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Get ready for Winter - What needs to be done?

1K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  vetboy 
#1 ·
With the snowy season just upon us and me being new to sleding...I just wanted to know what I should be doing to get my sleds reaady for the snow.

I've read a few post about changing the crankcase oil...but a few other post say it's not required. What about greasing (where?) and the injectors?

I can do the basic's - like plugs and wires but I was wondering if I should get the my sled's checked out by a shop this year since I'm a newbie.

My sled's are a 98 skidoo SLE (500) and 97 skidoo LE (440). Both were purchased used.

Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
i would clean the carbs because you don't know how they were treated before, also i would change the oil in the chaincase on buther because it may not have bneen done before, there is no oil to change in the crankcase. also put new plugs in and usually you don't change wires, if you thought there was a problem with the wires you can unscrew the sparck plug caps and then cut 1/4in off each wire and screw the caps back on, that solves most wire problems. if they were not ridden last year i would drain the old gas and refill with fresh, but if they were run last year then don't do that. there are greese fitting, on the steering and on the rear suspension, the rear has about 5 spots and the front has 3 or 4
 
#3 ·
Hi Rob.

Welcome to the sport!

As you bought your sleds used, if you don't know how they were maintained I would change the chaincase oil just to be on the safe side. You never know what you'll find in there; iron filings, sludge, water, etc.

You'll want to grease all of the shafts on your suspension. If you want to make sure you don't miss any go to www.ronnies.com, then go to "purchase oem parts"; pick skidoo and snowmobiles. Yours are listed there. Look up the link for your sled for Front Arm (RR suspension) and Rear Arm (RR suspension). You'll find the grease fittings on the list of parts; you'll see how many there are and can find where they are on the print.

There also should be a grease fitting behind the secondary clutch for the drive shaft (this one gets missed alot), and the skis will likely have a couple of fittings each (at least mine do).

I guess the rest depends on what was done at the end of the season. Did it get fogged, stablized gas put in? Other members could probably give a more knowledgeable explanation on that part.

Good luck!

Jacqui.
 
#5 ·
Thanks guys!

Another "newbie" question...can I get the grease from any auto supplier (Candian Tire?) etc.... or is it a special unit which must be purchased from a skidoo dealer.

Also as "mattgross" said that I should clean the carbs...can this be done myself? Or is this better left to the pros.

Thx again
Rob.
 
#6 ·
get a greese gun with a rubber hose, it is a must to get the greese gun hooked up, and i use a marine greese, to help combat water, you can get this at walmart any place that sell auto parts, and you can clean the carbs, its not bery hard, you just take them apart and spray them with carb clean and get any gum out and put them together and thats it, usually the you won't need gaskets or anything
 
#7 ·
Just make sure you buy a low - temp grease for all your suspension, and steering fittings. You can get this at any autparts store, and maybe even Wally World.

If your "mechanically inclined" the carbs are relatively easy to clean. If not, I'd just take the sled to a shop for service.

Check around in this section of the forum, there are some threads on how to clean and adjust your carbs if you want to do them yourself. Good luck.



1997 XLT SP 600
"Engage the Mechanism"
 
#8 ·
This is all good info offered for you to consider. I would add that there could be a grease fitting on the left end of the drive shaft that usually also houses the speedometer sending unit. Check the ski skags and the suspension sliders for wear. Also I always find at least one wheel bearing that needs replacing, so check them. If you dont drain the gas tank make sure you at least run the old gas out with an Isopropal product that removes water before it gets really cold. Any water in the fuel system can get into the tiny orifices in the carbs and freeze there which can cause serious engine damage. Of all the sleds ive worked on over the years the majority of complaints were of sleds that start and run but not as good as they should. This almost always turned out to be a carb tuning problem. And almost always after someone tried to service them on thier own. There is over ten parts that must be removed and cleaned and put back in just the right way. You need compressed air to blow out tiny passages. You need to Know how to set float level, idle air mixture, W.O.T idle speed and carb syncronization. Many will disagree with me here saying that you can just put everything back where it was. In my experience their sleds wont be running at peak performance. I encourage you to learn all of these things, they are not hard things to do. just be carful because at the least your sled wont run well and at the worst you could cause severe engine damage if it is not done right. I also recommend you get a freind with a little knowledge the first time you RandR the rear suspension. It can be difficult the first time by your self ecpecially to put back in. Ialso go through my clutches. and at the very least replace the ramp buttons. This is another area that can be easily learnd but not that easy the first time. Good luck we all had to learn sometime.
 
#11 ·
This is all very great info! Here are my thoughts. If the sled was fogged and/or gas drained out at the end of last year your carbs should be fine but I would probably have them cleaned out since you bought the sleds used and have no idea how they were treated before. Probably do this no matter what actually. I would also recommend changing the chaincase oil also. Grease everything up and change the plugs. Also make sure you got an extra set of plugs onboard and an extra belt. Just in case you are out there and something goes wrong. I am also kind of new to this but have gained valuable info. from this site and others.

I am taking mine in this weekend to a guy that is going to do all this to my sled but he is going to let me watch so I can do it myself next time and have a better understanding of my sled. Treat them properly and take care of them and they last. Some shops offer a winterization package that does all this.
 
#12 ·
ok here goes now mind you im a bit anal about maintenance, first and formost take the carbs off and clean them thourghly!, then set them to specs and fine tune from there, dump out old gas, run some fresh 90+ octane with some stablizer too, i beleive its good to change chaincase oil also, unless your sure that it was done recent, same goes for your ski runners, brake pads, and drivebelt, i also like to put in new plugs to start the season, then i grease, all jackshaft bearings, boggie wheel bearings,suspention, steering ect, usally adjust track tension, then run it to make sure things are working they way they should lights ect... the best thing i can tell you is to buy a manual for your sled you really cant do much unless you have one, its your best guide, im new to sledding too, just got my sled last year, but if you hang around here youll learn alot, theres some pretty sledwise people here, welcome aboard!

if its not a CAT, then it must be a dog!
 
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