[jsnuff1]

Ok im having a big problem with my 97 indy lite...ill try to explain everything and I hope someone can help me.

I had a friend clean the carb for me this winter since I was lazy myself. He did a good job started it up fine and ran fine. Few nights ago I started it up again to check everything out...let it idle for about 5 min then started to slowly drive it on the grass. About 20 feet after I randomly lose power and the engine dies. I pretty much have not been able to start it up since then.

Here is what I know for sure, its not the spark plugs or gas...spark plugs are sparking fine and gas is going into the cylenders. Tonight I played around with it and tried starting it with full throttle...after a few tries it started up a bit but it would only run if I kept the throttle open. There was a crap load of fluid and heavy white smoke coming out of the exaust. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[PolarisEdge]

sounds like the floats are stuck or your needle and seats are bad.... your base is loaded full of fuel... look down at the front of the crank case and see if there are 2 small bolts... one under each cylinder... if there is..... take them out and with your kill switch OFF pull the motor over until all the fuel comes out... when it stops.... put the two bolts back in and try to start the engine. If the engine starts pull the track off the ground and bring the rpm up slowly to full throttle then let off... do this a couple of times and it should be ok... if you think the carbs are still leaking into the cylinders when you shut off the sled... shut the fuel off until you get it fixed to keep it from loading up again.

Now if you don't see any base drain bolts on that engine.... pull off the pulse line that goes to from your base to your fuel pump and do the same process.... remember to have the ignition OFF when you are pulling it over to clear it... once done you can put the line back on and start the sled in the same steps that I previously stated.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[jsnuff1]

thanks for the help...i am not exactly sure what you mean by "base" though.

 

[PolarisEdge]

Originally posted by jsnuff1
[br]thanks for the help...i am not exactly sure what you mean by "base" though.

The base is the bottom of the engine where the crankshaft is... look down below your exhaust Y pipe where the fan shroud stops... the bottom of the engine is the base. There should be 2 bolts going into the case from the front one under each side.. these are base drains that are placed there for these types of situations.

Here's some pictures I just took of a 500 polaris I just built to help you along... it's not the same engine but it will give you an idea where and what to look for.

BASE DRAINS

[attachment=50473]

PULSE LINE

[attachment=50474]

Like I said look for those base drains first... if you have none go for the pulse line..... hope this help bud..
Good luck!

 

[Frosty]

It maybe a choke plunger not seating. The cables should have a little slack in them when the choke is in the off position. If the plunger valve is slightly open it will cause this type of symptom.

 

[Racing666]

sounds like a stuck float to me...i had a stuck float on my 77 polaris colt 340 s/s fan, and when i would look at the carbs with it running, gas would be pouring out of the carb..

 

[jsnuff1]

well worse case senario came true...so i checked the carbs and pulse line...it wasent either one of those. So i decided to put in new sparks and check something....I got it to run for a few minutes took the sparks out and what do you know...one spark plug was nice a dark from normal combustion and the other one looked like new....I looked into the cylendar and see specks of melted metal spewed all over the top surface of the piston.

Now im not an engine guru and im sure you guys can confirm this but it looks like I have a blown piston [!] Called up the local polaris dealer and said im lookin at 150 for a rebore and 150 for piston kit plus labor...so 500-600 bucks...fun...

Im thinkin of gettin the parts myself and just rebuilding the thing...How complicated of a proccess is it to replace a piston? I know my way around an engine but have never opened one up or done something as major as this...will I be able to pull it off or should I just leave it to the dealer?

Thanks much for all your help.

 

[PolarisEdge]

Get your piston from www.royaldistributing.com will be $67.95 canadian... and you may not have to rebore. They only show a standard bore so it may be nicacil lining which is most likely ok. Odds are you have a bad crankseal or a bad carb boot that cause the piston to melt.

 

[jsnuff1]

what kind of tools will i need to replace the piston? If i remember correctly you cant simply drop a piston in its cylender.

 

[jsnuff1]

also, would it be bad if I got lets say a wiseco piston and kept the other oem piston in there? Or do both pistons need to be the same?