My nephew jumped my wife's kodiak 400 into a flowing channel last night. I got to it about 5 minutes later as it floated upside down in the current. We swam out and had it back to shore and up the bank within about 15 minutes of when it went in the water. I put it on its grab bar until water quit running out. I then removed the seat and removed the air box lid and filter and cleaned the water out of the air box. That is what I've done so far. I plan to clean the air filter thoroughly and change the oil 3-4 times. Anybody have advice on other things that need to be done and checked - all advice appreciated.

 

You have a good start to getting it going again.

I like to pull the spark plug and tip it up again...maybe hit the starter a few times with it removed to push any water out of the cylinder....

Change the oil a few times like you mentioned and see how it goes...

 

dont let your nephew ride it anymore[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Got her running last night...

steps followed:

- tip up on grab bar (butt load of water came out the pipe and elsewhere)
- remove air box lid, air filter, and mop up water from air box
- drained carb
- drain oil (when pulled dipstick water then oil came gushing out like a hose was turned on)
- change oil filter (looked good, no sign of water)
- fill with oil
- drained the v-belt case through its drain plug
- remove spark plug
- hit the starter, pulled the pull starter (mist came out spark plug hole, kept repeating until no more water or mist at all)
- another oil change
- new spark plug
- cleaned air filter and reinstalled
- drained, removed and cleaned gas tank

FIRED RIGHT UP!!!

I plan to do more to it, though. At least another oil change, change the gear oil in the final gear and differential, coolant refresh, check the pull start mechanism and dry out, and check the v-belt case. Everytime I look at it I think of something else - D'oh!!!

 

..as in on purpose he hit a jump and landed in the water?
or he totally screwed up?

 

Other than parking it in New Mexico for a few weeks it seems as though you have everything pretty well covered. WD-40 is a great water dispersant. It was, in fact, made for that purpose. Also, normal operaiton and it's heating/cooling cycles causes condensation and moisture in places you would rather not have it. Based upon everything you have done (and will do) and compared to what many do with their machinges, it sounds as though yours may actually be netter off when this is all said and done!

 

kind of a combination... no experience and he was trying to do what I do (climb, jump, turn 90 degrees and go) only he missed the turn at the top and just flew into the water...

 

Man, now I made things worse. I changed the final gear oil no problem, but when doing the differential change I stripped the drain bolt. I'm afraid I actually stripped a little bit of the hole, too. The hole appears to be about 1 inch of threads, but the drain bolt is only about 1/4 inch long. Can I try a longer bolt with the same thread pattern to get past the stripped part? Any ideas appreciated.

 

Sounds like you got a real WTF going on there, if you know what I mean.

I owuld try a chaser tap o fhte correct size along with a new plug first.

Failing that, I owuld say that you may have to ream and re-tap maybe to a NPT and put an NPT plug in there.

I'm a big one for doing things my self, but as Clint Eastwood said, "A man has to know his limitations." A call to the dealer may be in order to see if they have any experience based thoughts on the matter.

 

ok heres what you do go to your local auto parts store buy a heli coil kit(thread repair kit) the same size as your drain plug drill and tap and put the heli coil in works great just read the instructions and you will get what to do worked on my friends harley