ditto, per the factory manual on the '06 anyway.

 

Hey Guys, we all know by now that you should NEVER do what the manual says.

The manufacturer just wants you to have good service from your engine and little down time. Well I say, TO HELL WITH THEM! I want to do it my way and possibly open the door for problems.

For those that didn't notice the sarcasm, oh well. Take whatever shortcuts you think is necessary, its your machine.

 

I wish someone could come up with definitive proof one way or the other. If it doesn't need to be done, then not doing it isn't a shortcut. But on the other hand... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

Hi I have the 2008 Polaris service manual and it says you only need to prime the system if you remove and clean the screen . I'v got 1100 miles on my 08 with 3 oil changes done and have never primed the system yet but I don't remove the screen .

 

Dealer's mechanic told me just drain the resorvoir and the engine bolt, change the filter, refill tank and start it up.

Said that is how they service all these 500's.

2007 500X2

 

Well that dealer never follows the proper steps then........The screen should be checked........At least every second oil change for me anyway!!!
Why not follow the steps in the owners manual........It's little insurance to pay in the long run ..IMO...Caper..

 

Well here is where the differing opinions come from! If you look in the manual Polaris says pull the hose and clean the screen, which means you need to prime the oil pump!
If you talk to the majority of KNOWLEDGABLE techs and sevice managers most will tell you in the most cases cleaning the screen is not nessessary so they don't remove the hose and don't prime the pump!
Now there are cases where checking the screen is a good idea, if you find contaminates in the oil when changing such as water in the oil or condensation during cold weather usage

 

Not priming my 2000 Sportsman 500 cost me a head & cam...
Had the motor out & oil lines disconnected,after I put it back together & ran it for about 15-20minutes... motor slowed down & finally stopped running.... found the cam frozen in the journals.
Found the "prime" info in the rebuild section of the haynes manual. They don't mention it anywhere in the maintenance section.

 

Your right Jokout...The polaris mechanic showed me and told me when he was doing my first change at 11 hrs was that you don't have to prime unless you take the hose off with the screen in it.Otherwise he showed me to start with the sump and drain and then fill with 2 qts. Then he said drain the oil from the engine and reinstall the plug and fire up.he said the engine will not lose prime unless you take the screen out to clean.

 

The screen is part of the step listed........(I do every second change).........So if someone asked me the question to prime or not ........Then I need to say "YES"......Otherwise how do I know if the full change was done or just a drain from the tank and engine!..........
I really don't know what all the fuss is about.......To prime the system I just took a wood chothes pin apart and black taped it to my vice-grips and clamped the hose BEFORE THE SLIT, this way the rubber does not get any damage from the teeth in the tool......Simple.takes about 40-60 seconds...................Caper..........