HELP polaris melt down

captnviper

captnviper

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Close friend of my father in-law has a 2001 Polaris 550 indy sport touring. Well I think he lost the mag side cylinder,he let the sled warm up for about 10 minutes took off and didnt get very far when it died. He was still able to pull it over but would only sputter pulled plugs thinking they might be fouled, they appeared to not be wet, looked closer and there was a couple tiny round pieces up in between the insulator and thread shank. I noticed his choke only flipped to the first notch, indicating to me that somebody had not adjusted them properly. So now I have been tasked with determining how this occurred and make sure it doesnt happen when I rebuild it. I want to take it part and not miss something because i took it apart before checking everything. Any and all help appreciated. I am going fishing till friday then I will post pics as I start in next saturday. Motor gurus please follow along even if its a poo.
 
Same thing happened on my dads 02 550 it shut down like you hit the kill switch. Took it apart and mag side was toast. We had the cylinders bored .20 over and set the needle clip to first position. Sled ran great after that and his buddy is still riding it trouble free.
We learn from this that these 550 should have a oil line bleeder kit installed if it doesn't already have it and have the 03 needles installed as they are better to run than dropping clip position. And these sleds are really lean from the factory and this is very common problem between 25-35 mph.
 
Not sure if dealer still has them but this is the part number I had wrote down for it #2203889.
Hope this helps. Hows the fishing trip going?
 
The fish are not biting!! You mention raising the needles or changing to 03 needles, if I get the 03 needles would I run them same as the stock position?
 
Yes start them in the stock position. Keep an eye on jetting and what not.
I'm no guru but to my under standing and experience with the 550 its the worst Motor Polaris produced.
 
Back from fishing and doing a little morning reading, I see the oil bleeder kit was intended for 04-08 but will work on the 01. I am curios about the shimming of the oil pump, I see that is part of the kit. Did you do this step? Thanks
 
I did use the shim kit. its supposed to help keep the oil pump from getting hot while in the midrang riding. Don't know if it really makes a difference as some guys didn't use the kit.
 
Notice the vent line is just stuffed into the airbox with another line double up on top for tight fit. It may have been not hooked up, as my buddy only noticed the other side because he had to pull the line off the fitting.
 
Last edited:
yamahamark said:
Same thing happened on my dads 02 550 it shut down like you hit the kill switch. Took it apart and mag side was toast. We had the cylinders bored .20 over and set the needle clip to first position. Sled ran great after that and his buddy is still riding it trouble free.
We learn from this that these 550 should have a oil line bleeder kit installed if it doesn't already have it and have the 03 needles installed as they are better to run than dropping clip position. And these sleds are really lean from the factory and this is very common problem between 25-35 mph.
Click to expand...

Do you know the mikuni jet needle number? 6dh7 is the one I removed. Looing to go to a shop that carries mikuni parts and want to order them by the mikuni #
 
No I don't have the number. I think I already packed it up. Getting ready to move.
My dad's buddy stopped by yesterday after coming back from a trip up north and said the mag side has melted again. So I guess it's back to the drawing board. Were gonna tear it apart when I get my new place situated.
Hopefully some more guys will chime in on this as they might know something different to do.
 
That sucks, do you now which circuit in the carb he was on? Nobody else have any input on my pics?? engine rebuilders??
 
yamahamark said:
He was running in the mid range when it happened again. He's rode it 5 years trouble free until now.
Click to expand...

Along with the upgrades you have suggested, I am considering venting the belly pan. Looking at pics of others I believe I had a heat soaked motor that lost the oil prime or whatever these motors do at ow rpm's to the pump.
 
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