Always Cover you sled! what do u guys think?

[MTSnowKing]

Was spring riding last june and it was a perfect day outside so we decided not to cover the sleds. had about an 25 mile ride on a dirt road heading into survayor creek in western montana. when we got up to the snow our sleds were caked in dust not thinking much of it we rode. ran amazing over half of the day then i noticed i started loosing RPM's. my 2009 D8 always ran around 8000 (which id like to get 8200) but i seen it was going down to 7800....7700...7600 and wouldnt pull worth ****. the guys we were riding with figured it was the altitude compensator because i didnt loose that much RPMS. the PTO cylinder had alot of carbon build up on the spark plugs. so with the thought of the compensator bad i road it easy the rest of the day lol. even dropped down into kid lake and messed around with only a slight hick up here and there with a nice blubber climbing out of the lake lol. took it into the shop and they said they found "sand" in the engine. so its like the dirt and dust from the long ride on the sled bed into the snow settled in there and the vibrations from us riding must have shooken some past the filters and everything?? this i dont no. would it be worth replacing the air intake to something with a little more filtration?? feed back would be appreciated.

 

[pura vida]

yes, always cover your sled. i just shake my head when i see guys towing 10k+ dollars sleds and are too cheap or lazy to put a cover on them. it's along the same lines of a dude with thousands of dollars of extras on his sled but says beacons and abs bags are too expensive and can't afford it. (really? that skid alone, not even including the shocks would more than pay for it...) i even cover my sled on my sled deck. if road grime is getting on your windshield, it is getting on your sled. that stuff just eats your sled. kills clutches, bearings, bushings, etc. definitely could see it getting into your airbox.

pv

 

[Bendy]

Yeah!

Road salt and calcium getting into the engine compartment and on the chassis, spotting up all the nice clean aluminum looks crappy too!

 

[cortez]

yes, always cover your sled. i just shake my head when i see guys towing 10k+ dollars sleds and are too cheap or lazy to put a cover on them. it's along the same lines of a dude with thousands of dollars of extras on his sled but says beacons and abs bags are too expensive and can't afford it. (really? that skid alone, not even including the shocks would more than pay for it...) i even cover my sled on my sled deck. if road grime is getting on your windshield, it is getting on your sled. that stuff just eats your sled. kills clutches, bearings, bushings, etc. definitely could see it getting into your airbox.

pv

I fully agree, it costs about the same for a cover as it does for your oil, gas and trail fees for one day of riding... buy a good cover, cover it each time and save yourself the hassle, it only takes 30seconds to put on/off. Not to mention it sucks climbing on a muddy sled to go riding.

 

[HammsRMK]

The only thing I have against putting a cover on for long tirps, is if you dont have them tight they rub and scuff stuff. The other thing is have you ever checked your gas mileage when pulling with a cover on. I guess you guys are going to say a little more fule and a scratch here or there is better than a new motor or something major motor wise. Just thought I would throw it out there about the gas mileage and the scuffs. I was wondering if you had a salt shield on your trailor when you got the dust and stuff in the motor? The perfet solution for all of this is an enclosed trailor.

 

[MTSnowKing]

It was up on the sled deck when all this happened. DO u think it would be worth getting a different air filter system of something that would eliminate this happening again?

 

[turbolover]

Aluminum Cover

This is what my cover looks like.

 

[veritascs]

This is what my cover looks like.

we're not all so lucky

 

[Scott]

HAHA

This is what my cover looks like.

 

[pura vida]

It was up on the sled deck when all this happened. DO u think it would be worth getting a different air filter system of something that would eliminate this happening again?

no, absolutely not. for a few reason. 1, the road grime eats way more than just getting into your airbox. 2, there is no real option for a different "air filter system". not sure what that would be 3, an air filter system would only restrict air flow when you are actually riding. 4, the road grime just makes your sled look like complete sh!t as a whole. believe it or not, a clean sled is a good running sled.

yup and inclosed is the way to go. unfortunately i totaled mine two years ago when i rolled and totaled my truck on the way home from riding. decided would try the sled deck. i like it good enough but definitely doesn't protect as well as an enclosed.

the point to everyone? USE YOUR D!MN COVERS!

pv

 

[throttlejocky316]

It would be my guess that some dust settled in your air box and then got injested into the motor when you started riding. From what I have noticed is that the air filters on sleds are more of a course foam vs. a dirt bike/atv filter and this would allow dust to filter thru it. I always cover my sled when trailering, if nothing else it will keep some junk out of the clutches.

 

[MTSnowKing]

very true...lets just say i learned my lesson! an expensive lesson that was..

 

[fonetikal]

why would the "sand" settle inside the engine a not get blown out of the exhaust?

 

[pura vida]

really? you want dirt, dust, and sand that gets into your airbox/motor to be removed through you exhaust? that would not be so good for you bearings, pistons, cylinders, the entire motor...

pv

 

[Scott]

really? you want dirt, dust, and sand that gets into your airbox/motor to be removed through you exhaust? that would not be so good for you bearings, pistons, cylinders, the entire motor...

pv

RIGHT!!!




BUT, at 1500+ degrees inside the cylinder, you'd think that stuff might burn up dissappear.

 

[turbolover]

we're not all so lucky

Hey there isn't any luck in that.

I had to talk the wife into letting me sell the camp trailer and both the 2 place and 4 place open trailers I had. I now have ONE trailer not 3 and it doubles as the camp trailer in the summer.

I installed a park model RV furnace and some cabinets in it. Back the wheelers out and throw up the cots and your campin.
Fire up the honda and were even watching movies in the evening to.
Only took me 18 years to talk her into the enclosed.

 

[JohnJerk]

But how did the sand get into your cylinder? Through the headlight adjustment knob area? Not argueing against a cover, but seems like a pretty dramatic outcome. Is this an 800 gone down and then blamed on sand - did you actually see the sand?

 

[thefullmonte]

I would seal up the seams of the airbox and then do a frogzskin filter on the top side. They are available from Parts Unlimited and straightline performance. They just stick on and work slick. Same type of filter material SLP uses on their flow rite vents. http://www.frogzskin.com/

And yes, it is always a good idea to cover the sled too.

 

[throttlejocky316]

BUT, at 1500+ degrees inside the cylinder, you'd think that stuff might burn up dissappear.

I have rebuilt a couple motors that have ingested dirt. The dirt seems to melt to the spark plug electrode and the top of the piston. It is definitely a different gritty material than carbon build up.

 

[MTSnowKing]

yes when we tore it apart there was actually visible sand particles. really weirdd