I've been backcountry snowmobiling for 2 years and in that time I've noticed an approach to snowmobiles which is buy them, then break them or sell them before they break, and then get a new one. I am an avid DIY automobile mechanic, so that mentality just really doesn't sit well with me. A saying that has always stuck with me is "engines don't just die, they are killed". That is my $0.02 but I am curious to see what other riders here who do their own maintenance or have lots of sled experience think.
I am getting ready to do my pre-season work on my '11 Ski-Doo Rev XP PTek which has ~3,500 miles on it. Lots of that is trail riding for backcountry ski access, and lots of that is powder riding/sidehilling/etc. Not much fully pinned hill climbing.
My questions/check-list:
- Compression is just under 90 PSI on both cylinders, the internet tells me that this is low and that I am due for a top-end rebuild. When I got this sled 2 years ago, it was the same PSI and I took it to a local non-dealer mechanic everyone swears by and he said the compression was totally fine. It rides like a monster still and only very occasionally won't go into reverse but that doesn't happen very often. I am inclined to not do a top-end rebuild as I haven't seen any degredation of pressure over the last 2 seasons and the sled still rips. Am I risking piston slap when running at temp? Any others issues I may be getting myself into?
- I am going to add IsoFlex grease to the crank side bearing which I have seen recommended numerous times as this seems to be the main failure mode for these engines. This is right around the time I should be doing this job and not doing it can be catastrophic.
- Replacing my fuel filter, fuel pickup, cleaning my carbs, and checking reed valves. Replacing spark plugs. Ensuring adequate fuel delivery will only help extend the life of this engine.
- Lack of oil delivery could certainly kill this thing, are there any components I should replace on the oil delivery side of things as good insurance?
- Coolant flush, chaincase oil replacement, grease the skid.
- Replacing front end components, there is a lot of slop in my ski bushing, tie rod ends, other connecting front end hardware, etc.
- For whatever reason I am not getting power to the grip heaters, can I directly hardwire this with a switch from my stator or some other 12V source? Any recommendations?
Things I did last season:
- Replace a broken motor mount and align the clutches.
- Replace my throttle cable (holy crap was that a pain).
Any insights, comments, or recommendations are very much appreciated!
I am getting ready to do my pre-season work on my '11 Ski-Doo Rev XP PTek which has ~3,500 miles on it. Lots of that is trail riding for backcountry ski access, and lots of that is powder riding/sidehilling/etc. Not much fully pinned hill climbing.
My questions/check-list:
- Compression is just under 90 PSI on both cylinders, the internet tells me that this is low and that I am due for a top-end rebuild. When I got this sled 2 years ago, it was the same PSI and I took it to a local non-dealer mechanic everyone swears by and he said the compression was totally fine. It rides like a monster still and only very occasionally won't go into reverse but that doesn't happen very often. I am inclined to not do a top-end rebuild as I haven't seen any degredation of pressure over the last 2 seasons and the sled still rips. Am I risking piston slap when running at temp? Any others issues I may be getting myself into?
- I am going to add IsoFlex grease to the crank side bearing which I have seen recommended numerous times as this seems to be the main failure mode for these engines. This is right around the time I should be doing this job and not doing it can be catastrophic.
- Replacing my fuel filter, fuel pickup, cleaning my carbs, and checking reed valves. Replacing spark plugs. Ensuring adequate fuel delivery will only help extend the life of this engine.
- Lack of oil delivery could certainly kill this thing, are there any components I should replace on the oil delivery side of things as good insurance?
- Coolant flush, chaincase oil replacement, grease the skid.
- Replacing front end components, there is a lot of slop in my ski bushing, tie rod ends, other connecting front end hardware, etc.
- For whatever reason I am not getting power to the grip heaters, can I directly hardwire this with a switch from my stator or some other 12V source? Any recommendations?
Things I did last season:
- Replace a broken motor mount and align the clutches.
- Replace my throttle cable (holy crap was that a pain).
Any insights, comments, or recommendations are very much appreciated!
