I got my Parts back from Rick Ritter and am putting it back together. I got a few questions though. Stager the rings correct? Doesn't matter which way? Also the jug gasket is pinkish with a ridge of sealer on one side. Does the sealer go up or down? Also on the head gasket. It's got the tab which goes to the front correct? And also which side it the top? It's a Polaris gasket kit and I notice it raises up in the middle just slightly. And one more I forgot. Should I use gasket sealer on the jug? Shop Manuel calls for loctite 518 on both sides? Thanks again for the help.

 

Whoops after looking thru the manual again, it doesnt say anything about gasket sealer on this motor but it does on the other engines listed.

 

SLOW DOWN!!! Take you time! The piston has locating pins on the INTAKE side(if its a 400 2-smoke!!) Usually both rings are the SAME,install with NUMBERS or LETTERS up on rings! On the 2-smokes,I always just put a little bead of sealant on the edges of the base gasket(on yours that has the sealant ,I would have it facing up and a SMALL bead of 1104(if you have it) on the engine case for the bottom of the base gasket(just because I don't like leaks!!). DON"T put any thing on the head gasket! The WIDE OR RAISED side of the head gasket goes up! The main thing is torque the head properly,and the critical thing is to BLEED the small 10 mm bolt at top of head(near the rear sensor) when you fill the radiator with coolant! Open the bolt(don't have to remove) and coolant will flow out along with air. Let it run until NO air bubbles or engine could overheat(common problem for people that don't bleed the air out!) After cranking I would let it run until it reaches operating temp, then kill it, let it get cold or cool (this helps rings seat),then you can ride and break it in,varying throttle,NO WIDE OPEN throttle for an hour or so,let the rings seat!(This is just how I break em in,every body has their own ideas about this!!). Hope this helps, OPT PS If I think of something else, I will let you know,but this is the basics right now. ALSO look on the head gasket,it will have a cut out that will say UP or EX depending on model!! LOOK AT YOUR MANUAL on this also!!

 

Ok thanks alot OPT. I found the notches on the piston for the rings like you said. Didn't think they would be that close to the intake port. Also on the head gasket i wasnt expecting UP to be cut out but rather imprinted on it. I got the cylinder torques to the oem manual specs, and opened that air vent like you said for the coolant. I saw antifreeze coming out, actually quite a bit lol. Closed it and put just a tad more in the radiator. I got it to fire up, but am going to break it in later today. Of course now it sounds like my starter is acting up again. Sometimes it turns real slow and other times I hear a clicking from the solenoid so I don't know if the battery crapped out while sitting for 4 weeks or not. I guess it's old anyway. Next up will be break in and checking for leaks. Hopefully all goes well from here on out. Thanks as always for the quick reply.

 

First time I encountered this head gasket years ago I wasn't looking for cut outs either,almost installed it upside down! Good luck OPT

 

Ok I got one more question for you. When you said to let it run till it gets to operating tempature then let it cool down to seat the rings are you talking like just to let it idle first? Then cool off, and then do the break in, with varying throttle but no wide open. Sorry to be a pain in your rear I just know you got lots of knowledge that I don't lol.

 

Basically yes! Everyone has a different way to break in,but I just ran on my lift until the fan kicked on and reached operating temp with NO load on engine, then shut it off which allows the cylinder and piston to cool down and lets the parts kinda "mold' together. Other thoughts on this are: break em in like your gonna ride em! I don't agree to this method at all! Old fashioned I guess. Then I get out and ride at different speeds,NO wot for extended periods,but you shouldn't have to baby it. OPT

 

Well I have given up on this quad. It's off to the local polaris dealer. I got the top end back together and let the rings seat like you said OPT but the motor is still knocking somewhere. ( same knock as before I took it apart) Rick Ritter said the piston skirt was worn quite a bit but the cylinder was in pretty good shape. He told me if it was his, he wouldn't waste a bore on it. So he just honed it. Got a new piston, rings, wrist pin, wrist pin bearing and gaskets. Well at least I got some experience with a top end. When my trailblazer needs it, that one should be a piece of cake.


I am thinking either the counterbalance or a bearing down low. I drained the counter balance oil and it looked used but didnt look milky or anything unusual. Put new 10W30 in it. I don't know. It's getting beyond me now, so I will see what they say they think it is. Cost will be a big factor in deciding if I fix it or part it out.

Whats the worst case? The counter balance? If I have done enough homework on this motor they run about $450 and up. But I saw some rebuilt ones???? Also what goes bad on them exactly? I saw a picture and I guess I am confused why they are so expensive and what exactly they do? Anyway again thanks for any replies. Wish me luck as I think I am going to need it.

 

Probably the lower rod bearing if you can feel any up and down play and or the the crank bearings!! Sorry,You're not the first one to do this! I've bored a bunch of cylinders for customer take out that had other than just top end problems! Counter balancer does just what its named for,to off set vibrations of the crankshaft,PLUS it also operates the water pump on one end and the oil pump on the other. The 400 is a good engine,BUT costly when you have to rebuild. I haven't seen any counter balancers that have been rebuilt,But doesn't mean there aren't a few out there. Good luck OPT

 

I love this quad even though I've only had it for about 4-5 months. Its in great shape for the year and has yet to get stuck. It's crazy fast, smokes my buddies stock 500 scrambler and I can chase down my buddies 660 raptor. It needed the top end anyway according to both my local Polaris dealer and Rick Ritter so I guess the only thing I lost out on was a gasket kit and some of my time. At least the motor will be completely rebuilt and should last a long time for me. Just the down time is killing me with all this rain, I know she wants to be out there in the mud.

The wife wont let me take her trailblazer out anymore since I took it to Atkinson, IL off road park and broke the throttle assembly while waiting to hear about the scrambler parts. She must have told me 20 times " don't break mine too" Boy was she hot. Nothing like 2 broken quads to fix.