I assume the ATV model does not matter as much since I think it's standard on most cats but here you go:

2007 Arctic Cat 700 Diesel





I'm getting a bit worried now. I been out 3 times and all 3 times I had over heating issues and I will tell you the story for each ride.

Ride 1, 20km: I got about 10km out and I start seeing some flashing water level light on the top right going off. I started to head back to the trailer and on the way the atv had stalled. I left it for a few moments knowing it was very hot and it was a heating issue. It seems like my coolant had ran out. At this time I thought was because I did not have any from the following year left and um... I should have filled that up.

Ride 2, 70km: After thinking that Ride 1 issues were over I got about 10km again and the ATV warning light came on. I turned it off instantly and was like WTH the fans working I'm sure of it... Then I realized the blower was the one making all the sound and that maybe the fan was not going. I checked the fuse and bang the fuse had burned out. So I replaced it and bang it burned out again. I took a bottle of water and threw it onto the fan and then used a screw driver so ever lightly and moved the fan fins back and forth just gently... 1000 tons of pine needles had fallen out. At this point everyone seem to be going good after replaced the fuse a bit of spurt spurt SPIT and she was going perfect.

I got about 40-50km and once again the light came on so I head back home. When I had turned it off btw you can hear the water sort of boiling or maybe bubbling I'm not sure...

Ride 3, 40km: This time I had filled the coolant about 1.5 Liters worth. Pretty much I filled the coolant up till it was almost overflowing then it dropped down. I ran the machine for 10 minutes and filled it up again when it was cooled the next day. I filled it up over and over and even filled the overflow about 1/6th the way up just so there was extra....

Once again about 20-25km out it seem to throw up the water symbol and ugh... Head back home and by the time I get back I stopped and checked my maintenance manual even though been a bit useless for me so far on this issue. I waited a while till she cooldown and I saw this thing where said not to turn the coolant cap to tight... So what I did was take it off and put it on and it seems to have 2 locks on it. Sort of 1 turn its tightish and can't fall off... Then I rode it for 5 minutes and all I see is smoke everywhere I was blinded by it.... From the looks of it the pressure of the coolant had released from the cap and went all over the engine..... I left it to cooldown again then threw some bottle water where the spill happen to help prevent more smoke and drove the rest the way to my trailer about 2km max.




So Am I a Screw Up or Bad Luck?
I will admit having no father and having not one single friend into mechanics at all its been a tough road learning even the basics of simply changing oil... And opps that was the transmission plug... I learned a lot of things and the hard way for sure.

Overtime I been getting better and better I had google overheating and I think it's safe to say my head gasket is fine. From what I googled I got no Smoke coming out of the exhaust well no white smoke nor no sweet smells. Also the oil seems fine its shown in the video...

The Fan seems to be working just fine and it comes on and off when needed and everytime it was really hot I had shut down turned the fan/blower just on and let it cool down a bit.

I also tested for leaks and I'm sure there is none because from what I seen the amount of pressure that was inside that coolant it would have been apparent... I mean it sounded like it was boiling when it was overheating.... So At that point I'm pretty sure there is no leak I never seen any anyways...

I can't be 100% sure in the video I tried showing you but my rad looks pretty clean as well. I'm sort of willing to try to clean it I did put a hose to it but I'm a bit worried on how to take every apart since I have no experience in that area yet..

I assume the flushing of the rad is not needed since it tends to boil it try if I'm right?

Hopefully you guys can give me some ideas. I think the top 2 is take out the fan/rad and clean them and the other option is to add a switch to the fan and ugh that I have never done but I think I could do it just not sure how to find a fuse thing at crappy tire I assume 10 fuse on the red line? and pretty much wire my fan directly to the bat 12v from what I hear is perfectly fine and just run the fan every time I run the machine.


The biggest question I have though is can in 20km run can you easily if say the rad is full of crap even though I don't think mine is can it boil the coolant dry?

Also I heard bubbles could be an issue but the third time I overfilled it I can't see their been to many bubbles plus it seems to sort prevent that when I fill it near the neck line?


LAST question when I had done the 1 tight twist on the coolant cap and I said it had caused the coolant to leak out.. Was that a normal design feature because there was insane amount of pressure or was that just clearly not tight enough... I don't get why the instructions spent so much time talking about not turning to tight and even showing picture on what it looks lie,.

 

 

Sounds to me that your thermostat is stuck closed or at least partially blocked. I would be surprised if you haven't blown the head gasket yet!
I think it's time to take it into a good shop.

 

So far I think everything is going well... We had many issues and a lot of newbie mistakes. So tell me if this timeline sounds like a newbie and my fixes on the next section is a fix.


All the bad:
- Start of the year I after 2-3 years of machine idle I changed the oils and etc...
- I saw the coolant overflow not knowing much about it empty... I filled it half way.
- Fuse on the fan was blown did not know till I rode the first time.
- rode the first time had heating issues machine stalled let it cooled went home...
- Filled the coolant only once in the right spot without jacking the back of the machine...
- went 10km heat issues and I learned about the fan and fixed it on the spot. did 72km that day but ended up heating up and running out of coolant
- for the third time now knowing WOOT that machines fan was fixed I filled the coolant once leveled and went out and came back about 40km once again the heat was showing up....
- Then I started my screaming here and red alert..


