Engine Bolts, really a problem?

[Deucer]

I read it on here that the 11's have an engine bolt problem. I ask my dealer and he had not heard of it. I talked with the machanic at the dealership and he said he had not seen one on any of the pro sleds they sold or even the dragons.
I showed him the write up from snow west forum. He then called the dealer in West Yellowstone that sells and services lots of rental units each year. Many of the rentals get over 5000 miles per year. Not one has had to be replaced on all the units he sold or serviced.
I am not saying that somone has not had a bolt break, because it would not have shown up on Snowest if it hadn't.

I wonder if sometimes something happens to a particular sled and someone reads it, and repeats it, and so on, and so on, until everyone thinks there is a real problem.

How many guys here have actually had the bolts break?

Deucer

 

[JonezyBones]

Im not sure if it was the engine bolts as it was the engine mounts. Theres a chance there was some issues with these as polaris has made some changes on the 2012's. Unless the changes were a supplier issue and not a warrenty issue...

 

[aebsledder]

Motor mount bolts?

Just to clarify...do you mean the motor mount bolts? If it is, I am pretty sure it wasn't an isolated incident. The new sleds have a new bolt system, and it is offered as a service "upgrade" now. By the way, mine broke twice. The first time the bolt got caught in my clutches and wrecked my primary. I also had an injector issue, and my primary clutch bolt snapped off. Not bashing, just what happened to me. Still a really fun sled to ride, and that is what warranty is for. On another note, I really hope you talked to a temp employee in West. I can understand their position in not wanting to bash a product they sell, but sometimes you have to call a spade a spade.

 

[Deucer]

Yes, I was talking about the ones with the rubber insert that go in from the sides of the bulkhead into the motor mount.

I took the "upgrade" part# to our dealer and he said he had not gotten any notifications from Polaris about any warranty on this part.

At first he could't figure out which bolts I was talking about until I took him over to a new sled and showed him. He thought I was talking about the bolts that hold the Engine mounts to the engine.
He wanted $370 to change those out.

I said no. Less than 1 hour to change them and you want $$$.

He agreed that once he saw the ones that I wanted changed, that it would only take him an Hour or so but that it would not be covered under warranty for parts or labor.

I hate to wait until one breaks, but on the other hand, Why should I pay them to do PM on a brand new sled?

Dennis

 

[mtnsledder]

I plan on doing it myself once the kit I ordered comes in (on backorder till mid November).

It takes an hour or so to install and the $70 for the kit is alot cheaper than the possible damage incurred if one breaks.

Just sayin'.



2011 ProRMK 155
2008 D8 163
2008 D7 155

 

[Deucer]

Yep, I was gonna fork out the $70 and do it myself also. Right up until I tried to get the primary off.

What a stubborn SOB. I have taken them off with pullers and also done the Hydraulic lock with plumbers tape before (Electrical Tape works better).
I was just about to get out the Impact (bad idea) as a last resort and then said to myself. This is stupid, the dealer should be fixing my brand new sled not me.

Deucer

 

[mtnsledder]

That's unfortunate, no problem geting my primary off, just lucky I guess.

 

[Ski-Dont89]

Yep, I was gonna fork out the $70 and do it myself also. Right up until I tried to get the primary off.

What a stubborn SOB. I have taken them off with pullers and also done the Hydraulic lock with plumbers tape before (Electrical Tape works better).
I was just about to get out the Impact (bad idea) as a last resort and then said to myself. This is stupid, the dealer should be fixing my brand new sled not me.

Deucer

nothing is broke...what are they supposed to fix?

and besides when you take it to the dealer they will prolly just zip it off with an impact anyway.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

my guess from seeing a sled that broke a motor mount bolt...some are obviously defective bolts/installations..but some I think are caused by landing full throttle and catching traction...just makes sense if you think about how much load the motor mounts see when the track is spinning hard and catches big traction....

 

[SLDHVN]

Does anyone have the part number? Also, how much of a pain is the install? No pulling the motor I assume?

 

[Deucer]

They look pretty easy to change once you have the primary off. You need to take off the muffer also. Pull one bolt at a time and intall the new ones. Don't need to take the engine out.

