, stupidly simple to fix, and to damn simple to destroy a motor.
I could see rubber dust plugging it for sure
L
leadfoot33
Well-known member
after breakin is probably a good time to replace them pistons again hehe in all seriousness though around 2000miles is a good time to do the top end
hehe in all seriousness though around 2000miles is a good time to do the top endI think you would have to be crazy to NOT turn up the oil. Lots of sleds have hit the snow at 60 or 70:1 ratios. Your engine will not last running this little oil, no way no how. Tests have shown that there is zero performance detriment to more oil until you reach 18-20:1. There is a lot of room to improve reliability before too much oil starts to effect how the engine runs. Crank failures happen because bottom ends get starved of oil, or water pump seals fail. Turning up the oil though protects the bottom end bearings.
I have been planning on annual top ends for this machine since I decided to buy it. This season that may be around 1000 miles, maybe a little more. I am around 600 right now.
I would NEVER set a milage. You need to watch it with compression testing. If the compression falls off, replace the top end. Continued riding is what will cause a catostrophic failure.
Mine is a '13 and I am under no illusion that Polaris fixed the problems. So far it has been great but you are better off to disobey the EPA's wishes by running as much fuel and oil through it as possible. When my drop in kit goes in, the fuel box will go on. With more fuel and oil, better quality pistons and a little cylinder chamfer work before re-assembly, maybe it will go 2000 miles on a set after said corrections. It will still get a compression check every few hundred miles.
I have been planning on annual top ends for this machine since I decided to buy it. This season that may be around 1000 miles, maybe a little more. I am around 600 right now.
I would NEVER set a milage. You need to watch it with compression testing. If the compression falls off, replace the top end. Continued riding is what will cause a catostrophic failure.
Mine is a '13 and I am under no illusion that Polaris fixed the problems. So far it has been great but you are better off to disobey the EPA's wishes by running as much fuel and oil through it as possible. When my drop in kit goes in, the fuel box will go on. With more fuel and oil, better quality pistons and a little cylinder chamfer work before re-assembly, maybe it will go 2000 miles on a set after said corrections. It will still get a compression check every few hundred miles.
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My 13 has 3500 miles on it at this point, still running strong. It's box stock, damn near all off trail, much of the time pushing snow. I make sure the temps stay low, good warm up and make sure the clutch is in good health. Other than that I pull the rope and go.
By the time the season is over it should have over 4k on it, I'll probably pull the motor and send it to Dan Turen and have him freshen 'er up.
By the time the season is over it should have over 4k on it, I'll probably pull the motor and send it to Dan Turen and have him freshen 'er up.
A
assault11
Well-known member
My 11 had 3200 miles on it. All deep snow mountain riding. That was through 2 season. Then I put a carls big bore in. My stock motor still looked awesome. I run red line and mix a bit in the tank as well. Let them warm up good and don't over heat them and don't hold them in the 5000-6500 rpm range and they will last. My 14 has 1000 miles and has been flawless.
I am curious where youget the notion that more oil is bad for the engine? More oil in the gas will increase compression, not cause blow by and low compression.
thanks for all the feedback guys, im thinkin vent oil bottle better,turn up the pump 3 turns, pistons at 2-2500 miles....ride it like i stole it.
