Thanks guys, I do hope this machine is not as trouble full as yours have been bill (sorryy) because i have read tons of storys about you and having problems. Well i have had mine for a good 2 weeks now, and i have gone all through the winch wires because two got disconnected, redid one of the front headlights, replaced the seal to the belt housing, and now it looks like i will be doing something to stop that coolant leak. The only thing i ever did to my honda that wasnt routine maintenance (changing oil, bearings, breaks) was, um, oh wait, never really had any problems.

Bill, I am thinking you will probably be the biggest help to me becauseyou have already done alot to your machine to fix it, so i thank you in advance.

But could you tell me how you stopped it from leaking out of the week hole, it goes through a full tank in about 20 minutes.

About the vampire tires, they are amazing. havnt gotten stuck yet and i did just about sink the thing last weekend (probably the reason for my problems) I would advise you to get them, although they are pretty heavy. I have mine on 12" ITP Chrome steel rims and the tire rim combo looks awesome. I cannot tell you how much i paid for them, because the guy just got them in the mail 2 weeks before i bought them, so they are still very new. On the road, it still rides pretty good. Ill have some pictures soon.

Thanks

Merry Christmas

 

Derekhonda,
first thing you want to do is to make sure you and I are making the proper diagnosis on it being the waterpump weep hole?Its a Polaris thing and happens alot.The only way to correct this is to replace the waterpump.Like I said,be SURE this is your problem before replacing the waterpump,im sure this is it though?If you cannot see any water dripings coming from the bottom side of the waterpump housing,you'll need to ''pressure check'' your cooling system.This is a device you install in place of your radiator cap to apply pressure inside of your cooling system,if there are leaks,you'll find them for sure by doing this.You may have to take the quad in the dealership to have this test done.I dont know many places that sell the correct size pressure tester to do this test?

Best of luck,

Bill

 

Im about ready to go take a look at her, im not really sure what i will be looking for. How much should i expect to pay for a new pump. And also bill, when you said any water dripping, do you mean coolant? Cause thats what is leaking.

Sorry i havent really gotten used to all these fancy things such as my question, Oh, since it is only coolant, do you think i could run it in low temperatures and still be alright (with little or no coolant)

Thats what having an air cooled machine will do to you.

 

Derekhonda,
yes,when im talking about water dripings,im refering to the lose of coolant to.Water and Antifreeze are mixed together at about a 50/50 percent ratio to prevent freezing and protect the metal surface's of an engine's cooling system from corrosion.

I got my waterpump covered under warrenty and only wound up paying a 25 dollar deductable.Im sorry,but I dont have a clue on how much a waterpump will cost you.

Its NOT OK to run your liquid cooled engine for anything more than a few SHORT minutes without the proper coolant level.The cooling system for a liquid cooled engine differs greatly from that of an air cooled engine and great engine damage can occur if you run without the proper amount of coolant for any length of time.DONT run your engine very long without the proper coolant level,no matter who tells you its no differant than running an air cooled engine,or you'll be sorry.

Best of luck,
Bill

 

Just tested it out, assuming that you and I are both talking about the same piece, (white thing that says coolant on it) and where it meets up with the little hose at the bottom is where it leaked out. Asuuming that that is what you are talking about also.

And sense you got it covered on warrantee, i suppose you probably dont know how i would go about hooking it up do you?

Well I am leaving for florida in the morning, maybe when i get back, it will have fixed itself. Thanks Bill.

PS, if you know how to fix it, will you tell me.

Derek

 

It sounds like you may be refering to your little plastic reserve tank?If thats where its leaking from,dont even mess with taking it to the dealership for repair.Find out if its the plastic tank leaking or the rubber hose and replace whats bad.

Make sure to use Polaris approved antifreeze when you refill your cooling system.It does not 'suger up'' and wont cause premature waterpump failure.The radiator is located UNDER the front top grill.Remove the 4 screws that hold the front rack on and you can get to the radiator cap VERY EASILY.Make sure to fill the Radiator up to,not just the plastic reserve tank.

Good Luck,
Bill

 

derekhonda and Bill,

The Xplorer 400 engine and Sportsman 500 have completely different water pump designs. The 500 has a mechanical water pump seal, and is much more easily damaged by sand/dirt that enters the cooling system through the red cap on top of the coolant overflow bottle. Like elroy said.......the water pump seal on the 400 doesn't go out very often.

derekhonda,

There is a black plastic elbow that screws into the bottom of the white overflow coolant bottle you mentioned. It's like a $1.35 part..........that broke on my '99 sp500. Mine didn't completely break.........it just cracked enough to leak coolant like you speak of. Check to see if that's the problem. Apparently, a stick or something hit mine and cracked it. Never had the problem again. Hope this helps,

Waylan

 

To be honest with you bill, i am not really sure where it is coming from, i never really had a chance to get that good of a look at it. Walexa, i did not even think to check that. Right now i am still in florida, just finally got a chance to get on the internet. as soon as i get home i will check that out though. do you think polaris would have many of those pieces in stock (resevoir, elbow, etc) in stock. If not, hjow long would it take to get in stock. Thanks

 

I just got off the phone with one of my neighbors, i called him yesterday and asked him to take a look if he had time. He said that he looked and looked and couldnt find it dripping off any pf the parts mention, he then said he saw some dripping of the engine, he thinks it might be a head gasket. he said it also might be a base gasket. Does that make any sense to any of you, i guess it could be leaking if the regular gasket is bad (and that wouldnt be that bad to fix) but what all would be involved if it is the base gasket. Ahhhhh

Derek

 

derekhonda,

If it is leaking off the bottom of the reservoir bottle, then I don't see any way it could get from the head gasket to there. My belief from what you have posted is that it is coming from a broken elbow on the bottom of the reservoir bottle. It is a screw-in elbow, 1/8" NPT, and I believe you could remove that black plastic elbow and take it to a hardware store for a brass replacement (if your polaris dealer doesn't have any or you'd rather go back with a stronger replacement. The brass one would probably be just about as cheap (less than $5 anyway). Check it out and let us know.

Waylan