Thread: Sled repair
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Old 02-22-2009, 12:24 PM   #3
jeffk
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IMHO cooling problems in today's sleds is one of the most irritating problems in the sport. I bought 3 new sleds a 6 years ago. Ski Doo 550 fan, 600 and 800 liquid cooled. I have had overheating problems with all of them. The fan cooled blew a piston under warranty. Part of the issue was a design problem with the temp sensors on the liquid cooleds which has been fixed but I still get overheats on 30 degree days on hard pack trails. It is simply ridiculous that Sleds have been completely redesigned from the snow up but still overheat.

I think part of the problem is the large engines. I never had problems with 340 or 440 fan or liquid cooled sleds. Further, they used to have combination liquid cooled that used both a air radiator and a track cooler. On ice or hard pack the air flow did most of the cooling. In snow the tunnel cooler worked better. The air radiator has been removed from most sleds. Maybe with the 550+ engines they just can't blow off heat fast enough unless conditions are optimal, lots of loose snow to cool for liquids.

As to your air cooled, I would guess it just can't handle sustained high speed, the air cooling just can't keep up with the heat demand. That is why sleds went to liquid cooling. Are you using a top oil, possibly synthetic to get the best lubrication and heat immunity possible? Are all the air paths clear and any filters clean? What octane gas are you using? Less octane less heat.

I'll be interested if any brands have no problems with over heating. I've always bought Ski Doo but this has driven me nuts. It affects about every second or third ride I take in some way. If another brand is rock solid under ALL conditions up to say 35 - 37 degree temperatures I'd probably consider that the next time I get new sleds.
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