sledbuttrob
New member
I wrote the previous - Put Your Thinking Caps On. Well that sled is running after a lot of hours of tinkering. Now I seized my other SRX. I have 3. "99 600, 00 700, 01 700.
It ran dry on antifreeze. No warning. No DCS. Seized it good. Running across a field wide open. At about 85mph it stopped.
2 cylinders are rough. Honed them out, put new Kimpex pistons in and reassembled it. Could not find a leak. After I topped it up with antifreeze found a leak in the front and LH heat exchangers. Leaks are outside the sled, that's why I could not smell anifreeze. Exchangers are in perfect condition, no damage. They are leaking from behind.
Has anyone had this problem and how the hell do you get that front exchanger out? Can you drill the rivets out from the track side?
One more problem and all 3 sleds will be for sale. All 3 have M-10 suspensions.
The other reason for selling is my neighbour bought a new XP 600. That thing blows the doors off all 3 of my sleds. Running at 60mph side by side he nails it lifts the ski's a foot in the air and leaves me in his dust. He is just a little guy though.
It ran dry on antifreeze. No warning. No DCS. Seized it good. Running across a field wide open. At about 85mph it stopped.
2 cylinders are rough. Honed them out, put new Kimpex pistons in and reassembled it. Could not find a leak. After I topped it up with antifreeze found a leak in the front and LH heat exchangers. Leaks are outside the sled, that's why I could not smell anifreeze. Exchangers are in perfect condition, no damage. They are leaking from behind.
Has anyone had this problem and how the hell do you get that front exchanger out? Can you drill the rivets out from the track side?
One more problem and all 3 sleds will be for sale. All 3 have M-10 suspensions.
The other reason for selling is my neighbour bought a new XP 600. That thing blows the doors off all 3 of my sleds. Running at 60mph side by side he nails it lifts the ski's a foot in the air and leaves me in his dust. He is just a little guy though.
My friend I ride with on a regular basis has a 2008 800R Renegade XP[136"]. They are good sleds but if you think you are going to avoid engine problems...the 800R is not measurably quicker or faster top end then my 2002 144" SRX[Trail Mod], I get better mileage and the 800R lost a cylinder on our last ride![but man is it lighter]
I agree, ski doo has their share of gremlins. Remember, your sleds arent exactly new anymore, you will have issues.
Pulling the ski's isnt a sign of a fast sled, but it can look pretty cool! lol
Pulling the ski's isnt a sign of a fast sled, but it can look pretty cool! lol
TopGunnSrx
New member
If your srx gets walked on by a 600 from 60 mph you have some piss poor running stuff. Should pull those pistons out and throw in the Yamaha pistons
2strokinit
New member
Wtf??
Well if you got walked then that SRX was missing on one cylinder for sure. I just had my rebuilt SRX up north with 13 other ppl. The big dogs we had was a ZRT800 and Rev 800 and whomever got the jump between the three of us held that length. I never got to do any lake runs so perhaps I could have sent them packing with some room.
Sell those SRX's and get a nice new sled....Im in need of a M10 skid!!
Well if you got walked then that SRX was missing on one cylinder for sure. I just had my rebuilt SRX up north with 13 other ppl. The big dogs we had was a ZRT800 and Rev 800 and whomever got the jump between the three of us held that length. I never got to do any lake runs so perhaps I could have sent them packing with some room.
Sell those SRX's and get a nice new sled....Im in need of a M10 skid!!
srxbully
New member
should not get beat by those sleds unless your in loose snow which he is hooking up better then you.but top end there is no way unless your sled has some major clutching problems.agreed on the yamaha pistons(only way to go)..you already got a decent suspension so fine tune your sled(s) and you should take him everytime....but on a side note.those xp's are sexy.
2strokinit
New member
Wtf??
Well if you got walked then that SRX was missing on one cylinder for sure. I just had my rebuilt SRX up north with 13 other ppl. The big dogs we had was a ZRT800 and Rev 800 and whomever got the jump between the three of us held that length. I never got to do any lake runs so perhaps I could have sent them packing with some room.
Sell those SRX's and get a nice new sled....Im in need of a M10 skid!!
