Hey guys I have a question regarding the 2008 sportsman 800 efi engine I have noticed with only 97 hrs and 367 miles on it purchased new, well taken care of, garage kept, I see a lot of black residue up toward the top of the cylinder head is this normal or could there be something going on that I am not aware of?? Have you heard of any engine issues with this specific model?? Thanks

 

First I should say I have no idea if the 800 in the ATV is the same as the snowmobile but I was reading reviews on the snowmobiles and many on different websites said stay away from the Polaris 800 in 08/09. My dealer said Polaris had corrected the problems for the 2010 but of course the 2010 was what I was thinking of buying.

 

not sure about that year but on mine the breather hose off the top of the valvecover going to the airbox was split letting oil leak down on the head and then collection dirt i would check it first the split normally happens on the bottom of the hose

 

and IMO the 800 engine on the atv is about as realiable as they come never had a hiccup on mine in 6 years

 

The 800 snowmobiles ,Assault,Dragon and IQ, only used 795cc 2 stroke "Liberty" Twins that make 154 hp.

Polaris's 4 stroke snowmobile twin is a 750, that makes 95hp without turbo and 145hp with turbo assist and is built by Weber Motors.

None have anything in common with the ATV motors in the SP800 (760cc) or XP850cc that only make 50 hp and 70hp respectively.

I never hear about many motor problems on any Polaris ATV 800 twins on this site for any year.

 

If its got 97 hours and 367 miles it must idle alot, you can usually times the hours by 10 and be close on milage, as stated check the breather tube for cracks

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think those breather tubes came with slits in them. The problem is the cheap plastic housing on top of the valve cover. They tend to warp from the heat. You can either make a gasket to help seal it better or there are some nice aluminum ones on ebay. That was a problem I had with my 05 800.

 

There was a recall on the breather tubes, not sure what years but there definately was one on my 03-700, replaced it and it also ran much better, hjavent seen any problems with the cover yet,

 

What is the best way to get to it and or inspect this breather tube??

 

Well sure enough I found the breather hose which sits directly under the fuel tank and there is about a 1" slit/cut in the hose right after the hose clamp. The slit/cut is facing toward the underside of the fuel tank and yet theres no residue on the underside of the tank its only on the valve cover. Now the question is what is the easiest way to replace it?