I just purchased a 2007 Arctic Cat 500 4x4. It has 24 hours on it. I took it riding for the first and drove it through some water (about 2 feet deep). It ran fine for the day, but later I noticed I was losing power. I returned it to the dealer and they said they would not cover it under the warranty. They said I had water in the engine and they would have to totally rebuild the upper end. 1. Should this be covered? 2. What should I do on my own to fix this...change oil...etc.

 

ok my 500 has 14inches of ground clearense.i went threw some deep water before i put a snorkel to the tranny box and just drained it out..i really dont see how you could of got water in the engine unless it was higher then the carb. (airbox)there is a drain under the footbrake check and see if you get any water out of it.

 

That would be a good place to start.. maybe a spark plug.. just general tune up maint. Do a compression check and maybe adjust the valves.. I hate to say it, butsome dealers aren't always truthful or as knowledgeable as they should be! If there is in fact water in your engine, then you must figure out how it got there.

 

The water was not over the seat by any means. I did have water in the airbox, and did not drain it prior to running it for about an hour longer. The dealer indeed said there was water in the engine. They said i would need to replace the piston, seals, rings, etc. I have totally emersed Hondas and Yamahas before. New plug and drain the box and i was good to go. Never, however, with a bike with only 16 hours on it.

 

Well its worth trying a few things before you let someone rebuild the top end dont you think? Honestly rebuilding the top end is not hard to do.. I have done a few and they turned out great still running today! Just keep it clean and pay close attention when you take it apart.. Follow the instructions in a good service manual..

 

A while back I seized the cam on my AC 400 from having water in the oil. It did not loose power it just plain stopped. Locked the tires up and all. I had gone through some deep water up to about the seat and after riding I checked the air box and found no water. After it occured I got to looking and I could see where water had been in the air box.

I guess for me I had enough water in ther that it flowed down the crank case vent tube and into the engine. Not enough to cause problems at that time but 2 months later while riding inthe winter withtemps near 20 below the water froze inthe cooling fins on the oil cooler. Stopped oil flow to the pump and then after that it was stick a fork in her cuz she was cooked.

Cost about $1200 then in parts probably be more now. I replaced the whole top end iston, rings, can, head, cam, valves, etc. If you are going to take it to a dealer see about taking the engine out yourself and see if it lowers the price.

I may have missed it but if this thing is an automatic CHECK the belt. If you got water on that you would loose power until it dries out. If it was a manual tranny then possibly adjust the clutch. I would start by changing the oil and see what it looks like. Lots of large metal shavings = "bad news" you might even see your oil a milky white color meaning water in oil. You may not see either if the dealer changed the oil because that is pretty much the best way to see what you need to do to the engine.

That is unless you machine is like my friends he just brought me to repair. Its a Honda that had the oil drain plug come out while he was riding it. It sounds like you are choking a chicken when it turns over. Very "bad news". I do not have the engine out and apart yet but the smell of burnt metal and oil can give you a head ache really quick.

Good Luck

SJ

 

Last night I noticed that water an dirt were in the air box. I drained the water and thoroughly cleaning the filter. I also draine the oil and replaced (I did not see any sign of water in the oil). This did not solve the problem. Is it possible that the carburator is full of dirt and sand, and would that keep the bike from running well? It starts, will idle fine, but when I give it gas it wants bog down.

 

Yes a dirt carb can spark all kinds of symptoms and you can never diagnos a problem till you know that the carb is in good clean condition. Was the oil dark or had it been changed by the dealer? If there was no sign of water in the oil and it hadn't been changed, i'd say your problem may not be that bad.
i would clean the carb and see how it runs then. Replace the spark plug because it sounds like it may have ran some water through the carb into the engine and your plug probably isn't performing like it should. Keep us posted.

 

FYI...Even though I clean out the air box and filter, I did not realize that the air box extended more towrds the front. There was dirt in that part of the air box which was obviously restricting the air flow. I also cleaned the carb, which I found not contaminated. Long story short, the Arctic Cat shop in Lancaster, Ohio was going to charge me $1400 to rebuild the top end of a new bike when all I (or they) needed to do was remove some dirt from the air intake. Mental note to all in or around Ohio! Thanks to all for responses.

 

good to hear its back and running.i did not read everyones post so someone may have said it already ,but the most obvious sign of water in the oil is a milky white oil. if its not white then it doesnt have water in it. ive drowned my 500 in a pond once to the point where the engine wouldnt turn over. pulled the plug,hit the start button and blew the water out at seconds at a time,did 9 oil changes(cheap oil) till there was no more whiteness in the oil and its been running fine ever since(2 years ago).