What have I done since?
- Take the plastic off.
- Cleaned up a bit of debris between the winch and the rad but not enough to over heat the machine but something that adds up.
- Watch the rad and fan really well.
- Tipped the back of the machine about 30-40cm in the air filled it with coolant then dropped it down ran it 10min cooled 5 min filled with coolant about 3-4 times.... Please remember the 2nd and third time when I went on the trail and had filled the coolant I pretty much filled the nozel up not realizing I need to also push the liquid in the top large pipe to the right..... So I was like hardly filling it...
- After doing the following steps few times I ran it for like 30 mins and took the cap off after it cooled down and had a bit of coolant come out... WOOOT This means no leak and it was actually full...
- Not only this I found that the overflow pipe that sucks back into the main coolant had melted. At this time I only bent it back and the pipes getting maybe 1/4 or maybe 2/4 of the opening back... But should be enough for testing now and I will replace the entire tube in the near future. I have ties to help it stay open and also once the coolant main pipe is hot it will help the plastic small pipe to soften and be more flexible and open.


So I think We are set! I really think overtime things will be fine here. I will for sure need to replace the overflow pipe but it seems my temp fix will be fine for now till I get the right pipe. I really feel that the piston is fine and I think everything else is fine. From what I hear if certain things with the coolant had gone bad then either there be a leak or it be leaking into the engine... Looks like I was just an idiot and had not enough coolant way to much air in the line and was just boiling the hell out of it

What do you guys think?

Also I decided to hook up the temp again and ran it for about 10 min then drove around in like 1 circle and boom the fan went on and it was not crazy hot so I know it was working pretty good.

 

Okay, So I thought everything was good. I drove the machine 85km yesterday! No warning lights no issues. Today I decided to open the coolant cap and look in and look what we have... No coolant. This was after I had done the filling of the machine well over 2 liters and had done it with the back up 40cm and did this 2-3 times till it was full after running for about 20min and it was near the top...

As far as I could see there has never been a leak no drips even when it was really hot in the past. The engine oil seems fine and no other liquids inside of it including no white smoke in the exhaust or sweet smells. Yet, Once again the liquid seems to have gone missing UNLESS this is normal looking and I'm pretty sure it is not.

Here is a picture of what I see now:



So the only thing left is the engine is really eating and boiling off the liquid some how.. Or there is a leak though I'm pretty sure there is no leak. I don't have the cash to bring it in a shop. Some of you made it sound Like I had money. I don't even own a car I borrow it and I live in a basement apartment. So if you really think the shop is the last choice then I need some ideas and costs here.

Here is a video I did today explaining things a bit better. I blow at typing so might be better to understand through the video:

 

I understand your issues with taking it into a shop for repair, but when you said the word diesel, you pretty much ruled out most of the common repairs us gas engined atv guys can do for you. Diesels use high compression to fire the mix of air and diesel fuel so there won't be any sparkplug fouling or unusual smoke from the tailpipe. I've been a diesel tech at Ford for many years and know that unexplained coolant loss and overheating is generally caused by blown head gaskets, cracked heads, and cracked blocks and that's about it. Very seldom do diesels come into the shop with a simple hose or thermostat issue. Diesels can run for what seems like forever needing only regular oil changes, but when they fail, it's usually costly. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that's about it.

Greg

 

Thanks, Now if I do a pressure test. Will the gasket leak happen with the pressure test? As in i will lose fluid just not actually see the leak outside the machine?

 

Kane, you know what the compression is supposed to be on your diesel? Let's just take a modest guess at say 250 psi, can you duplicate that kind of pressure with a pressure tester? I think not. No, your next step is disassembly and I would start with the cylinder head removal to visually look at the head gasket. You might want to price out all the head studs and nuts as well as the head gasket before you tear into it. Also check out what special tools are needed and what torque specs are for reassembly.

Greg

 

Wait 250 PSI for coolant..... Pretty sure you got your numbers wrong there lol. I'm no mechanic could not even think of taking apart my engine. But I think 250 PSI would blow up every plastic pipe, rubber pipe I have...

 

Looks like my Damn ATV is a troll.... So you saw this Image? https://i.imgur.com/DShD2ZV.jpg

Second I turned it on for just 60 seconds and took it off the trailer. I turned it off ready to try filling it with the cap off like someone suggested... The entire thing was full again..... So I tried to run it with the cap off and it was slowly getting ready to overfill after like 5 minutes of running....

Closed the cap tilted the back 40cm from the ground and put a funnel into it and got like half of a pop can into it and then it had as well overflowed.....

So I sealed it put the atv back down ran it for 30 minutes. Cooled it down 30 minutes till I could lick the parts and tried opening it just a tiny and omg small overflow since it was right to the top full and so I sealed it back instantly....

It seems that there is no crack no leaks no issues it was just I guess when it had cooled it expanded downwards or something and looked empty but the second I turned it on it had whatever it does and ugh...


So I'm pretty sure it's just fine and I been trolled.

What do you think?

Remember I rode this 85 KM the other day without a issue the overflow container is at the same highest and no boiling/bubbling sounds at all during the ride.

I feel like an idiot but I think I got really lucky that I did not seem to crack anything.