best way to remove & install coolant hose???

[samiams2]

Hey I am in the same boat as you, I have an 04 900 and I am thinking of installing the RK Tek head.

So I have a couple of questions:
-Which head did you get? For what octane?
-How did it effect the performance of the sled?
-was the engine stock when you put it on or what engine mods did you have?
-did you need to add fuel managment?
-how simple was the swap of the heads?

I would really appreciate your feedback! Thank you very much!!!

 

[1Mike900]

I am surprised RKT didn't give explicit instructions on how to drain the coolant? I hope the bolt torques are there and sequence? Maybe he has you tighten them evenly in torque stages? Noneth less jack up the front end so the rear cooler is lower than the head. Siphon out, And remove. Just don't pinch a "O" ring upon re assembly. Hope all went well?

Mike

 

[2005 1m]

Mike - I bought the head almost brand new (but from a private party) so I didn't have the instructions. Everything went well though thanks to all that weighed in, in this topic and others. Everyone on SW is a huge help.

samiams2 - I got the RK tek mono billet head for 6-9k feet. I ride from about 8 to 11k. I always run 91 octance with no problem whatsoever. The performance question is a little tough to answer. As you can see in my signature, I have quite a few mods on my sled. Probably even a couple more than what I have in my signature. And I did almost all of them this past summer, so I can't really say inrementally how much the head helped. With that being said, my sled is SUPER tourquey!!!! From 0-60mph it pulls like you would not believe. I think the head and helix have a lot to do with that torque and the Speedwerx pipes probably don't hurt either. Engine was not stock - had all of the mods in my signature when it went on. No fuel management needed - the head actually (allegedly) makes it run slightly richer. I also have the ethanol wire unplugged (per instructions from Speedwerx when I put on the pipes) which richens up teh fuel map by 3% I believe. My sled actually runs slightly rich; no issues with fuel. Lastly, it is a piece of cake to bolt on. Heck, I did it problem free without instructions!

If you do decide to do it, feel free to PM me. Also, read this thread here too. It was helpful for draining to the coolant before I took off the head.

 

[900kingkitty]

my 05 didn't have the drain line , but i added one

 

[grandpaj]

coolant drain

Tip the sled on the clutch side,get a coffee can or something of that nature.
Take out the lowest head bolt and the antifreeze will start to come out, use the can to catch it, then loosen the highest head bolt and it will all come out in a hurry.
Then put your head on and fill the engine through the thermostat hole before you put the thermostat back in, then fill your overflow bottle and run till it circulates and you got it.

 

[mattymac]

this is one thing that I liked on the polaris domestic motors, in the thermostat housing they have a small machine screw for a vent when filling back up! Just crack it loose pour in the coolant and wait till it starts to dribble out!

On the cats I usually just leave the top return hose loose and work it so air can come out when filling the system with coolant.

If you take to much out you can get an air lock in the rear of the sleds tunnel/cooler and the coolant wont circulate in the system! Then the front of the sled needs to be raised ALOT! to get it out.