Ok I have another question. I didn't know where to post this since it's a general question but I'm mainly working on Polaris machines so. If I'm putting new rings in is it necessary to get the cylinders honed? Also does anyone have any tips and recommendations on diy honing. I see they make hones that attach to drills but don't want to buy a junk one and mess up my cylinders. I need to possibly rebuild a couple engines and would rather do it myself than find a garage that can hone, we don't have much for engine shops around here.

 

yes you should always hone a cylinder when replacing rings. you might need to have the cylinder bored if it's out of specs. the cross hatches in the honing process help seat the rings. i have a hand drill honer set of stones that i used a long time ago that worked ok for lawn mower engines when i used to work on them. i can't remember what lube i used though during the process.

 

Are the stones better or the flex-hone type? Also do you know what size tool I would need? One is an old 250 2 stroke atv and the other is a snowmobile, polaris indy 500. Thanks for the reply.

 

First off measure the cylinder at the top,bottom and middle compared to the stock bore measurements the manuals call for as honing is the final step after boring(if needed) It's better just to have the cylinder measured before you just slap rings in it. Cheap set of bore gauges and a micrometer set is really needed OR you can let a shop measure the cylinder to see what needs to be done,either just a fine hone or whether it needs to be bored out to the next oversize.

 

I found a garage that supposedly does machining. I'm gonna call to get a price on boring/honing my cylinder. I first need to figure out if it's been bored over already, then decide if i'm gonna stay stock or bore it out depending on whats in there now. It was supposedly rebuilt a few years ago with a wiseco piston/rings. From what I read the cyclones aren't that reliable cause they were tuned from the factory and polaris ended up detuning the 250 engine, not sure how true that is. Anyway I appreciate any input as to what size piston i should put in and other things I may want to do while I'm in there. How would i check to see if the oil pump is working? Also would it be a good idea to start using premixed fuel? I was always afraid the pump was gonna quit and seize the motor up like what just happened lol.

 

First thing a lot of people do is to blame the oil pump when a piston seizes whether it was the pumps fault or not! The piston could have been needing to be replaced for awhile and you could have been the unlucky one for it to seize up on. When you get it back together always premix the first tank of gas at about 50-1 ratio to help the piston/rings break in. If you replace the small oil line(or clean up the existing one)that goes from the pump to the cylinder all you have to do is crank the engine,at idle move the oil pump arm all the way up by hand.You should be able to see the oil moving up the line to the cylinder.This just makes the pump act as if the throttle was wide open. Anytime the main oil line is disconnected from the pump, make sure you bleed the air from the pump's 10mm bleed screw on the top of the pump.Pumps can go out,but usually they are dependable. A lot of people just get tired of worrying about em and just premix.If you do,block off the small fitting at the cylinder base and premix at 40-1.Any good 2 stroke oil will do.These engines weren't really any different then the later model 250s,it was mainly the way it was clutched and how you had to get the rpms up for it to engage.

 

I called the shop and they do in fact do honing/boring. The guy I talked to wasn't sure on a price, no one was in the garage. What info do I need when bringing the cylinder in to get honed/bored? what size piston do you think I should go with? Also I'm thinking of doing a Hot Rods connecting rod and wiseco piston kit, is that ok?

 

Stock cylinder bore is 72mm (2.83 inches) The shop should be able to measure and tell you what oversize is needed to clean up the bore. Wiseco offers complete kits including head and base gaskets. Piston crosses over to the newer models(still the same) Product Search Engine For All Products - Wiseco Piston Inc.
Plus boring it out all the way isn't going to improve power that much and you're just wasting cylinder material. Just go as big as needed.

 

Sorry,didn't read all your post. Yes, Hot Rods kits are what I ordered the most of. Even more than Polaris oem rods. We even used them for KTM's when customers looked for a cheaper alternative for the high $ Austrian rods and never had a problem or a direct failure related to them.Imo they and Vesrah rod kits are about as good as any out there as direct oem replacements and about $40 cheaper rather than buying individual Polaris rods,bearing,pin,spacers,and upper bearing. http://www.hotrodsproducts.com/Produ...px?item_id=899

 

The motor isn't seized afterall. Something is binding in the clutch, I was suspecting a bearing or something. I need to make a tool to remove the clutch to check it. any ideas?