A couple of thoughts....

I would not run the engine without oil to empty the crankcase. It's bad enough that you have to start it "dry" to reprime the system after an oil change. Why do that twice?

I *just* did this for the first time to my wife's 500EFI and followed the procedure in the manual step by step. I can guarantee you that the Polaris recommended procedure includes ALL of the steps everyone has mentioned, which are:

a) Drain the external oil tank.

b) Clean the metal screen in the bottom of the oil tank.

c) Remove the crankcase plug and drain the remaining oil.

d) Replace the oil filter.

e) Fill with 2Q of fresh oil.

f) Perform the priming procedure that involves pinching the air hose.

The manual does not say anything about optionally skipping the oil in the crankcase. Trust me, it crossed my mind because it's not the easiest thing to do, but I did it anyway to be thorough.

Some suggestions:

1) You're right, getting that lower fitting off the oil tank is extremely difficult. I strongly recommend removing the oil tank from the machine; it's not hard to remove or reinstall and makes removing that fitting MUCH easier. Then use an open ended wrench (7/8 inch IIRC). It will only fit in one direction. Remember to use thread sealant (not thread lock, but sealant) when reinstalling.

2) Now that I've seen what's really going on in there, I will probably only inspect the screen every 3-4 oil changes. It's a pretty coarse screen and if you're changing the regular oil filter each time (like you should) I don't think it will get dirty too fast.

3) I will continue to drain the crankcase each time. No point in leaving dirty oil in the engine. It's not super-easy but is manageable. Think of it this way: Would you be happy if the service department poured one cup of USED, DIRTY OIL into your machine during an oil change? Neither would I. Take the extra five minutes and do it right.

Hope this helps!

 

Here Here, I agree 100%. Man, I didn't
know that this thread would get all the
attention. Its cool to know that issues
like this, people approach differently
and have different ways they see things
and remedy their situations.

My 2cents I would NOT want to dry
crank any engine for any reason, if
one could help it cause like what was
said there is like a few seconds anyways
after the "Change" whereby its cranking
sucking up the oil from the tank to cycle
thru.

Bottom line, we all change oil to keep the
life of our machines that much longer.
Thanks for all the good info.

R'