Full Version: adjusting chain on 600 iq?
im sure if i find my manual i could figure it out but since im bored at work could someone tell me how to adjust the chain and check oil level on a 600 iq. My rev was real easy with a cotter key and a bolt that you hand tightened.On my iq i just pulled the muffler and installed the chain case support that was an update but i wasnt sure about oil and chain.
QUOTE(dheard4992 @ Oct 19 2007, 09:36 AM) 
im sure if i find my manual i could figure it out but since im bored at work could someone tell me how to adjust the chain and check oil level on a 600 iq. My rev was real easy with a cotter key and a bolt that you hand tightened.On my iq i just pulled the muffler and installed the chain case support that was an update but i wasnt sure about oil and chain.
The 600 IQ has by your right footwell a sight glass in the chaincase cover. The oil should be half way up the glass. Checking on a level surface of course. To tighten your chain to the correct tension do the following: remove exhaust, rotate the secondary clutch in the direction of forward rotation, apply the brake, back off the jam nut, tighten the chain finger tight, back the adjuster bolt off a quarter turn, put wrench on adjusting bolt, lock the jam nut up tight, reinstall exhaust, you're done.
thanx big fuse,ill give it a whirl.Are they known to stretch much by the way?
When I first adjusted my chain on my Dragon i was pretty shocked at how much slack was in the chain. Since it has a plastic block to take up the slack, what I thought was an immense amount of slack turned out to be the plastic block wearing somewhat. It seemed to wear quite quickly and then that was it, it did not wear as much. I am not sure, but I think that it will stretch more if you do not keep your eye on it frequently and adjust as necessary.
QUOTE(bigfuse @ Oct 19 2007, 12:56 PM)
The 600 IQ has by your right footwell a sight glass in the chaincase cover. The oil should be half way up the glass. Checking on a level surface of course. To tighten your chain to the correct tension do the following: remove exhaust, rotate the secondary clutch in the direction of forward rotation, apply the brake, back off the jam nut, tighten the chain finger tight, back the adjuster bolt off a quarter turn, put wrench on adjusting bolt, lock the jam nut up tight, reinstall exhaust, you're done.
WOW, you are good. that is almost word for word right out of the manuel (the manuel is sittin right by me haha).
and bigfuse, you didn't need to remove mufler to install chain case mount.... but you had to anyways to adjust chain tension.
and by the way, they say to adjust chain tension every week.... that is alot of "taking the mufler off" dont you think?
QUOTE(rheal g @ Oct 19 2007, 08:19 PM)
WOW, you are good. that is almost word for word right out of the manuel (the manuel is sittin right by me haha).
and bigfuse, you didn't need to remove mufler to install chain case mount.... but you had to anyways to adjust chain tension.
and by the way, they say to adjust chain tension every week.... that is alot of "taking the mufler off" dont you think?
I took my muffler off to change gearing. I have been adjusting the chain tension on Polaris snowmobiles since I started riding Polaris sleds in 1971. I have a nephew who is into the low maintenance program. He does not adjust the chain tension ever. He would be a great test rider for Polaris. The only unfortunate thing about his being a test rider is he will HAVE to maintain a sled. Open the hood not only to put in oil, but to look around and keep an eye on things. It will cost you less for maintenance in the long run. JMO.
and bigfuse, you didn't need to remove mufler to install chain case mount.... but you had to anyways to adjust chain tension.
and by the way, they say to adjust chain tension every week.... that is alot of "taking the mufler off" dont you think?
Hey big fuse,As long as you dont mind giving some advice? I was looking for grease fittings on the iq and after greasing the suspension in the track and the jack shaft in the left footwell I moved up front and couldnt find any more zerks.Am I missing any on a iq? This is new to me as Ive always prided myself as a no maintanence type of guy and never have had problems but I guess Ive gotten to feeling guilty.In the past Ive had sleds with from 7 to 10000 miles on them when I sold them and never have taken a grease gun to any of them.Mabey Ive just been lucky.
QUOTE(bigfuse @ Oct 20 2007, 11:07 AM)
I took my muffler off to change gearing. I have been adjusting the chain tension on Polaris snowmobiles since I started riding Polaris sleds in 1971. I have a nephew who is into the low maintenance program. He does not adjust the chain tension ever. He would be a great test rider for Polaris. The only unfortunate thing about his being a test rider is he will HAVE to maintain a sled. Open the hood not only to put in oil, but to look around and keep an eye on things. It will cost you less for maintenance in the long run. JMO.
i am into the HIGH maintenance program (sorta pushed into it by my dad). everything is checked once befor going on a ride, and twice if it is a long ride. i make sure the oil is toped off all the time,anti freeze is proper level, the fuel is toped all the time, and i adjust the chain tension about every 2 weeks. track tension every month, and just keep an eye out on things.
i love the sleds, it it would be tooo devistating to see them get sick.
