I am new to this site, but appreciate the forums as they helped me to troubleshoot my problem this past weekend with my Kodiak overheating.

The fan wasn't running, so I checked the thermostat connection on the radiator by pulling off the wiring and closing the circuit with a piece of wire as suggested by several of you. Whalla, the fan ran.

I checked for other loose connections on the thermostat on the engine. Everything looked good there. So, now I knew (again because of several of your postings) that it was probably a problem with the water pump. I looked at the water pump and sure enough, the hose had pulled off of the bottom. It was apparent to me that the hose was a little short from the factory and therefore the hose end and hose clamp probably weren't on far enough over the flange or ridge that is supposed to help hold the hose on.

As long as I was looking around, I checked the coolant hose going into the engine and sure enough, that hose was not all the way onto the connection either. The are some raised bars that the hose is supposed to be pushed past so the clamp holds better. When I tried to open the clamp to move it, the chinsey thing broke.

Now, here is the weird thing. The coolant reservoir on the left side of the engine was at the full mark, but the radiator was only about a third full. I thought that the antifreeze in the reservoir was supposed to be pulled back into the system when it was low, but it wasn't.

What have I learned from all of this.
1) This forum helped me greatly to troubleshoot my ATV problem.
2) With only 200 miles on this ATV and two hose leaking (one of which pulled off and both of which appear to be a tad too short), the workmanship from the factory was obviously shotty.

When I bought this ATV brand new, the salesperson kind of bragged that the 2003 Kodiaks were actually cheaper than the previous year model. He attibuted this to the fact that they were now being made in the United States; I think he said Alabama or somewhere in the Southeast. This didn't make much sense since labor costs in the US are almost always higher than in the Asian countries.

Well, after buying my 2003 Kodiak, I compared to my buddy's earlier model and the reason for the lower cost of my newer model became painfully obvious. Everything was cheapened up, from the small tubing on the racks, to the plastic front and belly guards, to the thickness of most metal parts, to the fit and finish, to on and on and on...

Sorry to say this, but once again, the United States companies took a historically good make of ATV and cheapened up to the point where there is really no comparison to the better, older models.

Oh, and yes, the shotty workmanship by this American company, two hoses coming off, what next...

 

Not sure why, but the 03 Grizzly was the same way. The axles were so thin that everybody was snaping them. 03 must have been a tight year for Yamaha.

 

Thanks for your responses Starky. Like I was saying, the dealer told me that they started making them in the good old US of A that year.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

I think that all of the current honda atvs (except maybe the 300ex) are made in south carolina. I dont see many posts on how crappy they are.
Welcome to the forums
I have an 04 kodiak, and while the quailty of fit and finish isnt up to the honda standard, its been just fine for me.
Did you get the busted off piece fixed, and the hoses on and get it running?
The coolant over flow tank , wont draw coolant in or out, unless the system is tighly closed...and a leak will screw that action up.
Wheres plover at?

 

Thanks. Yes, I got everything up and running. I replaced the squeeze type hose clamp with a screw type. I hope I did not damage my Kodiak's engine.

Plover is right in the middle of Wisconsin next to Stevens Point.

I lived in Minnesota for 4 years; 2 in Rochester and 2 in Thief River Falls. The year I moved to Thief River Falls, 1983, Arctic Cat was bankrupt.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]