Well, it finally happened, after 11 years of being raced, duned, trail ridden like a sport quad, dragging logs, deer, trail mowers, you name it, the old Wolvy started to make it's death rattle. I put a .040 over piston and a cam in almost 8 years ago, but never touched the bottom end, now I have a raspy knock or scuffing noise coming from the jug or bottom end. I pulled the head and jug this morning, some scratches in the cylinder, nothing major for what I've put it through, but I did notice a lot of side to side play on the rod, is that normal? I suppose my best bet is a total tear down, probably the rod bearing on the crank saying goodbye. Now for options, money is a little tight, but would I be better off shipping the whole motor to FST for them to go through it, or just send them my crank, have them stroke it and put the 446 kit in my self? I used to be a mechanic, have the manual on CD, so I should be able to handle it. I know there are several of you with the big bore/stroker from FST, can you give me any insights or tips on what to do, and what not to do? I know I probably should have been a little easier on the old quad, but it is so much fun to ride, it is hard not to rev it a bit too high, or jump and whale on it like a sport quad !! And NO, I am not going to get a different quad, I have looked all over, and I still can't find anything that offers what the Wovlerine does for me, light weight, auto 5 speed, sporty handling, and just the right size to fit on tight trails and nasty spots bigger quads can't go. I have been very happy with my Wolverine, and hope with some time and care, I can drive it another 11 years !! Sorry for the long post, I guess this is just an emotional topic for me, didn't know I was so hooked on the quad until it wasn't there to ride !! Thanks for any help and tips.

 

Wow, so nobody has ever modded their Wolverine and would care to share any tips or experience ??? Any way, I took the jug to the dealer and had him mic it out, turned out the jug was 2mm out of round, that was the scuffing noise I heard, the piston hitting on the side of the bore. Now with a .040 over already done, I suppose that leaves me to about a .060 over to clean up and round out the bore, at least the bottom end seems solid, the side play was normal, just don't want any up and down play on the rod. So I guess a rebore, new piston, and I'm back in business for several more years, I hope.

 

side-to-side play on the connecting rod is ok, it's Up-and-down that matters.

I would bore out again or find a new or used jug. The over-sized pistons have a tendency to wear out the bore much faster than stock, just nature of the beast. You could bore it over again or just re-sleeve and go back to stock. If you're having problems with cylinder wear, make sure you wash the cylinder with warm soapy water after boring/honing to remove any machining grit from the cylinder, that will take out a new piston/bore just like that.

also, make sure you're running good oil. With a higher lift cam or whatever you put in, it puts more stress on the pistion because of the higher compression pressures and you'll need a good quality oil to hold up to it.

for 11 years old, really cant complain at all! I hope that's all that's wrong with my rancher in 11 years, I ride basically the same as you...drag racing, deer, logs, etc..

hey, just curious, I live in Minnesota as well. Where do you go riding at? I spend a lot of time on the Moose River Trail system southeast of Thunder lake.

 

Hey, quicksilver,
I do a lot of riding in Wisconsin, sadly they have lots more good trails than a lot of areas around me, and is about the same time to drive to,but when I do ride locally, I usually go up to Spider Lake, but I was looking for more areas to try, maybe even Gilbert area. I've heard Biwabik has some nice trails as well.
Well, got a little bit of a surprise when I took the jug in for a rebore, it seems the biggest you can go is .040 over, Wiseco and other manufacturers only go up to that size, the only option was the JE big bore piston, an 85 mm over bore, giving 366 cc's displacement. I didn't like the thought of that much material taken off my jug, so I am sleeving it back to stock bore with a 10.25 : 1 Wiseco, that way I'll have a few rebuilds in it if needed. A new sleeve is going to run about 160 bucks, but that big bore piston was 259 all by itself, so I come out the same pretty much either way. Hopefully it will be done by Friday, and I can get it back together and broke in good, this year at the McLeod County Fair, the quad races are going to have a Utility division, so I really want to try that, if I could keep up with sport quads on a motocross track, I should have a good shot at winning or finishing in the top 3 against utes !!! I just hope the old bones hold together for another pounding like I got the last time I raced !!