I purchased my 800 new in August 2007. I changed the engine oil at 15 hours, just because I thought it was a good idea.

Now at only 34 hours (248 miles) I decided to change the rest of the fluids today. Good thing, because they looked terrible.

The rear gearcase fluid was grey......looked like it had silver antiseize lubricant mixed in. The fresh Polaris Angle Drive Fluid was normal honey-colored.

The transmission oil dark-colored, but otherwise didn't look too bad. The fresh Polaris Automatic Gearcase Lubricant was purple-colored.

The other thing I noticed about the drain plug was that it was ground slightly by something internal, like the chain. This was consistent with previous posts where guys have described the drain plug being slightly too long. I wasn't prepared to do anything with the plug and was forced the reinstall it temporarily. The main obstacle in draining this fluid was that I had to remove the Moose snow plow bottom mounting plate to get to the drain plug.

The front differential fluid was thick and dirty, and the drain plug had a huge glob of gunk attached to it, which obviously was finely ground metal particles adhered to the magnet on the tip of the drain plug. The fresh Polaris Demand Drive Fluid was thin and green-colored.

The point of this post is to bring awareness to the importance of NOT waiting for the factory interval for changing these fluid, at least for the first change. Obviously the parts are new and need to be worn it, which resulted in the oil becoming contaminated quicker than normal. I couldn't imagine how bad these fluids would have been with another 50 hours on them before the first year was up. As I recall, the manual called for changing these fluids annually. I am so glad that I didn't wait until then.

If you guys with new Sportman's can do it, change these fluids early!!!!!!

 

Thanks Sheepdog! I got my 500 Deluxe in August as well and was just thinking about changing the oil again. I changed it the first time after 25 MILES and it looked pretty bad. Now I've got about 30 hours. I was wondering about the rest of the fluids. I wish I had a heated place to do it.... I wonder if the wife would mind if I moved the coffee table for a few hours. Hmmm[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I had the dealer change all my fluids at 20 hours, don't know how they looked. He recommended annual changes after that.

 

i did my first servise on my 06's at 20 hrs and didnt look too bad. my 08' only had about 170 miles on it b4 i put it up so next season will be first oil change.

 

Just make sure if you have ADC to use Demand Drive LT front diff fluid!!!! Part number #2876251.

Premium Demand Drive Fluid is the wrong fluid for a diff with ADC!!!! Ask my dealer, they're paying for a new front diff right now in my bike.

 

Scrammy, according to the owners manual for my 800 (with ADC) it called for regular Premium Demand Drive Fluid. When I was at the dealer and asked about a second type of fluid, the parts guy told me that there was a new "LT" fluid, but Polaris hasn't even got it to them yet. So I asked him if the regular fluid that they had in stock was the correct one for my bike, I even had the manual with me to make sure I didn't leave with the wrong fluid, he said that was correct. When asked what the difference was with the LT fluid, he said that according to the description in his book, all it has extra is a corrosion inhibitor and something else I couldn't remember.

I guess if my front differential goes bad now, I'll bring it in for a new one. If I remember correctly, yours went bad almost immediately after doing the fluid change. I've plowed snow twice since the fluid change, total running time of about 1.5 hours, and haven't noticed any difference at all. I'll keep an eye on it.

ADDED:

I went and dug up the old post on this. HERE it is. According to this, I now have the wrong fluid in it. I won't be able to do anything to remedy this because the dealer is closed tomorrow and then it's Christmas next week. Looks like I'll just plow with the 500 in the mean time. I'd hate to think that my 800 front diff is trashed now just because of the different fluid in it for only 1.5 hours. I wish I would have remembered the particulars of this thread before I changed the fluids. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

Scrammy, about how much time or miles went by after you had the incorrect fluid in there before it started acting up?

 

i just looked in my book also and it doesnt say to use that pn# but it is in my book under the differnt types of fluids.

 

Stendori, I just checked my owners manual again, and it doesn't have the LT fluid anywhere in there. It has two different part numbers for the regular fluid, but only because they are different sized bottles, one was 8 oz. and the other was 2.5 gallons. I checked both the section where it has the procedure on how to check and change the fluid, as well as the chart that shows all the lubricants and their part numbers. I feel better that I did not miss the LT anywhere.

I wonder if build date has anything to do with it. I checked the label on my 800 and the date of manufacture was 12-20-2006, so it seems that it's an early 2007 model. My thought is that, if this makes a difference, then my earlier model might still use the regular non-LT fluid. Maybe things were changed somehwere along the 2007 model line according to build date.

Scrammy, I'd be interested to know what your ATV's build date is.

 

It was built November 20 something 2006. It looks like ours were built around the same time.

If you have ADC you should have the LT fluid. There is also a friction modifier for the clutches in the diff as well. I had the wrong oil in for about 30 hours or riding. Right away there was some noise when the ADC engaged, then I noticed the AWD would engage on it's on from time to time, and then I was plowing and lost AWD completley. Never heard a clunk or bang or anything to let me know it was broken. Just suddenly there was no front wheel drive.

Then I called the dealer AGAIN (3rd time) to verify it was the correct oil and they said it was. I took my manual in the first time and asked if the LT fluid was the same as Premium Demand Drive and they said it was the exacty same in a differant bottle. I asked why they would call it a differant name with a differant part number if it was the same stuff, and they had no answer other that to tell me it would work fine. They were wrong LOL.

There was A LOT of metal all thru my diff. I might have been ok to clean and replace what was broken, but my dealer wanted to replace the entire diff. And I'm OK with that. But I would like to get it back sooner or later so I can plow my driveway with my own bike instead of borrowing my buddies all the time.

 

Maybe it was the driver .....NOT the fluid!!!.....J/K..buddy..........I am sure they would not cover the replacement if it was.............LOL...LOL........Caper...........