I've found that the 1/4 turn back from finger tight method leaves the chain way too tight.Too tight of a chain is just another place of driveline HP loss and wear . Finger tight can be WAY different from one guy to the next.
I've had way better luck with feeling the freeplay in the jackshaft while holding onto the brake rotor with your finger tips.
Take the drive belt OFF, and roll the sled forward a foot or so by turning the secondary clutch forward by hand.
Move over to the chaincase side of the sled and pinch the brake rotor with your finger tips and try to rotate it gently forward/backward.You SHOULD have some free movement and feel the chain "thump" in each direction of it.
If not, it's TOO TIGHT.
If there is play,loosen the jam nut on the tensioner and thread the bolt in while you are rocking the rotor back and forth. You will feel the play decrease and then be gone. STOP.It's too tight already. Just for kicks, see how much further in "finger tight "is..
Now back the bolt back out till you feel a small amount of freeplay come back and lock it down.
How much freeplay ? None-bad, too much-bad. roughly 1/4" to 3/8" movement at the outer diameter of the rotor is what I've set them at for years. It's alot easier to see this with the chaincase cover off. Should be just a little free slack on the back(long) side of the chain. Not enough for it to rub inside the case .
P.S. make sure your freeplay is actually the jackshaft turning with the rotor. Some sleds have alot of wear in the splines between the rotor and jackshaft and some have not. jackshaft movement is what we are wanting.
I've had way better luck with feeling the freeplay in the jackshaft while holding onto the brake rotor with your finger tips.
Take the drive belt OFF, and roll the sled forward a foot or so by turning the secondary clutch forward by hand.
Move over to the chaincase side of the sled and pinch the brake rotor with your finger tips and try to rotate it gently forward/backward.You SHOULD have some free movement and feel the chain "thump" in each direction of it.
If not, it's TOO TIGHT.
If there is play,loosen the jam nut on the tensioner and thread the bolt in while you are rocking the rotor back and forth. You will feel the play decrease and then be gone. STOP.It's too tight already. Just for kicks, see how much further in "finger tight "is..
Now back the bolt back out till you feel a small amount of freeplay come back and lock it down.
How much freeplay ? None-bad, too much-bad. roughly 1/4" to 3/8" movement at the outer diameter of the rotor is what I've set them at for years. It's alot easier to see this with the chaincase cover off. Should be just a little free slack on the back(long) side of the chain. Not enough for it to rub inside the case .
P.S. make sure your freeplay is actually the jackshaft turning with the rotor. Some sleds have alot of wear in the splines between the rotor and jackshaft and some have not. jackshaft movement is what we are wanting.
QUOTE(Gen2 @ Oct 20 2007, 11:50 PM)
I've found that the 1/4 turn back from finger tight method leaves the chain way too tight.Too tight of a chain is just another place of driveline HP loss and wear . Finger tight can be WAY different from one guy to the next.
I've had way better luck with feeling the freeplay in the jackshaft while holding onto the brake rotor with your finger tips.
Take the drive belt OFF, and roll the sled forward a foot or so by turning the secondary clutch forward by hand.
Move over to the chaincase side of the sled and pinch the brake rotor with your finger tips and try to rotate it gently forward/backward.You SHOULD have some free movement and feel the chain "thump" in each direction of it.
If not, it's TOO TIGHT.
If there is play,loosen the jam nut on the tensioner and thread the bolt in while you are rocking the rotor back and forth. You will feel the play decrease and then be gone. STOP.It's too tight already. Just for kicks, see how much further in "finger tight "is..
Now back the bolt back out till you feel a small amount of freeplay come back and lock it down.
How much freeplay ? None-bad, too much-bad. roughly 1/4" to 3/8" movement at the outer diameter of the rotor is what I've set them at for years. It's alot easier to see this with the chaincase cover off. Should be just a little free slack on the back(long) side of the chain. Not enough for it to rub inside the case .
P.S. make sure your freeplay is actually the jackshaft turning with the rotor. Some sleds have alot of wear in the splines between the rotor and jackshaft and some have not. jackshaft movement is what we are wanting.
I've had way better luck with feeling the freeplay in the jackshaft while holding onto the brake rotor with your finger tips.
Take the drive belt OFF, and roll the sled forward a foot or so by turning the secondary clutch forward by hand.
Move over to the chaincase side of the sled and pinch the brake rotor with your finger tips and try to rotate it gently forward/backward.You SHOULD have some free movement and feel the chain "thump" in each direction of it.
