So you had to change a pisston on a 99 model?

 

One major problem i found on a good friend & customers 99 Sport 400L was a faulty engine on/off/starter switch.I tore it down to find out why it MELTED a piston and found there was a bad contact in the on/off switch This circut runs the lights, (AWD on 4X4's and the scrambler) AND THE FAN.IF I wiggled the switch I would get the power back to the lights and fan, once I put the engine back together i cleaned the switch and used a good water profing grease and evey thing seems to be alright now.P.S. i used a Wiseco high compression piston ,stock Polaris gaskets. I found a big differnece in power . wheelies now are easy ,controlin' them ?,now thats a different story......hardlydangerous1@yahoo.com

 

Yep The stock piston was totaly melted on the top and exhaust side down below the bottom ring.The pipe was full of little chuncks of piston,I had the cylinder Acid washed to take off the stuck on aluminum then honed ,the cyliner, luckly was not damaged I've never in all my life as a motor cycle and atv mechanic seen a piston blown so bad but do so little damage to the rest of the engine. Yes this was a NEW 1999 sport400L bought in Oct of 98 it was Just 1 yaer 1 week old ,warranty had just expired .Also replaced was tie rod ends,new clutch,rear shock,chain and sprockets.P.S. the starter don't work either,That will be next ,in the mean time the owner can save his money for a new starter starter,and just pull start it.All these problems and only a year old.Thats not to good..... hardlydangerous1@yahoo.com

 

And polaris owners wounder why owners of other brands don't trust Polaris. It shore makes me glade that I got my trusty Arctic Cat 500.

Arctic Cat 500, 1100 miles and no troubles

 

Looks to me like one of the reasons you got an Artic Cat, is because CAT is the only thing you can spell.



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Jerry Goodman '99 400L, '98 TBlazer

 

Jerry- How right you are!

 

That's right,Mr. Boner. I bet you're some teen that's never even ridden a Polaris, or anything else for that matter. So, instead of giving stupid comments, keep quiet. Or go type stupid junk on an Artic Cat page.

 

Interesting conversation here, my question is how the piston melted down from the lack of the cooling fan? Meltdown is caused by a lean fuel mixture. If the cooling fan is not working than the piston would stick but the top would not be melted away. A cooling system problem cannot create enough heat to melt a piston top. Thats my experience with piston failures. I have seen some 350 and 400 engines break piston skirts with high miles that I believe to be just old age. I dont rexcal any meltdowns that I couldnt trace to a lean fuel condition.
Charlie

 

Why I bought my Arctic Cat? I bought because I got a great deal on it. I was considering the Sportsman 500, Grizzly, 450s, Arctic Cat 500, and Explorer 400. After test riding, and checking it out(at a dealer which my dad is best freinds with and is 5 minuites away), the Sportsman I crosed it out. After talking to a dealer i crosed out the Gizz. Decided Iwanted a 4 stroke and crossed out the 400. So I decide I was going to get a 450s, but the dealer was a dick and I wanted to screw me. So I look in the paper and I saw 2 dealers selling Arctic Cat 500s with 2-year warranties for cheaper than the 450s. After visiting both I choice the closer one, other one was 1 1/2 hours away with a smaller dealership. I am know galde I bought my Cat over the others, I rode with a guy who has a 450s and we switched quads. After a few minites we could not take each others quad any more any more. Mine rode better, but he didn't like the leaning. I couldn't stand the ride, the lack of power, or the sound of the engine.

Yes I am a teenager at 15. No I can't spell. Yes I have ridden a bunch of atvs like the Sportsman 500(w/o EBS), 84(?)Trailboss, Arctic Cat 500, Foreman 450s, Foreman 350, FOUR TRX 300 4x4, FOUR TRX 300 2X4, HONDA 110, HONDA 185s, FOUR TRX Type II 200, Yamaha Banshee, and others.

Keep quiet, I bet thats what you do every time your Polaris breaks down on you. I bet you E-mail ever Polaris owner and tell them to keep quiet when there atv breaks.

Arctic Cat 500, So how many things broke on your Polarises yet?

 

Guys keep in mind this "Boner" dude is only like 15 years old no sense arguing with a rebelious kid. About the blown piston this certainly sounds like a classic "Burned " Piston due to a lean condition or overly advanced timing. I have not seen this happen on a 400 Polaris Engine before, I have seen it on a couple of 250Rs. Sounds as if the owner of this machine was extremly rough on this Quad ,maybe to the point of abuse. As for the machine being a year and a month old its not the first one or the only one. I can fish in the old file cabinet and pull out 2 Honda 4x4s that I repaired that come to mind immediatly ,A 1997 400 Foreman with a siezed engine due to a faulty crankcase breather(Thanks to the recall not being issued until after the warranty was out)This Quad was 9 months old at the time. Also in 1997 had a 300 4x4 with a blown Engine that was only a little under a year old. This one due to overheating. So you see they all break I have a file cabinet thats full of service records here , No doubt I could sit here and blab about it all day but it would not be fair because over half of the customers of mine ride Hondas . I have never really tied to figure what Quad I see the most in here but I really think its no more one brand than the other. One thing I can say is that Certain customers who I know are tough on their machines visit a lot more frequently than others regardless of what they ride.

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Kevin Gowdy aka Kagey 1999 Polaris Magnum 500