I know, "atv's dont swim" but guys the puddle tooked crossable. Anywho I was traversing a creek in central Ohio when I bottomed out on my skid plate. I tried reverse rocking everything to no avail. Hopped off to hook the winch up and she stalled. We tugged her out (her being my beloved quad) and she refused to start. I tipped her up on end she iddled for @ a minute then died. I pulled it out of the creek with my truck and let her sit for the night. Came home read a bunch of old posts on here and there was alot of good posts on this topic. The next day I returned changed the oil, sprayed ether in the jug and a little WD40 let the ether dry while I changed teh oil in the motor and diff, new air cleaner, drained the carb bowl (w/screw on bottom, about a half cup of water came out, yes water not gas), pulled the drain plug from the exaust and last put a dry plug in. Completing the complete fluid change and drain in less than an hour I cranked her over and she ran like a new one. Iddles liek the day I bought her. I ran about ten miles no milky oil. The point of this whole story is a few things. First this forum makes a good research library for problems, i was able to do a search find a simular post and not have to make my own or wait for a reply. Secondly do not cross high water. Thirdly DO NOT CROSS HIGH WATER. And finally if you have that iching urge like I do to push your machine and yourself to the edge modify your machine acordingly (I.E. snorkel and/or re-routing of drains).

P.S. Feel free to make fun of me, evryone who helped pull me out seems to enjoy teasing me, I can take it!!

 

What kind of tires do you have? I'm assuming they weren't big enough to provide any floatation. If you have to cross the deep stuff it is so much easier to build a snorkel. I always snorkel mine just in case I think I need to cross something too deep. I have 28X10.50 vamps on the front and they don't float. They sink and dig. Hope your rig is OK.

 

Good point with the tires, I had not given much thought to flotation being an advantage of larger shoes (tires). I have about 1000 miles on the stock titan 489's I really like them overall. They are gonna need replaced soon, I wouldnt mind going bigger next time, but I worry about top speed (kind of ironic since I own an arctic cat). I also worry about reliability in terms of breaking drive shafts and tire rub. I ride varied conditions from road to hard pack to mud holes, the 489's have pleased me but there might be a better fit for my riding style and my driving conditions.

Has anyone, snorkled a ac 300? What else is important to modify for heavy water crossing?

 

Don't feel to bad.Three weeks ago after a warm spell I and two other riders were traversing a few puddles ,no problem right.Wrong! After a couple hours of fun I asked how deep does this one look?How deep can it be it is in the road ditch. I dive in a find it is five feet deep.Needless to say my 250 stalled,floated but not till water was over the seat!Pulled it home, dumped carb out,pulled spark plug and turned over a few times.Put things back together and a new oil change and it runs as good as new.Took 3 more oil changes though to get water completely out.Might want to check your sight glass for milky looking oil on your machine after a short run. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

 

Does anyone have any good directions on how to build a snorkel for a 500i and where I can buy an after market one.

 

Building an intake snorkel is pretty easy once you've done it a few times. I built mine out of 2" PVC. I used a 90 into the side of the airbox and just ran it up to the front rack. There are several other things you will need to do besides the air intake.

Carb vent hose
Carb drain block-off
Exhaust snorkel
Seal air box and original snorkel

 

Thanx for ur help!

 

Quads don't float anymore, well the big ones don't. Snorkel that sucker and try it again.

 

Quads do float these days, including the big ones. Overall weight becomes a % in the water. Depends on the setup.

 

Well i have 26" 589's on my ac 500 auto and it doesnt float as i unfortunitly found today. it would have sank totaly out of sight if i didnt have a tow strap hooked on to the back of it. i went and got 3 other wheelers and it took all 3 of them winch it out. now i am in process of draining every thing and getting back in running order.