Srx007
Member
Well didnt I do it this time....Started up the sled for the first ride of the season..... after all checks of course.....Let the sled warm up for no longer than 5 min which felt like an eternity, slow ride to the lake and then HIT IT. Skis come up about a foot, I loosened off the limiter straps too far, have the rear shock loosened off pretty soft and the front shock tight, I know Wrong but that is beside the point. Sled revved up NO ISSUE only guessing 8300 then Boooogggg.... Immediatley let off and noticed a hell of a lot of exhaust coming from the tail pipe. Turned around immediately blipped the throttle a couple times and found good power. Shut the sled off when I got back to shore which was about 150 feet away. Was NOT out very far. I thought possible head gasket. Waited 30 seconds started up and felt the pipes #1 immediately hot, #3 immediately hot, #2 still cool....S**T. I was checking near the closest end of the pipes heat shield to the engine was, the middle considerably cooler than near the header but #2 was cool. So my question is does anyone think the head gasket is the issue, cannot pull the head off tonight, first thing tomorrow morn tho, are there any other procedures I can check before pulling the head, What will the spark plug look like? Compression feels very good across all 3 keeping in mind i have about 500 km on new rings.
Srx007
Member
Forgot to mention I ALWAYS let my sled warm up before I go for a burn but this time I just couldnt wait, Have had this for 4 years now, dont know what I was thinking. I replaced all gaskets with OEM so I am also wondering if the metal head gasket really can "blow" which I think i have found out the hard way...
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srx doesn't use a head gasket, it has 2 O-rings between the cylinder head and the cylinder. it should be easy to tell if its drinking antifreeze by observing the spark plug and looking at the piston top thru the spark plug hole with a Maglite. it will be shiny and will wash off the carbon on piston top, sparkplug will be all clean as well but shiny. You can test it without taking it apart if not apperent when you look at plug and piston by placing a pressure test on cooling system and/ or a leak down test.
YAMMIEGOD3:16
Active member
when ever you see posts like this '' started sled for the first time '' and two pipes hot and the other cold or cool whatever , first thing you have to do is pull the middle pipe off and make sure you have no visitors in it as in a mouse nest. also check your air box and exhaust muffler. you might be surprised . 3;16x (yammie tony)
Srx007
Member
Hey Mr Viper. Ya I forgot the SRX uses o-rings in the head, I was thinking of the powervalve gaskets. Oddly enough I remembered they use o-rings while changing my son (8 months) at 3am this morning. I didnt check the plug which I thought of but was discouraged, it was dark, other excuses lol and ya I am checking dealers to see if they have the o-rings. I should probably change them all but am going to start at the symptom first as it was 99% sure I was the cause. Question, the rings should be ok right since it is a fresh top end.
Srx007
Member
Well there is a possibility I may have a mouse nest there, I didnt think of that, but, I have had the sled running a 4-5 times prior to the first ride as I was tightening and aligning my track yesterday also. No issues starting or running/ idling while I was doing that, didnt let sled run very long as I only needed to spin the track a few times shut it off, did the adjustment, started spin and so on. I did check the air box which was clear, and I after it got super cold up here in Ontario I did check for a mouse nest of which I didnt find. I checked by looking in the air box first then just starting the sled, ran it for 7-8 min, shut down, felt diff parts of engine and pipes for temp issues of which were none so when this happened I immediately thought head gasket. I didnt think of a mouse nest which is a huge possibility, Ill check again but I dont think it is this in this case, thanks fro the input tho
"a lot of exhaust" I'm with yammiegod, mice love to build nests in these sleds. 3 years straight one has built a nest in my airbox.
YAMMIEGOD3:16
Active member
might not be, but eliminate it first. 3:16x (yammie tony)
Srx007
Member
I checked for mouse nest before I drove it and had it running and revved it up. I think the nest would have made it self noticed the first few times I started it
the o rings are reuseable if in good shape. Its mostly due to the age these sleds are getting that they get a white crusty build up on the heads and cylinder tops, it eats up the O-rings, doubt that's the case with yours as you said you just did a topend on it not long ago. I get 1 or 2 srx in every year for the failure and white stuff build up. Possible you pinched the o-ring when putting it back together.
I would check the piston tops and plugs, it will tell you real fast if theres coolant in a cylinder.
I would check the piston tops and plugs, it will tell you real fast if theres coolant in a cylinder.
Srx007
Member
Well I ruled out the mouse nest which was the first thing I did, removed the pipes and shoved a piece of mechanics wire through them and even blew through all 3, nothing, no restrictions with the muffler either. So I drained the coolant enough to remove the rail and centre head I was able to wipe the carbon off the cylinder head with a piece of paper towel and most of the carbon off of the piston as well, replaced both o-rings of which I had to buy a whole top end kit because both the dealers didn't have them. Shit 1 almost started arguing with me cuz he tried to sell me the base gasket. Anyway, torqued the head, replaced the coolant rail gaskets, re-filled the coolant, started up idled foe 5 min and voila all 3 pipes were the same temp. Lol I even used my digital heat gun for shits and gigs. Took 'er out for an easy ride hit the gas a few times then put it away. Lakes are bare around here and I have brand new sliders. I did check the plugs and piston first but it wasnt really apparent, just looked dry but cleaner than the others thought what the hell I have one this far couldnt hurt. Too bad I wasnt able to bring the o-rings to an industrial dealer to size them, probably would have been 90% cheaper but nothing open on Saturday. Carbs Are Clean, Power Valve Clearance Set. I did take pics but they are on my phone didnt take one of the plug Insulator on plug was grayish with the ground electrode reddish would that be from the octane boost I put in.. If there is any other thing I may have looked over I can upload the pics later.
Srx007
Member
Thanks for help and input
YAMMIEGOD3:16
Active member
well, very good worth checking. never know. 3:16x (yammie tony)