coolant leak help

[hellasnow]

i'm in the middle of trying to find out where i'm leaking coolant. last year i only got to ride twice towards the end of the year due to a knee surgery. each ride when finished my coolant res was about half full (or half empty..haha). i would notice it sometimes leaking onto the trailer or trail if sat for a bit.

so i though maybe the water pump gasket was bad. pulled that off. no corrosion or failure to the gasket as i can tell. it's still off but i'm not certain that is my problem. next is to remove the air box and carbs to take a look at the line between the heat exchangers that go into the top of the block (under tstat) and to the coolant res.

i fear it is leaking under the block. is there anywhere under the block that could be leaking? or anything else i'm missing? i don't see allot of coolant around the motor just under and near the water pump area. but again the gasket looked to be ok. still putting a new one on either way. figure while im into it i'd like to be certain i haven't overlooked something.

thanks all.

 

[stumpy2000]

do you have the heated carbs on this sled- may be a leaking coolant line off the carbs/coolant bottle etc? what kinda shape is the cap and/or neck on the coolant bottle- if it isn't holding pressure it'll discharge out the over flow line tucked down behind/under the engine(wherever it may be pointing that is).is the coolant hose clamp too tight/loose on the hose that runs down under the thermostat housing?if they've been "manipulated" they can be a pain in the a$$ to slip back on the outlet properly (especially if your "BUD" was helping with the overhaul)the anti freeze could be running forward between the jugs onto the water pump.have ya crashed hard enough for the steering to mash the hoses under the engine leading to the bulkhead coolers etc. lately?if you use an led flashlight (with the blueish/white light) it can make some anti freeze(s) "glow" to help track out the culprithope this helps ya a bit

 

[hellasnow]

thanks for the reply stumpy. i just figured it out earlier today.

freak'n hose coming off the bottom of the tstat to the heat exchanger has a "rub" spot in it that was causing a leak. had corrosion on a motor mount that caught my eye finally.

so i went ahead and ordered a new line today. crappy thing is i have the carbs off, air box out and it still looks to be a $hit to get to the heat exchanger mount for the new hose. i'm debating on having to pull the oil res/coolant res but still not sure if i can get to it, or even haivng ot pull the freaking motor!!!! any advice here would be MUCH appreciated!

thanks!

 

[stumpy2000]

that sux i take it this is @ an '01 cause the '03 version - that hose went to the cooler under the seat (which is hella easier to fix). unfortunately the easiest and probably the only way to fix it will be to pull the motor....on a side note it's not as hard to pull a sled engine as one would think.seeing as how the carbs /air box etc are pulled you're half way there... before going nutz and just yanking everything out make sure that you've disconnected EVERYTHING-especially things like the oil pump cable.before undoing this make sure of the setting it's on by checking the reference marks(pull throttle and verify the relationship of the marks to each other etc...take a pic with phone etc for reference of all the little things so ya don't have to try and remember) some guys will break the mount from the plate on the front mount studs to help with re-aligning the clutches later but it's a preference thing.it can be a real pain to undo them so i just let er rip and pull the 4 bolts so that the mounts stay w/the plate.the starter isn't too bad...just wiggle the rope outa the handle,trim the knot off and feed it back to the recoil (w/o letting go)and tie it off so it can't get pulled "in".when ya think you have everything (electrics,fuel,coolant etc) undone-look again.plus-it's nice to have someone to help with the actual "pulling" process so they can watch for stuff that may still be connected/hung up and stop you before ya trip over the skis and rip it off while trying to put the engine on the floor...good luck!

 

[hellasnow]

sorry it took me awhile to get back to ya stumpy but thanks for the advice!

still waiting for the hose to get in. probably tomorrow i'm guessing sept the shops not open on mondays!

thanks for all the heads up on pulling the motor. the more i look at it the more i think it will just be easier to pull the motor and oil res to get to her.

you are correct it is an 01 and i guess it's going to the front head exchanger not the one under the tunnel. #3 is the hose i'm replacing.

http://216.37.204.206/xtremepowersports/Skidoo_OEM/Skidoo.asp?Type=13&A=416&B=13

thanks again for all the info!