I just put new thermostat and still overheating I checked the fan the pump and now this.
The water temp was about 220 during it's overheat and seemed as if was actully boiling in the radiator. I really need to get this going if possible. I put a new k@n air filter before all this started to happen. Is that it or is the head warped,Jamie,
Thanks for the help.
Spark

 

alot of people with the sportsman are saying you really have to get in there and clean out the radiator..i guess theres a fine screen mesh just before the rad..you need to make sure thats clean as well as really clean the radiator,you may not see the dirt and debris but its probaly deep inside the fins..be careful with presssure as you can damge the fins on the radiator.. use some kind of degreaser maybe and let it soak in..good luck hope this helps

 

I agree, I own the xped. 425 but same polaris rad.
I thought mine was clean but it was not. Take it off and super clean it like he said... my over heat problem finally ended then. rangerchet

 

K&N! You have to rejet your carburator my friend. The K&N is causing your machine to run lean. You need to go up a couple of main jet sizes. Fix this problem ASAP or your head will warp. This is why I hate K&N filters too muck freak'in trouble for the minamal HP gain. BTW good luck if you get your K&N wet after a swamp ride it takes a very long time for them to dry out.

 

It's not the air filter,(unless you've had the jetting changed) Remove the thermostat, re-assemble without a thermostat, Open the radiator cap, start the engine, let engine idle,If your head or head gasket is leaking bubbles will appear in the radiator after the engine has ran for a short period of time. If no bubbles appear(and no motor oil appears in the radiator)than your radiator needs cleaning. Also, use a cooking thermometer to gauge liquid temp. as you are testing good luck Polcat

 

The first thing I would do is check the plug and see if you are running lean. If you are, you will need to rejet. If you can't tell by the plug, put your original filter back in and see if it still runs hot.

Greg

 

I have it running now the radiator was low after I spilled antifreeze allover. I have bubbles now but am hoping by the time I walk back to the garage it will be gone. No oil leaking in radiator I can tell that now. I will check the temp also and see where it's at.
I think I will put the old air filter in just for the heck of it.
Well here gos
Spark

 

If you change the intake to make it suck more air, regardless of the filter make, you must change the jetting to allow more fuel in, to compensate for the additional air. Those that don't will have problems. Lean engines run hot!

Eventually you will be one of those that have a burndown, and blame the problem on Polaris.

I'm sure the K&N came with "explicit" instructions regarding re-jetting, but you must read them, first.

 

Run lean you say i use k&N on my 400 scrambler my 2 2000 sp 500s. And an old sold 99 500 sp plus almost everyone i ride with use k&N No lean problems here or overheating problems. One time i had an overheat problem on a 98 sp 500 no k&n filter there the rad was blocked with mud it warped the head and needed to be shaved. No ones fault but mine. As for running lean maybe if your running at WOT all day i could see it but common who does that.

 

You're wrong about getting the K&N wet. I use an outerwears cover over my K&N, and a few weeks ago, I completely sunk my sp500. The air box completely filled up with water. I took the air filter off to crank the bike, but immediately put it back on, with absolutely no running problems which accompany a wet air filter. Maybe your filter didn't have oil in it. The oil in the K&N should repel water, and unless yours was super dirty, it should not have absorbed hardly any water. As for running lean, take the spark plug out and look at it. A light golden brown indicates the right fuel mixture. I believe a chalk white indicates a lean mixture. And, of course, black would indicate a little rich. My bet on the radiator is that it's clogged. Even though the front of my radiator looked fine, I took off the front grill and cleaned the radiator while it was still in the bike. You can tell when sections of the radiator are clogged by this:
If while spraying a section of the radiator, water seems to come spraying back towards you from the front of the rad, keep the pressure to that section. Once clean, it will be like the water is just absorbed by the radiator, indicating that the water is passing through. Hope this helps.