Subi.Nova
New member
Wanted to share my journey swapping an '89 XLV 540 motor into my '89 SRV 540 (aka "The Legacy Sled" - my dad's old sled). After fighting gremlins all winter with the original engine, I finally said enough is enough and went the electric start route.
Background:Some of you might remember my post from earlier this year where I was chasing issues with a franken-motor (my dad's '88 SRV engine in my '89 chassis). After a complete rebuild - pistons, rings, hone, crank seals, gaskets, the works - I was still only running on one cylinder. Between that and all the other headaches, I decided it was time for a proper upgrade.
The Swap:Picked up a complete '89 XLV 540 donor sled and decided to do the motor swap.
The One Hiccup:The clutch bolt threads on the XLV crank were damaged from fighting to get the clutch off as my puller bent. First 2-3 threads were mashed. Fixed it by carefully filing down the burrs and bringing a thread chaser through. Bolt threaded right in after that.
Gonna run an Optima OrangeTop for the battery as well.
For Anyone Considering This Swap:If you want electric start on your SRV and can find a donor XLV from the same year, it's a pretty straightforward swap. The engines are nearly identical except for the starting system and a few differences for the wiring harness. Just make sure to grab the complete wiring harness, key switch, and any mounting hardware from the donor.
The best part? No more yanking on a pull cord in freezing temps. The Legacy Sled is about to get a whole lot easier to fire up!
At some point I'll crack the case and swap in the shaft from the SRV as well as the jugs so I can run the larger intake/carb.
Background:Some of you might remember my post from earlier this year where I was chasing issues with a franken-motor (my dad's '88 SRV engine in my '89 chassis). After a complete rebuild - pistons, rings, hone, crank seals, gaskets, the works - I was still only running on one cylinder. Between that and all the other headaches, I decided it was time for a proper upgrade.
The Swap:Picked up a complete '89 XLV 540 donor sled and decided to do the motor swap.
The One Hiccup:The clutch bolt threads on the XLV crank were damaged from fighting to get the clutch off as my puller bent. First 2-3 threads were mashed. Fixed it by carefully filing down the burrs and bringing a thread chaser through. Bolt threaded right in after that.
Gonna run an Optima OrangeTop for the battery as well.
For Anyone Considering This Swap:If you want electric start on your SRV and can find a donor XLV from the same year, it's a pretty straightforward swap. The engines are nearly identical except for the starting system and a few differences for the wiring harness. Just make sure to grab the complete wiring harness, key switch, and any mounting hardware from the donor.
The best part? No more yanking on a pull cord in freezing temps. The Legacy Sled is about to get a whole lot easier to fire up!
At some point I'll crack the case and swap in the shaft from the SRV as well as the jugs so I can run the larger intake/carb.