Help - Known problems with 2003 RMK 700 Engines?

[audaveh]

Climbing out of a bowl yesterday my engine lost power with a bad noise coming from the clutch side. After a brief diagnosis we determmined it wasn't the clutch, belt or plug. While hand turning the primary clutch to get the belt off to tow it home the engine siezed / jambed (the crank wounld not turn). The sled had been making a "rattling" noise earler in the day. It sounded like it was coming from the belt guard and/or retaining clip. My guess is the sound was the sound of the crankshaft bearing going out. Anybody have similar experiences with this sled? Is there a known common failure with this engine? The reason I ask is I have two of 2003 RMK 700's and it seems like when one has a problem, the other one will suffer the same fate in the future.

 

[boxster7614]

Sounds like you broke your crank. 2 known issues are PTO end spins off, and the rod pin on the PTO side will break. Time to tear it down and hope it didn't damage the case. Just so you know in the future, if your motor sounds like a can of marbles turn it off and tow it back to the trailer.

 

[audaveh]

Boxster,
Thanks for the reply. I pulled the engine today, but was reluctant to dig into it until I knew if the top or the bottom was most suspect. Can of marbles pretty well describes the noise it made. Towing it out through a bunch of powder proved to be a pain.