By the way. I got that SOB clutch off last night. Just as I was about to get out the HAMMER, I gave it one more steroid jerk and POP. It always makes me wonder "What just broke" when they break loose.

Anyhow, I'm gonna order the upgrade kit today.

Does anyone know the torque spec. for the new bolts?

Deucer

 

[coyoteman]

I broke the one directly behind the clutch at 100 miles, so they do break. Polaris would not warranty so the dealer went to bat for me. I will be upgrading mine myself.

 

[rags319]

I broke the one directly behind the clutch at 100 miles, so they do break. Polaris would not warranty so the dealer went to bat for me. I will be upgrading mine myself.

Why would'nt polaris warranty it.
Anyone know if you need to check motor allingment after installing updated ones. Have not really looked at mine yet.

 

[ModCat]

No need for motor alignment. If your dealer is a Victory dealer, ask for motor mount bolts for their bikes. They are stronger and have longer shaft. That was my quick, cheap fix last year for my sled as well as a few friends running turbos. 2012 Pro's have different mounts than last year.

 

[Deucer]

No Victory dealer here. Wondering if some stainless steel bolts from Fasteners would work.

$70 bones for 4 bolts seems pretty high price. They must be getting them from Harley Davidson.

Deucer

 

[Rick!]

They look pretty easy to change once you have the primary off. You need to take off the muffer also. Pull one bolt at a time and intall the new ones. Don't need to take the engine out.

By the way. I got that SOB clutch off last night. Just as I was about to get out the HAMMER, I gave it one more steroid jerk and POP. It always makes me wonder "What just broke" when they break loose.

Anyhow, I'm gonna order the upgrade kit today.

Does anyone know the torque spec. for the new bolts?

Deucer

No Victory dealer here. Wondering if some stainless steel bolts from Fasteners would work.

$70 bones for 4 bolts seems pretty high price. They must be getting them from Harley Davidson.

Deucer

The torque specs are the same as 2012 and are in the Service Manual. I bet the kit also has instructions with the torques.

Also in the kit that MH posted in this forum somewhere, are the rubber inserts for the mounts so the kit is like getting new mounts with new bolts. One dude already mentioned he got the kit for less than retail, maybe sweet talk your dealer?

 

[Super Dave3]

Does anyone have the part number? Also, how much of a pain is the install? No pulling the motor I assume?

Part # for upgrade kit is 2204633. It comes with (4) new bolts and (4) new rubber isolators. My understanding is they increased the durometer of the rubber as well as a harder grade bolt. There is no need to remove the engine to do this upgrade. As stated you will need to remove the silencer and drive clutch. The kit is currently on backorder and is expected on or about 11-11.
They will not cover this repair under warranty unless you have a broken bolt or excessive play in your current motor mounts.

 

[Deucer]

From years of being on a Ski-Doo, I have found the the Up-Grade parts are most of the time no better than the original. Pistons for example. Ski doo has been upgrading them sence 2003. I see that they have a update for the 10-11 eteck that all of them with 1200 miles or more needs to have new updated pistons. I went through that deal enough.

Here is what I did about the bolt problem. I took one out and bought a stainless steel bolt. Stainless has about 2x the tensile strength of mild steel.

The shoulder on the original bolt is to short. I got longer bolts with a longer area between the head and the thread. The head on the stainless bolts are about .045 to big. I just put them in a lathe and took off the excess material.

I figure, no sence forking out $70 bones for an upgrade when no one has even run this upgrade yet. It may be no better than what we had already. At the very least. I am out $3 dollars instead of $70.

If my fix doesn't do the trick, I will for out the $70 for the update once it has been proven.

Deucer

 

[crf118r]

They will not cover this repair under warranty unless you have a broken bolt or excessive play in your current motor mounts.

What is considered "excessive" play. When lifting up and down on the primary, my engine seems to move A LOT!

 

[friscospices.com]

Stainless steel is softer than the motor mount bolts good luck. I think your going to have issues. The kit is not about the bolt only the rubber mounts have changed part numbers as well. Stainless and aluminum are no good together.