Polaris Ranger 500 Top End Rebuild 

Thank you, I'm glad I could help!

Happy to help

Wow, thanks!

LOL, seems like it doesn't it. There is a steel dealer on 2 sides of us (big place) and anytime their giant gantry cranes are moving we have to listen to the beeping. Thanks for watching!

Thanks

The factory weight of 0W40 is the recommended oil for break in and operation alike. Thanks for watching!

That's the reason I chose NOT to show it as it could be a liability issue if someone hurts themselves or breaks the part(s).

Did you mean Torque? On starter bolts not so much, just good and snug will do it. JR has been notified, he is proud of those valve wrenches. Thanks for watching!

No I don't, but we can certainly do one soon. Thanks for the suggestion!

@@JWSRepairServiceLLC that would be awesome

@@JWSRepairServiceLLC Did you produce a video on the 2004 Ranger engine removal? Thanks

Do NOT use a second gasket!! It will never seal. Your compression is normal for a unit that the decompression lever is not working. The only thing the decompression does is make it easier for the starter (but mostly YOU, when rope starting) turn the engine over. It won't really hurt anything to start it like it is, but I would investigate the compression release to see why it isn't working, the most common reason is too much preload on the eccentric shaft spring, it should just barely be able to lift the counterweight, sometimes it doesn't even lift it all the way up to the stop pin and that's Ok. Thanks for watching and good luck!

We'll start with the easy things, check the radiator for mud, grass and other debris. You should be able to see through it. When we get one overheating and the rad is dirty, we remove the front bumper and push bar to be able to get to it good enough to actually power wash it effectively, power washing alone may not remove things like speargrass and stuff like that. We use a nylon brush for that. If the rad is clean, check things like coolant level, if the bottle is empty or has ever been empty it may be time to "burp" the system. Depending on how many hours there are on the machine, if could be time to rebuild the water pump even. The plastic impellers have also been known to break ( we replace 2-3 a year ). Let me know what you find. Thanks for watching!

I apologize, I just saw this question, 4 months later!, Good job RU-vid. Anyway, to answer your question, I get the bearing and seal kits from All Balls, they also have the water pump kit, but without the impeller. If you need the impeller you will have to get it from Polaris, same if you have a bad crankshaft. There were a couple of aftermarket choices for crankshafts a few years ago, but I have not seen them in the last 2-3 years. Hot Rods used to make a good replacement crank, there could still be few in inventories somewhere. Thanks for watching!

You can rebuild the top end with the engine in the frame, however, we normally don't as we always rebuild the water pump at the same time. Thanks for watching!!

Good question, with a better answer. Cylinders are relatively inexpensive these days with myriad aftermarket sources. Once an engine is burning oil, the cylinder will be out of round and warped, the cylinder is also coated with Nikasil which can NOT be bored, you have to install a steel sleeve to refresh the bore, this would make it cost much more than replacing it at the beginning and you avoid the turn around time of a machine shop. You might get away with replacing only the piston and rings, however, even if it doesn't burn oil for awhile, the engine's life span will be substantially shortened and will being consuming oil again fairly quickly. Thanks for watching! I hope I helped you make a decision and good luck!!

I'm a bit confused about what you mean by bringing the cam to the highest point. You should align the T mark on the flywheel with the pointer in the mag cover, this is TDC ( top dead center ) then align your cam marks with the pointer cast into the head. This will position the cam lobes at their lowest point and allow the valve lash ( clearance ) to be adjusted. Good luck and thanks for watching!

@@JWSRepairServiceLLC yep thank you, I had the valve head off the motor and was confusing myself. The moment I put it together and put to top dead center everything worked as expected. My own fault trying to adjust off the engine

The 2 dots go to the mag/alternator side, which is also the cam chain side. If you install the piston backwards, there are a couple of things that can happen, firstly, the reliefs machined into the crown of the piston are asymmetrical meaning that the intake valves can come into contact with the crown of the piston which can/will bend the valves. Secondly, the crown of the piston is not flat on the underside to compensate for the temperature swing between the intake "cold" side and the exhaust "hot" side, this can cause a condition called "cold seize" where the piston expands at an uneven rate during warmup and can stick the piston in the cylinder. Thirdly, the piston skirt (below) the rings, is thinner on the exhaust side vs the intake side for the same reasons the crown is uneven and can/will cause the same issues. Before you tell me you are running it that way and it's just fine ( I have seen them in backwards before ), it WILL drastically shorten the life of the top end, oil consumption and exhaust smoke will be your first symptom, if you haven't run it yet, grab some new gaskets and flip the piston around! Save yourself some money and heartache.

@@JWSRepairServiceLLC thank you for that helpful info I have not ran it yet luckily an will be tearing into it to turn it around.

excellent explanation! @@JWSRepairServiceLLC

The 570 is a totally different engine unfortunately, it most closely resembles the 900 and 1000 twin cylinder engines cut in half. We have built some 900's but haven't had an opportunity to tear into the 570's much, I guess they aren't that popular down here. Thanks for watching!

@@JWSRepairServiceLLC Thanks for taking the time to answer my question. I really appreciate that.

Sounds like a classic blown head gasket (common) or the even worse (rare) cracked head, these conditions are usually the result of overheating, you will need to find the cause of the overheating BEFORE rebuilding the engine or it will do it again. Thanks for watching!

@@JWSRepairServiceLLC Okay I changed the thermostat cleaned the radiator primed the system ran for 20 min fan is kicking on and off air flow is great the when I drive it it starts to shoot antifreeze out of the reservoir cap big steady stream so should I just replace the gasket and not the whole head sir?

@@joshuatreadwell5548 In most cases you would want to rebuild the top end, new piston, rings and gaskets. You shouldn't need to replace the head itself unless it is cracked or warped, the water pump should also be rebuilt at the same time and it's not uncommon for the plastic impeller to break off preventing coolant from circulating. I have the vids to do this on my channel.

I'm subscribed now thank you for helping me sir

@@joshuatreadwell5548 Thanks for the SUB!!!! We're getting close to 1k subs, which is my first milestone! Thinking about a live stream to do a push to 1K.....ideas?

Depending on what is damaged and paying a shop to do it, expect to pay anywhere from $2500-$3500, that is a ballpark figure depending on what is damaged, if you do the work yourself, expect to pay around $2000 in parts for a major overhaul. Thanks for watching!

Yes it is. Those engines are virtually identical except for the bore size. Thanks for watching and thanks for the sub!

@@JWSRepairServiceLLC Do you know if you can put the 500 Rebuild kit on the 400 HO seeing how it's already 455 cc's

@@muddddddddddddddddy I'm a little confused as to where the 455 cc's is from, the 400 is nowhere near that. That being said, it should fit fine as that engine family has only the slightest changes of major components between the several "different" engines that there are. They all use the same crankshaft, so stroke isn't an issue, it is merely the bore size, so if you install a complete cylinder/piston kit, you could increase or decrease the displacement, now that being said, you could still have running issues as your air/fuel ration will be altered as well, so tweaks there may be necessary.

@@JWSRepairServiceLLC if you look it up the 400 HO is actually 455 cc's. The 500 is actually 598 cc's .Yeah I would most likely change jets or put a 500 carb on it.