Well if you got walked then that SRX was missing on one cylinder for sure. I just had my rebuilt SRX up north with 13 other ppl. The big dogs we had was a ZRT800 and Rev 800 and whomever got the jump between the three of us held that length. I never got to do any lake runs so perhaps I could have sent them packing with some room.
Sell those SRX's and get a nice new sled....Im in need of a M10 skid!!
ottawaair
New member
the guy that sold me his srx went & bought '08 500ss ski -doo, 70 miles later, back at dealership. BURNT DOWN, haha. Keep your yamaha's. Maybe downsize to one sled & get it running right.
horkn
New member
ottawaair said:
That's odd. The old 600 in the 500ss is a solid motor. As a matter of fact the only one not solid so far is the 800r, the etec 600 has the jury still out, but I would buy one, and run it for as long as it has a warranty on the engine.
mopar1rules
Active member
yeah, the 500ss are usually bulletproof. my 600ho has been good to me too, and will hold its own against sleds of larger cc displacement.
ottawaair said:
I bet theres been a yamaha thats done that before... dont base your decision off of ones guys friends brother's experience with one.
I agree, one sled, but upgrade! and yes, a new rev XP IS and upgrade.. but so is a new nytro!
sledbuttrob
New member
Come on guys. I spend a lot of timing maintaining these 3 sleds and I am having problems with one sled almost every ride lately. My girlfriend and buddy ride my other sleds with me. Must just be a bad year for the SRX's. Sounds like a lot of SRX's are blowing up this year. I didn't have this many problems last year.
As for the Rev XP being quicker than the SRX. Don't get me wrong. My SRX's are fast sleds. But the XP is brutally light compared to the SRX. I can lift the front of the XP with one hand. I can barely lift the front of my SRX's with 2 hands. I can take them on top end over 90mph, but I'm a trail rider. That doesn't happen too often
Also, it is very embarrassing to pull the plugs and dump gas down the cylinders to start them when cold.
As for the Rev XP being quicker than the SRX. Don't get me wrong. My SRX's are fast sleds. But the XP is brutally light compared to the SRX. I can lift the front of the XP with one hand. I can barely lift the front of my SRX's with 2 hands. I can take them on top end over 90mph, but I'm a trail rider. That doesn't happen too often
Also, it is very embarrassing to pull the plugs and dump gas down the cylinders to start them when cold.
2strokinit
New member
Okay..
Well honesty is the best policy so....if your dumping gas via spark plug holes to start when cold something is seriously wrong. WHen your sled lost antifreeze the 1st thing you should've worried about is the coolant level, instead you rode it and fried the thing, cmon....I have two sleds and maintaining them proper like is a chore, maybe you should just keep two around.
New sleds are great but the best sled around still needs to cared for, your not going to get 100,000 hassle free miles.
Do you have a friends that work on sleds, and are good at it. Maybe get some help from them. Dont blame the sled.
Example-Just rebuilt a 2000 SRX700 with 4500 miles on it. New pistons, welded the crank etc etc..I even bought the drive bearings that failed on my 600 at those miles BUT did I change the drive bearings when I went riding this weekend, nope I wanted to ride. Guess what, I lost the bearing on the case side. Luckily we were 1 mile away from home after a flawless 200 mile ride. I knew those bearings were suspect but thought it would be alright, my bad.
So I was fastest of the sleds AND the only one to get towed back..GREAT ammo for friends. Doesnt help that last year it happened the same way...doh!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had my 98 SRX600 in the UP after I fixed the drive bearings and did 500 miles NO ISSUES.
I do wish you better luck and I think a guiding hand with maint. and trouble shooting issue would be very beneficial. If I had to guess you have no patience. I don't have much myself....
Well honesty is the best policy so....if your dumping gas via spark plug holes to start when cold something is seriously wrong. WHen your sled lost antifreeze the 1st thing you should've worried about is the coolant level, instead you rode it and fried the thing, cmon....I have two sleds and maintaining them proper like is a chore, maybe you should just keep two around.
New sleds are great but the best sled around still needs to cared for, your not going to get 100,000 hassle free miles.
Do you have a friends that work on sleds, and are good at it. Maybe get some help from them. Dont blame the sled.
