[gmbaker]

I have a Polaris Indy 500, 1990

ok, last year after riding on a relatively warm night, the sled just stopped and I could not even turn it over. I thought I seized the motor, but when I pulled the head off, I was able to move the clutch and the pistons moved and then the pull cord freed up. after putting it all together and re-adding the antifreeze, the same thing happened a few days later.

? - could this bee a fouled oil injection pump?

How can I tell if I have damaged the pistons or block?


thanks

Gary

 

[erick]

Ok, so the engine ran after you had it apart and then together? It could be oil pump or maybe there is even air in the line and it needs to be bleeded. I would take the engine apart farther and check for damage. It is easy to check, just take the top off, the heads, all that, unbolt the block, REMEBER to unhook the oil lines before pulling that off. That has happened to me and broke the little plastic angle deals. Thats all I can offer for now. Hope there isn't bad news.

 

[TriumphoverU]

Ok, heres my take on the situation. It sounds to me like you may have correct fuel/oil mixture if you havent burned a piston or caused any extensive damage to the cylinders. The easy way to chech for correct mixture is to take the spark plugs out and look to see what color the white porcelin is when it quit running. if it is bright white, suspect a lean mixture or lack of oil, if it is the classic brownish color then your mixture is probably ok. My next question would be, do you have a temperature gauge on the sled? If you dont have a temp gauge, does your idiot light work? I almost would guess that it is seizing up because it is getting too hot and after it cools it frees itself up again. I would check to make sure your water pump is working and that the water pump belt has the correct tension. Also if your sled has a thermostat make sure it is working properly. If that all seems to be in good order, check for a plugged heat exchanger. If all cooling system componets seem to be in order i guess i would check for the oil pump thing like erick said. However if it didnt damage anything before, i doubt it damaged anything this time. If you do get it running again, slowly progress through the RPM's and make sure that there are no unusual noises and take it easy for the first little bit.

Thats just my 2 cents worth of ideas, take it for what its worth.

 

[gmbaker]

ok, thanks for the input guys. I plan to pull out the tools next wknd.... thanks again

 

[Polaris-Man]

Triumph is right about it may be overheating.

To check the pistons, take the carbs off and shine a light in the intake port, if it's scratched, and the skirts are sharp, u have a problem.

"Might Be Crazy But I Ain't Dumb" - Cooter

 

[niceorange]

I'm going with Triumph on this one about the overheating. You way be looking at a weak oil pump. Last year my brother lost the oil pump on my Saffari 377, and it seized. Once it cooled, a little miracle oil freed it, and it was fine. Compression, performance, all checks out. You may be experiencing the same syndrome. If it runs for a length of time before seizing, i'd look into the cooling system over the oil. If it's fast, check your oiling system.

88 Saffari 377
89 Saffari Saga 377
95 XLT Special

 

[fix-it guy]

The early Indy 500's had problems with crank bearing failure on the pto end of the crank. I have seen engines sieze with bad bearings and run again after cooling off, a malfunctioning oil pump or broken cable to the oil pump will also cause this. The fix to the early engines was to enlarge the oil passageway above the pto brngs and grind a radius around the top edge allowing more oil to work into the bearings.

we're not lost, we just misplaced ourselves.

 

[gmbaker]

ok, thanks for all the help. I have been tied up at work, but Fix-it guy msg comes at the correct time. I did diagnose the problem as a faulty crank bearing by starting her up and spraying carburator cleaner around the bottom end ( the dealer recommended this after the water and oil pump checked out ) and found a leak which of course led to much air and the ultimate seizure last winter.

so, I have the clutch puller and all I need is some more free time to finish the job. thanks all for the help.

Gary

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote><font size=1 face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>Originally posted by fix-it guy:

The early Indy 500's had problems with crank bearing failure on the pto end of the crank. I have seen engines sieze with bad bearings and run again after cooling off, a malfunctioning oil pump or broken cable to the oil pump will also cause this. The fix to the early engines was to enlarge the oil passageway above the pto brngs and grind a radius around the top edge allowing more oil to work into the bearings.

we're not lost, we just misplaced ourselves.[/quote]

 

[MegaMan]

That's exactly what happened to my Indy 500. It quit running instantly, i looked it over, and it started right up again. I did the same thing and increased the oil passage and new bearings. Glad to hear you solved your problem.

Let it snow!

 

[bigwilly]

this happened last night to my dad's sled. I am not sure what is wrong. It is a 488 fuji fan

Tree's don't make the greatest brakes...

 

[Polaris-Man]

Problems that could be with dad's trail.

Fan belt broke, mouse crap in cowling.

Those are the only 2 that make sense, because it obviously overheated, and you said the plugs were brown, so it wasn't running lean. I'll look at it when I get home tomorrow though. Hopefully it's not a big deal.

"Might Be Crazy But I Ain't Dumb" - Cooter

 

[steve]

damn mice

Beware of landowners wielding snowshovels!

 

[erick]

We have a trail that has had a broken crackshaft and burnt down one time.

 

[Polaris-Man]

Yeah, but it started right up after cooling down, so nothing is broken, just got hot for some reason.

"Might Be Crazy But I Ain't Dumb" - Cooter