We're DIYers dedicated to the revival, maintenance, and preservation of old machines. We think there's nothing more satisfying than taking things that are unwanted and giving them new life. Restoration projects develop skills, strengthen bonds, and deliver a sense of pride that can't be duplicated buying something new off the shelf.
Our inventory today includes three formerly derelict snowmobiles: a 1989 Polaris Indy 500, a 1997 Polaris XLT, SP and 1998 SkiDoo Formula SL. While we're focused on sleds today, we'll showcase more and different types of equipment in the future.
Building museum pieces isn't what we do. We're always tinkering and our machines are built to enjoy.
I use a floor crane with a couple rubber bungy cords to hold cylinder block up and slowly lower the crane as I get the pistons started into the block. It works great if your by yourself. it holds the weight and allows flexibility when the piston rings go in, and allow the block to come down a bit.
It doesn't say anything about this in my servicemanual for the Ski-Doo Skandic 600 SUV 2004 model. Went through both the operators manual and the shop manual. Do you by any chance have this? Same thing for my friends Lynx ST 600 2005 model, which is the same machine.
Do not put sealant on both crankcase halves. Just one and use very little. You will see it ooze out when put together. As far as the seals only put grease in the recessed area of the seal that the crank turns on. I also put crankcase sealant on the outside diameter of the seals where they sit in the groves of the cases. As far as lubrication , lightly coat the bearings and the oil pump drive gear on the crank and the gear on the pump itself. Also grease the labyrinth seals on the crank. They look like rings. That is what seals the cylinders from one another.
Great series ! Subscribed ! Really enjoyed watching ! Huge fan of XLT’s and have had several ! Some from new and also some second hand. And I’m in Maine. Paused to see the Saddleback sign. lol. Take care
Had the center crank bearing go in mine. Was covered by warranty thank god. Let the dealer do mine. Was told they sent machines out with bad bearings and just waited to see what came back then do the repair
Woah now.. did you edited out removing the 4th bolt on the recoil housing? I have a bolt coming through with a nut on it. My bottom right bolt changed to a 10mm also..
515, a light smear on either half of the case works perfectly. You broke the oil pump drive, check the case (both half's for straight) then check your crank with v-blocks and a dial gauge for true. You obviously fucked up assembling the first time. A slightly higher torque did not break the drive. It was incorrect crank and case assembly. Always, and never deviate from this, always assemble the case, crank, and oil drive by hand, check several times during the processing that both crank and drive spin freely, if you can't quite get the 2 halves together it's likely the dowel pins, very gently tap the case together with a soft dead blow mallet while making sure everything spins freely with every tap, if it won't mesh together, split the halves, you might have an outter race locating pin not in the notch it's supposed to be. A light film of grease between the 2 lips of the seal is all that's needed. It's a friggin snowmobile, not a dirt bike, dust doesn't enter the equation.... so light film in the seal, a light coat of 2 stroke oil on the crank where the seal slips on and install. Next, assembly lube is not required, be liberal with 2 stroke oil, either dino or synthetic, your call as either is fine. Torque the case to 1 ft. lb. Over the highest number for said bolt size, reason is there has already been some stretch in the used bolt so a touch higher gets it closer to the orig spec. Once done be liberal with putting oil in the holes that feed the bearings, I have a small syringe I use for this but just pouring out of a cap full will work as well. Dump some oil in the slots of the rod so the needle bearings are well lubed. By being liberal with oil during assemble, this allows ease of priming oil lines on first start up.
In 1999 polaris&fuji put another oil lubricating line on the pto side bcuz of crankbearing failures that is wierd that yours is mag side I have a 96 and a 99 xlt special my 96 also has bad crank bearing
Hi Dennis, I just bought a 1996 Polaris xlt Indy 600 triple. I want to go through this whole machine and am looking for any suggestions, engine rebuild manuals. Any help would be greatly appreciated. You certainly seem like you know how to do this.
I have both the Clymer manual the the official Polaris Service Manual. I would highly recommend the Polaris service manual. If you do a search you will find a link to purchase and download the manual. Also, do a search on Al's Snowmobile in Vermont. They specialize in parts for vintage snowmobiles and also have a great tech department to run questions by. Good Luck!
Kids are in bed, wife is at a Bible study group.I’ve got some quiet time. Here I am watching a video of an XLT build and ride. I can’t freaking wait for winter. Thank you!
Love XLT's. Had a '97 Touring model myself, absolutely awesome. Rode real nice woth that XTRA-12 suspension, was fast, and looked slick. Currently trying to find another XLT Touring. Still have the old DG can from my '97 that made that triple sing.
