Hey guys, Im new to the site and looking for some help. I grew up riding sleds but haven't ridden in about 15 yrs. I just bought a couple used sleds and am psyched to get back into it. One sled I bought is a 97 Vmax XTC 500, I spent a couple hrs on the two of them checking oil, coolant, gear oil, etc before riding them outside. I rode it around for about 1/2 hr and the water temp light came on, checked the coolant level again and it seemed fine. 10 mins later it overheated and coolant blew out everywhere. I got it back into the garage and took it all apart and checked the water pump (took the hoses off the inlet and outlet and removed the cover) started it up to make sure the impeller was turning and it was. I hooked up a shop vac to the outlet hose and blew air thru the system and drained all the coolant out (which was pretty dark and old) and dumped about a gallon of new coolant into it. started her up and after about 10 mins the temp light came on again. I'm pretty sure it's not a sensor issue, because it wouldn't have overheated the first time if the sensor was bad. The water pump seems fine, there were no blockages and it seems to have taken the correct amount of coolant (approx. 1 gal). Any ideas?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Chris
Thanks in advance for your help.
Chris
PZ 1
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- Mar 12, 2005
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It should have some loose snow to cool properly. If you were riding on ice or hard snow and at slower speeds, it may not have been cooling enough. After you filled the system, it needs to have the air bled out and if not, it could have caused it to overheat again.
What's the best way to bleed the cooling system on this sled? Is the bleed valve where the thermosensor is or are there others?
PZ 1
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- Joined
- Mar 12, 2005
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- 987
There is a vent plug at the rear top of the tunnel. Raise the rear of the tunnel higher than the front and remove the plug. You may have to add anti freeze at the fill cap until all the air is gone. Then bleed at the plug on the engine.
Awesome! Thank you so much for your help. I'll let you know how I make out.
staggs65
Moderator
I don't know if this model has a thermostat or not but if it does I'd look at that next if bleeding doesn't help.