Hi Guys,
New to these parts,,, Actually I'm a New Endlander who stumbled across this thread after seeing some postings on a local snowmobile club site about problems with Polaris 550's
I bought a 2006 550 Classic as a backup sled because Polaris listed it as a "bulletproof" motor and would be powerful enough to ride should I need it, but not so fast that I would have to worry about my wife or any friend who might come for a ride.
Now I have not had any problems yet, but it only has 300 miles on it and after reading all the posts all over the Internet I'm concerned,,,
Neither Polaris nor the dealer has contacted me to say that there are recalls, updates, or concerns about how you use it, and now its out of warranty,,,
I’m most impressed with the postings by Tom400CFI, it looks like you have really been put through the ringer on this one.
As a reader, I really appreciate your efforts in sharing you experiences and observations.
As an owner, I’m trying to learn from your experiences,,, Trying being the key word.
Until, I can come up with a game plan, my 550 is parked.
Until now mine has only been ridden by two people (both seasoned male riders) and on New Hampshire trails which are at low altitude and are usually twisty with few straight long sections, so our riding tends to be varied in speed and were constantly on and off the throttle, hence my not having any problems with my 550 yet.
My game plan so far is to check with the dealer that I bought it from and see if they will pony up any of the updates, I know its not likely as its not broken yet, but as I have bought 5 sleds brand new from Polaris in the last 10 years I think its worth trying.
If not, I’m thinking that the oil pump kit seems like a must have, and then either add the exhaust shields or have the whole exhaust coated with one of the high-tech coatings.
Next, add some kind of cool air duct system.
The Polaris system still looks insufficient given what I have read, so I’m thinking of a hybrid possibly using the Polaris duct over the fan shroud, and then fabricating something like Tom400CFI did to the front cowl opening by either modifying an HVAC “stack dump” or possibly a large wet-vac nozzle, or maybe just molding something in fiberglass.
I really like Tom400CFI’s use of the cowl opening, it looks like a perfect source of cool air and of sufficient volume to get the job done (unlike the tiny Polaris vent you have to cut into the top of the cowl.
I do have a couple concerns, first I have seen several posts that talk about a fuel pump relocation and an updated CDI. Can anyone tell me what changed on the CDI and what the part number of the updated one is? And can anyone post a picture of the fuel pump relocation.
I also I'm seeing several different update kits talked about, is there a new number that anyone can post that lists the most current “master” kit for the cyl – CDI – exhaust – oil pump – etc.
And can someone post the part number for the cool air vent “kit” ???
Sorry for the long post that added nothing of value to the issue and THANKS in advance for any advice and info that you folks can pass along.
George
New to these parts,,, Actually I'm a New Endlander who stumbled across this thread after seeing some postings on a local snowmobile club site about problems with Polaris 550's
I bought a 2006 550 Classic as a backup sled because Polaris listed it as a "bulletproof" motor and would be powerful enough to ride should I need it, but not so fast that I would have to worry about my wife or any friend who might come for a ride.
Now I have not had any problems yet, but it only has 300 miles on it and after reading all the posts all over the Internet I'm concerned,,,
Neither Polaris nor the dealer has contacted me to say that there are recalls, updates, or concerns about how you use it, and now its out of warranty,,,
I’m most impressed with the postings by Tom400CFI, it looks like you have really been put through the ringer on this one.
As a reader, I really appreciate your efforts in sharing you experiences and observations.
As an owner, I’m trying to learn from your experiences,,, Trying being the key word.
Until, I can come up with a game plan, my 550 is parked.
Until now mine has only been ridden by two people (both seasoned male riders) and on New Hampshire trails which are at low altitude and are usually twisty with few straight long sections, so our riding tends to be varied in speed and were constantly on and off the throttle, hence my not having any problems with my 550 yet.
My game plan so far is to check with the dealer that I bought it from and see if they will pony up any of the updates, I know its not likely as its not broken yet, but as I have bought 5 sleds brand new from Polaris in the last 10 years I think its worth trying.
If not, I’m thinking that the oil pump kit seems like a must have, and then either add the exhaust shields or have the whole exhaust coated with one of the high-tech coatings.
Next, add some kind of cool air duct system.
The Polaris system still looks insufficient given what I have read, so I’m thinking of a hybrid possibly using the Polaris duct over the fan shroud, and then fabricating something like Tom400CFI did to the front cowl opening by either modifying an HVAC “stack dump” or possibly a large wet-vac nozzle, or maybe just molding something in fiberglass.
I really like Tom400CFI’s use of the cowl opening, it looks like a perfect source of cool air and of sufficient volume to get the job done (unlike the tiny Polaris vent you have to cut into the top of the cowl.
I do have a couple concerns, first I have seen several posts that talk about a fuel pump relocation and an updated CDI. Can anyone tell me what changed on the CDI and what the part number of the updated one is? And can anyone post a picture of the fuel pump relocation.
I also I'm seeing several different update kits talked about, is there a new number that anyone can post that lists the most current “master” kit for the cyl – CDI – exhaust – oil pump – etc.
And can someone post the part number for the cool air vent “kit” ???
Sorry for the long post that added nothing of value to the issue and THANKS in advance for any advice and info that you folks can pass along.
George
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I applaud you for taking the time to write it all up.