Does synchronize carburetors all you need is two fingertips I'll be thirty-four years old and a couple weeks here and I've been synchronized some carburetors and my fingers since I was five years old and I've never needed a tool or a drill bit to do it properly
Did you ever figure out that oil pump alignment? Im running into the same issue on my 97 xlt rmk. Alot of people have said to line it up at idle and if your off just a hair its no difference if its lined up perfectly at wide open throttle. Idk. Just wanted to see what you found and if you found a fix. Thanks for the vids.
I ended up replacing my oil pump after first trying a replacement throttle cable to no avail. I made sure that the marks are aligned at WOT and it ran through the season with no issues. I hope this helps you.
Did you ever figure out the oil pump alignment marks? Im fighting that on my 1997 xlt rmk. Ive heard from some people the manual calls for lining up at idle not wide open throttle. Sounds back wards to me.
for the alignment of the oil pump lever I would look to the whole cable and see if you can get some more slack. or is it more tension is needed? I had a cable issue swapping a chinese clone carb for the oem carb on my xl80. I needed slack to get it all set up right. I removed an unnecessary little piece and it worked. look at the other end of the cable for slack or find a long coupler nut to extend if you need more tension.
Or just hold the throttle to WOT. Adjust top so it's flush. Then adjust up. The other way don't always work. Most carb round slides will pull past the opening.
@@tokay. My old '69 Arctic Cat Panther would definitely be way beyond vintage, and deep into antique territory (maybe even an artifact.) Someone will be digging a hole one day, and find it next to a pile of dinosaur bones 😂
Those Indy triples with a triple pipe n clutched like xc/r would walk off on most sleds in 90s/early 00s,my bud had the white hood model that sled was legendary.Those XLTs were nice too.
Did this on my son's Indy 440 and wow what a difference it made. I had to dial in the air screw to keep it from being too lean and made sure the needle was on the right setting for our altitude. Night and day difference.
I don't have an exact answer. If you look at part 3 in this series you will see me assemble the case. There are some shots at about 8:00 min where you can see what bolts I am installing where....Short of that, I would do a process of elimination and thread the bolts in by hand only. It should become evident which bolts are too long for the shorter holes. I hope this helps you.
I use the black Yamabond 6b and just dab a thin layer to each surface with my finger. After you reassemble everything do a leak down test. The common issue with the 600 mono block is a crank seal letting air in leaning out your air fuel ratio burning down a piston usually the center piston. Its best to do a vacuum leak down test. Its air in that you don't want except through the air box.
@@dennisdoesitall Streeters Garage You should check out my friend Tom's channel. He is best 90s Polaris guy I have ever meet. And he will answer any questions you may have. super good guy. Good luck my friend!!
Motoseal very thin coat on both sides, grease on inside of seals is fine, but use assembly lube for the inside of the seal and some on your crank, your crank seal should also get some black rtv on outer diameter to help seal to the case, wipe any excess off, keep it clean. Also I like to lightly brush my base gaskets on both sides with motoseal, be sure to use emery cloth to lightly scuff up the surfaces a tad bit too. Also never forget to retorque your base nuts and head studs after your first couple heat cycles. Good luck, msg me if you want the correct manual for your machine instead of that Clymer manual
Great advice thank you! I actually ditched the Clymer manual for the OEM Polaris manual halfway through the project. The OEM manual had a better level of detail.
Hey is your CDI box mounted on the air box with rubber bushings? Right now mine is bouncing around on the water pump with one screw🤦♂️ I would like to put it back where it belongs I’m just not sure how it will screw in.
Thanks for your question and for tuning into the channel. My CDI is mounted on top of the airbox. I am working on a new episode and will dig into this for you so you can see how to mount it.
I looked at the 1997 Polaris Service Manual and the XLT RMK with the EC58PL07 motor is saying that the smaller bit is 11/64 and the larger bit is a number 11 (.193 or 4.90mm) which translates to a 13/64's rounded up. I'd check your engine model and confirm on line to be safe... Good luck
Thats not coming up. Did that number come off the stamping on the engine? The first six digits should be EC58PL and then 2 more digits. There is no 01 or 11 from 94 - 98. The last two digits for the 97 RMK should be 07...
The rings go where they go on a 2 stroke piston based on it's design. There is a tooth in the piston ring groove that keeps them from moving and getting caught in a port.. A 4 stroke, you are correct. Not on a 2 stroke.
It almost seems like the cable is slightly too long ... there's a tool that I think I've seen on RU-vid that will crimp a new bead end onto a cable .. if you're thinking about attempting to shorten that cable ... I think I saw it on" Mustie1"or "Taryl fixes all".... I guess I'd either try that or ... fabricate a new adjuster bracket that holds the adjuster sleeve and nuts 3/8 of an inch to 1/2 inch higher ... so that they sit/are a little further away from the cable end of the arm ... to put them within "range of adjustment"... to line up the marks ... that way if later you find a different solution ... you can put everything back the way it was ... if necessary...🤔
