I have to tell you about a freak thing that happened to my wife’s 325 Mag. A few months ago the clutch was rubbing on the inside of the housing at idle. Simply pulling it away from the engine a little down near the bottom quieted it but it wouldn’t stay that way. Smart guy that I am, I found a 1” round by ½” thick plastic bushing and mounted it on the back side of an empty hole near the bottom of the housing to act as a spacer between the clutch housing and the engine case. The worst I expected from this was the spacer against the case might melt due to the heat of the air cooled engine, and it worked perfect to reposition the housing.

Two Saturday nights ago about midnight on a rough, rocky, muddy, watery trail (our favorite) the motor died. When it was restarted it sounded like the devil himself was hammering on the inside trying to get out. A quick check of the oil told us all we needed to know; there was none. We were 16 miles from our destination, four hours from home and two days into what was supposed to be a seven day riding and camping vacation to catch the fall color peak in the Wisconsin north woods. On the way home the following day I hatched a plan to salvage some of what was left of our vacation. Assuming the oil leak was a seal and still under warranty I called our dealer, explained the situation and told him to put some numbers together on a trade for a new machine so we could head back up north. The next day they pulled the clutch housing and found the source of the leaking oil. Engine vibration and dirt had caused the plastic bushing I’d installed to “mill” a 1” round depression into the side of, and partially through the aluminum engine case. No warranty, no machine, no vacation. Three days later they had the motor apart and estimated the repair at $1200 if they could weld the hole in the case side ($500 for a new part). I made the best deal I could on a trade for a new Mag 500.

Life sucks sometimes, doesn’t it?

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River

 

floodrunner: I feel for you...hopefully you were at least able to enjoy the rest of your vacation!

Now watch, people will come on here saying how "crappy" Polaris ATVs are....

 

Man that does suck! I know aluminum is a soft metal but I thought it would be harder than plastic.

 

Sorry about the bad luck, my SP500 cover started rubbing about 8 months after I purchased it. My brother and I were on vacation in Colorado with no dealership nearby. With a little heat from a propane torch and a sheet metal screw I was able to pull the cover away fron the primary clutch.

After returning from vacation I replaced the cover. This has been about the most serious repair so far.

 

GRizz courousity where were you in colorado?

COB

 

Man that brings back memories, I ruined the case on the engine of my old ATC 250 in a similar manner. expensive lesson but one I,ll remember.

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Kevin Gowdy aka Kagey 1999 Polaris Magnum 500

 

I had the same problem with my 325 Mag a few weeks a go and I screwed a corse screw and added a rubber tip to press against the block. I will be removing this before I start that machine again. I am sorry for your problem but thanks for posting this so I will avoid the same outcome

Dan Daugherty

 

Thanks for the sympathy guys. I posted that story specifically to warn others of what can happen with such a seemingly innocent mod. Learning from others mistakes hurts a lot less than leaning from your own.

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River

 

i had this same problem with my 98 sp500 a while ago. what i did was to put a rubber spacer between the back of the cover and the frame. it did not take much to stop it from rubbing (only about an 8th of an inch) have not had any problems in over 300 miles. i was wondering how much pressure you had to put on your cover. it seems like it would take alot to mill a hole in aluminum with a piece of plastic.

 

Floodrunner,
We had the same problem, on our 99 500 Magnum our belt was rubbing the cover & making a heck of a lot of noise & getting worse all the time.
When we took it back to the dealer he said the factory had left a bracket off. He installed one & we haven't had any more problems with it.
Pat