Example-Just rebuilt a 2000 SRX700 with 4500 miles on it. New pistons, welded the crank etc etc..I even bought the drive bearings that failed on my 600 at those miles BUT did I change the drive bearings when I went riding this weekend, nope I wanted to ride. Guess what, I lost the bearing on the case side. Luckily we were 1 mile away from home after a flawless 200 mile ride. I knew those bearings were suspect but thought it would be alright, my bad.
So I was fastest of the sleds AND the only one to get towed back..GREAT ammo for friends. Doesnt help that last year it happened the same way...doh!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had my 98 SRX600 in the UP after I fixed the drive bearings and did 500 miles NO ISSUES.
I do wish you better luck and I think a guiding hand with maint. and trouble shooting issue would be very beneficial. If I had to guess you have no patience. I don't have much myself....
sledbuttrob
New member
My sleds are maintained better than any sleds out there. How does 2 cracked (I presume cracked) heat exchangers while riding have anything to do with maintenance. These were not leaking before the ride. I would have seen the anti freeze in the snow or on the shop floor. And why did the computer let this happen. My 2000 started overheating in low snow conditions last year and flashed the dash light and cut the ignition.
2strokinit
New member
Understanding
PTO cylinder started leaking antifreeze at the head slightly and blew gas heavily out the exhaust donut. All cylinders seemed to be firing. Pulled the head, everything looks fine. Pulled the cylinder, everything looks fine. When I pulled the pipes off about a pint of gas ran out of each pipe.
You didnt say you siezed it yet in the beginning of your 1st post so it sounded like you got it running then seized it...yes...no??
Maybe you do a good job and this is just unfortunate events. I hope you get it sorted out and enjoy that SRX again though.
PTO cylinder started leaking antifreeze at the head slightly and blew gas heavily out the exhaust donut. All cylinders seemed to be firing. Pulled the head, everything looks fine. Pulled the cylinder, everything looks fine. When I pulled the pipes off about a pint of gas ran out of each pipe.
You didnt say you siezed it yet in the beginning of your 1st post so it sounded like you got it running then seized it...yes...no??
Maybe you do a good job and this is just unfortunate events. I hope you get it sorted out and enjoy that SRX again though.
sledbuttrob
New member
Sorry, I have 3 sleds. The 2000 had the antifreeze leak. I fixed the exhaust on it and it is now running fine. My 2001 lost coolant and seized. Remember also that I had already put about 3 tanks of gas through each of these sleds this year before these issues happened. They ran like tops before these issues.
Luckily these issues happened at or near my house as I just run from my house. Trail is across the road. I would like to take the sleds up to northern Ontario for a long trip, but I am now very afraid to do that.
Haven't had any issues with my '99 yet this year other than a starting issue after Xmas. Just fouled plugs, 2 of them. Never fouled a plug before on these sleds, so that was also strange.
Just bad luck I guess.
On a positive point. These 3 sleds all get amazing fuel mileage. Averaged around 19mpg (Canadian gallon) on both the '99 and '00 last weekend on a fairly slow ride. M-10 suspensions are great.
Luckily these issues happened at or near my house as I just run from my house. Trail is across the road. I would like to take the sleds up to northern Ontario for a long trip, but I am now very afraid to do that.
Haven't had any issues with my '99 yet this year other than a starting issue after Xmas. Just fouled plugs, 2 of them. Never fouled a plug before on these sleds, so that was also strange.
Just bad luck I guess.
On a positive point. These 3 sleds all get amazing fuel mileage. Averaged around 19mpg (Canadian gallon) on both the '99 and '00 last weekend on a fairly slow ride. M-10 suspensions are great.
ALLSEASONRIDER
Member
rob, I can understand your frustration.
Most of us have sleds for recreation and don't plan on spending a huge amount of time fixing them. I have older sleds partially because that's what I can afford based on the amount of miles per year I get. And partially because I enjoy doing some wrenching. Most of the newer ones are pretty much impossible to work on for the average guy.