If not, it's TOO TIGHT.
If there is play,loosen the jam nut on the tensioner and thread the bolt in while you are rocking the rotor back and forth. You will feel the play decrease and then be gone. STOP.It's too tight already. Just for kicks, see how much further in "finger tight "is..
Now back the bolt back out till you feel a small amount of freeplay come back and lock it down.
How much freeplay ? None-bad, too much-bad. roughly 1/4" to 3/8" movement at the outer diameter of the rotor is what I've set them at for years. It's alot easier to see this with the chaincase cover off. Should be just a little free slack on the back(long) side of the chain. Not enough for it to rub inside the case .
P.S. make sure your freeplay is actually the jackshaft turning with the rotor. Some sleds have alot of wear in the splines between the rotor and jackshaft and some have not. jackshaft movement is what we are wanting.
Good advice for the guys.
To tight is friction =HP loss.If you go by Polaris spec's in there manual and at the dealers your in this catagory.
QUOTE(Gen2 @ Oct 20 2007, 10:50 PM)
I've found that the 1/4 turn back from finger tight method leaves the chain way too tight.Too tight of a chain is just another place of driveline HP loss and wear . Finger tight can be WAY different from one guy to the next.
I've had way better luck with feeling the freeplay in the jackshaft while holding onto the brake rotor with your finger tips.
Take the drive belt OFF, and roll the sled forward a foot or so by turning the secondary clutch forward by hand.
Move over to the chaincase side of the sled and pinch the brake rotor with your finger tips and try to rotate it gently forward/backward.You SHOULD have some free movement and feel the chain "thump" in each direction of it.
If not, it's TOO TIGHT.
If there is play,loosen the jam nut on the tensioner and thread the bolt in while you are rocking the rotor back and forth. You will feel the play decrease and then be gone. STOP.It's too tight already. Just for kicks, see how much further in "finger tight "is..
Now back the bolt back out till you feel a small amount of freeplay come back and lock it down.
How much freeplay ? None-bad, too much-bad. roughly 1/4" to 3/8" movement at the outer diameter of the rotor is what I've set them at for years. It's alot easier to see this with the chaincase cover off. Should be just a little free slack on the back(long) side of the chain. Not enough for it to rub inside the case .
P.S. make sure your freeplay is actually the jackshaft turning with the rotor. Some sleds have alot of wear in the splines between the rotor and jackshaft and some have not. jackshaft movement is what we are wanting.
You are definately right about finger tight. Is it reef it till you can not tighten it any more or just finger tight without much reefing on it? I have tried it many ways myself and could not come to a happy medium. Thanks for the heads up. I noticed with mine when I did tighten the chain as per the manual's specs that I did not like what I saw myself. (Too tight).
I've had way better luck with feeling the freeplay in the jackshaft while holding onto the brake rotor with your finger tips.
Take the drive belt OFF, and roll the sled forward a foot or so by turning the secondary clutch forward by hand.
Move over to the chaincase side of the sled and pinch the brake rotor with your finger tips and try to rotate it gently forward/backward.You SHOULD have some free movement and feel the chain "thump" in each direction of it.
If not, it's TOO TIGHT.
If there is play,loosen the jam nut on the tensioner and thread the bolt in while you are rocking the rotor back and forth. You will feel the play decrease and then be gone. STOP.It's too tight already. Just for kicks, see how much further in "finger tight "is..
Now back the bolt back out till you feel a small amount of freeplay come back and lock it down.
How much freeplay ? None-bad, too much-bad. roughly 1/4" to 3/8" movement at the outer diameter of the rotor is what I've set them at for years. It's alot easier to see this with the chaincase cover off. Should be just a little free slack on the back(long) side of the chain. Not enough for it to rub inside the case .
P.S. make sure your freeplay is actually the jackshaft turning with the rotor. Some sleds have alot of wear in the splines between the rotor and jackshaft and some have not. jackshaft movement is what we are wanting.
QUOTE(dheard4992 @ Oct 20 2007, 12:27 PM)
Hey big fuse,As long as you dont mind giving some advice? I was looking for grease fittings on the iq and after greasing the suspension in the track and the jack shaft in the left footwell I moved up front and couldnt find any more zerks.Am I missing any on a iq? This is new to me as Ive always prided myself as a no maintanence type of guy and never have had problems but I guess Ive gotten to feeling guilty.In the past Ive had sleds with from 7 to 10000 miles on them when I sold them and never have taken a grease gun to any of them.Mabey Ive just been lucky.
Have you looked in your owner's manual? It should show you where the lubrication points are on the sled.
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