I have an '05 500 HO that I just changed the oil on for the first time. The manual says that you are supposed to remove the fitting on the oil tank and clean a screen. Does anyone have any experience with this? When I went to remove it, the tank flexed to the point I was afraid it would crack the tank. Is this step really necessary and if so does anybody have any tips as to how to remove the fitting. Between this step, draining the last 1/2 cup of oil from the sump and priming the oil pump this seems to be the most complicated oil change I ever ran across. Any high mileage owners out there that have opinions about this? Thanks for the help.

 

IT IS TUFF TO DO BUT VERY NECESSARY-SCREEN CATCHES SOME PARTICLES-GOT TO BE CAREFUL THOUGH-BAD ENGINEERING

 

Changing the oil on mine was the worst PITA I've ever experienced. I did everything it called for, pulled the drain plug from the tank, pulled the drain plug from the crankcase, removed the filter, removed the screen fitting, and bled the pump/line.

To get the screen fitting off, I used a 22mm box end wrench from an old Honda motorcycle tool kit. If you can manage to get both hands in there from the right side like I did (floorboard removed) just keep at it and it will loosen. There's threadlocker on there from the factory so it will be very snug. When I pulled mine it was clean. I gave it a few shots of carb cleaner inside and out, let it dry and then reinstalled it. It went two and a half turns in for things to line up. I used two wraps of teflon tape on the threads and there are no leaks.

As far as the crankcase drain, I've heard that the dealers will just crank the engine for about ten seconds to purge what's left in there. I figured that was pretty lazy so I did it the proper way. As far as bleeding the line, use a pair of pliers of your fingers to COMPLETELY squeeze off the top tube between the fitting and the slit and start the engine. Run it at about 1600 rpms for about 15 seconds and then release the clamp on the line. You should hear a rush of air. It won't be very loud, you have to listen fairly closely for it. I wasn't sure I heard mine until about the third time running through the procedure. The key is to have an air tight pinch on the tubing so pressure builds in the line, which will cause the rush of air that you're supposed to hear.

Good luck!!

 

Thanks for the help. I'll do it the way Polaris recommends.

 

is this specific to the 500, or must you do this with all sportsmans?

 

Same for the 450 also....................caper..........

 

I guess I'm pretty lazy, I just drain it from the oil tank and fill it back up with clean stuff every 50 hours.