I do have two of my friends that went with SkiDoo Rev 500ss's last year and I've been surprised at the number of annoying issues they've had in a small amount of miles. On our first trip to the north at a lunch break the sled with 1200 miles had some sort of electrical issue and wouldn't come out of reverse. It took my friend about 30 minutes of messing around with it and it finally went forward so we could finish the ride (not sure what exactly went on there). On the second trip up north with the same guy, a spring in the suspension broke when he sat on the sled! Amazing! He took it to a local dealer and they fixed it pretty quick so the trip was saved. My other buddy has the same sled with 500 miles on it and has also had reverse sticking issues. Then yesterday we had a pretty brisk day (0-5 degrees F) and I went for a ride with him and the left heated handgrip stopped working...that kind of sucked because it was pretty cold for our area.
It just sounds like there are a fair amount of electrical issues out there on some of the SkiDoos. And I like Bombardier ( Own a DS 650 and love it) but am unsure if I would go that way for a sled when the Yammis have always treated me well.
I agree with the above comments on getting one newer Yamaha and you'll be happiest!
Most of us have sleds for recreation and don't plan on spending a huge amount of time fixing them. I have older sleds partially because that's what I can afford based on the amount of miles per year I get. And partially because I enjoy doing some wrenching. Most of the newer ones are pretty much impossible to work on for the average guy.
I do have two of my friends that went with SkiDoo Rev 500ss's last year and I've been surprised at the number of annoying issues they've had in a small amount of miles. On our first trip to the north at a lunch break the sled with 1200 miles had some sort of electrical issue and wouldn't come out of reverse. It took my friend about 30 minutes of messing around with it and it finally went forward so we could finish the ride (not sure what exactly went on there). On the second trip up north with the same guy, a spring in the suspension broke when he sat on the sled! Amazing! He took it to a local dealer and they fixed it pretty quick so the trip was saved. My other buddy has the same sled with 500 miles on it and has also had reverse sticking issues. Then yesterday we had a pretty brisk day (0-5 degrees F) and I went for a ride with him and the left heated handgrip stopped working...that kind of sucked because it was pretty cold for our area.
It just sounds like there are a fair amount of electrical issues out there on some of the SkiDoos. And I like Bombardier ( Own a DS 650 and love it) but am unsure if I would go that way for a sled when the Yammis have always treated me well.
I agree with the above comments on getting one newer Yamaha and you'll be happiest!
ottawaair
New member
A lot of you guys say the srx is "bulletproof" also, but look at how many have blown up this year. I know of 3 ski-doo 500ss's that have scorched the cyl. in under 500 miles. It pretty much comes down to this, these machines run on the ragged edge of performance in very harsh conditions & will all have problems. If they all ran forever there would be little need for this forum.
Sleds blowing up this season...?
Think about it, bad gas, snow condition, temp conditions, new owners not cleaning carbs or valves, there is a lot of reasons for those sleds to blow......
Fix that Yamaha that ahs been paid off and ride it for another 5000 miles, or go and finance a new one.....Of course if yo uhave the cash just spend the 10 grand.......and sell it in a year for 7, that is a nice hit....If I had the money I will spend the 10 on a 4 stroke yammy and see how many miles you can put on that baby.....
Just my 2 cents
Nick
Think about it, bad gas, snow condition, temp conditions, new owners not cleaning carbs or valves, there is a lot of reasons for those sleds to blow......
Fix that Yamaha that ahs been paid off and ride it for another 5000 miles, or go and finance a new one.....Of course if yo uhave the cash just spend the 10 grand.......and sell it in a year for 7, that is a nice hit....If I had the money I will spend the 10 on a 4 stroke yammy and see how many miles you can put on that baby.....
Just my 2 cents
Nick
shortstop20
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sledbuttrob said:
You're not spending your time doing the right things if you have to dump gas down the cylinders to start the motor.
Despite popular belief, SRX's will start in 2 or 3 pulls when they're cold if they are setup correctly. I know, I used to own one. I hear the same thing all the time about the sled I currently own(that they're hard to start) BS! Mine will start in two pulls when it's cold. Maintenance makes the difference.
SRX's are very reliable but that doesn't mean the owner can neglect them and expect them to stay reliable. Yamaha builds the most reliable sled, end of story. This coming from a Polaris rider.
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