Hi All,

Just bought a 98 XCR with a busted crank shaft, broke clean off at clutch. I got the sled cheap and only has a 1000 miles on it. I am going to buy a polaris repair manual, can an average person install a new crank shaft or is there a lot involved with it??? Any advice would be greatly appreciated it, with installing or tools needed, exc...

Thanks!
-HoopD

aw, you can deffinetly do it, and it is deffinetly the longest job on an engine probly, just start from the top and keep everything organized and lay it out the way its going back on, as far as the manual you should only need it for torque specs. you should be able to take it apart, lay it out and put it back together without the manual, be careful not to drop things inside the engine as your putting it back together, make sure all gaskets are on the right way, and you have to buy a gasket set to do it cause when you start trying to take it apart, more then likely they will get damaged, your better off to put all new gaskets in it anyway if your going that far.When you put the pistons and rings back in the cylinders, theres little dowels on the pistons that have to line up with the ring openings, dont know if you know that or not, but before you put the cylinders on, put a little bit 2 stroke oil that you put in your sled on the pistons and cylinder walls and stuff, just dip your finger in it and rub it on, as well as the crank, put a little bit of extra oil on it with your finger. and dont over torque everything, just put it snug, and then put a little turn on it, if you dont know the torque specs.Try to keep as much antifreeze in the system as you can, less chance of it air locking on you, try to keep your hoses from your coolers from losing too much fluid, and then when you have the engine together, fill the block with antifreeze, have a little extra so you can flush it through to get most of the air out, and then stick your hoses back on and hope that it dont airlock. Its probly going to look like a big job when you start pulling everything off, but it wont be as bad as it looks, just take your time and pay attention to what comes off and how it goes back on. If you need to ask any questions just pm me, see what i can do.

Thanks for your response! Def. feel better about doing it. Can you or anybody explain a little bit more about the dowels on the pistons and lining them up with the ring openers. I just want to get a good understanding about the fundamentals of engine building before I dive right in.

I appreciate all the help I can get,

HoopD

If you have never done this before you really need to invest in a repair manual.
The dowels in the pistons are ring locator pins and stop the ring from spinning and catching a port.
The Polaris repair manual for your sled will be worth its weight in gold to you if this kind of repair is new to you. It will answer many questions that you are for sure going to have after getting into the project. The first time is always a learning curve and the manual will help immensly, its a $30 investment you wont regret.

You have a PM.

I dont want to spoil the party but if this is your first complete engine tear down ? Im going to say dont do it. What may look and be a simple task is and can be very complex. What may look ok to the average guy might need to be replaced. Have seen stators destroyed due to bolts being used to pull it off put in to far. Crankcases with pry bar marks in them etc. Due to the fact this is a 100+ hp 3 cylinder not an old single 28 hp is the main question. Ask yourself would you rebuild your lawnmower engine ? If the answere is no then remeber this as an additional 95+ hp. Yes having the service manual in hand is great but at the same time mechanical apptitude and a good understanding of basic engine knowledge is required.

The pistons will have little pins or dowels in them ok, a ring is not a solid peice of steel it is split on one side, this side must go where the dowels are or else the ring will not close enough, the dowels not only allow the rings from moving, it allows the ring to expand when there is wear on the cylinder walls, the main point of it is for the ring to spring out against the cylinders to get compression. As far as knowing to take it apart yourself, if you know some basics, you should know if your ready or able to take apart a whole engine and put it back together, if your not, do some research on the internet, see how things work and how they come apart and go together. Polaris has online manuals so theres no sense in buyin a repair manual, just print off the pages you need and take it to the garage with you, i printed off the whole 70 pages or whatever it is, put it in a binder and its the same manual you pay 40 bucks for. Just print off the page you need or take a laptop out if you have one. Anything you need to know , pm me ill help anyway i can. Theres only one way to know if you can take that engine apart or not, and that is to start wrenchin. So its up to you to decide wheter you think you can handle the job,my advice is learn all the components of the engine, and youll know what your taking off an putting on, makes it much easier.

The dowels have only one function and that is to keep the rings from spinning so they do not catch a port, they have absolutly nothing to do with expansion for wear compensation.
Nor do they have anything to do with keeping the rings sprung against the wall. They are called 'ring locator pins' for a reason and only one reason as that is what they do.

Thanks all, much appreciated it. Yeah I bought this sled to learn on, so Im def going to buy that repair manual. I appreciate all your help and advice.

-HoopD

that guy must be out to prove a 17 year old wrong, yeah the dowels stop the rings from moving, the dowels are there cuz the ring is split without the split ring you have nothing, not even gunna argue, no one said anything about the dowels having to do with the rings springing out, wherever you got that from, looks to me like you didnt understand what i said, for rings to work they must spring out, in order for them to spring out they must have a gap to allow it to open and close, to stop that gap from moving the dowels are put on and the rings are notched. This allows the ring to open up as the cylinders are not 100 percent pefect at all times, without that spring opening up to compensate on the wear of the cylinders, youd have no compression. lol some people thrive on picking apart what people say, makes me laugh

if your handy youll do fine as long as you got the manual. unfortunately lol, ive pulled lots of motors apart and I still use my manuals as references. there are some tools that the manual says youll need that , you actualy need to use, clutch puller mag puller, and clutch holding tool.(better than a bar)

The online manuals are parts manuals only. A real service manual will be very useful if you haven't done this stuff before. It also contains torque settings and the sequence for pulling things apart and putting back. Also if you have a knowledgeable buddy, ask him to come along (but save the beer for afterwards )

One thing not mentioned is putting the crankcase back together. Remove all sealant from the case halves, then apply a THIN coat of the proper sealant - if using too much or the wrong type, the case will not have the proper grip on the crank bearings... not good.

And, what you got for tools? You'd need a good metric set , 1/4" and preferably 3/8" sockets. And as mentioned above, a flywheel puller. A good torque wrench is mandatory too.

Thanks all again, for the reponses.


Things I have have:
Good Metric Set
Torque Wrench
Clutch Puller and holding tool

For Tools:

Will a universal flywheel puller be fine? or does it have to be the polaris?

Dude, get a grip. I only understand what you wrote. Maybe you should take a course in english instead of using your ultimate wisdom on giving advice. Your own words "the dowels not only allow the rings from moving, it allows the ring to expand when there is wear on the cylinder walls" need I say more. Dont steer a person wrong by giving them incomplete advice that might make them look stupid if they try to quote what you say.

yep with a book, and a magic marker to mark things, that way you dont have to remeber every little thing.

there isnt much for parts. the biggest thins is locating pins on the pistons go to the intake. double check ring end gap before ass.

use metalic or aluminum, copper with rubber coating from cometic. they are the same price as polaris but way better

lol, so funny

Just going to post this again to redeem myself.

That guy must be out to prove a 17 year old wrong, yeah the dowels stop the rings from moving, the dowels are there cuz the ring is split without the split ring you have nothing, not even gunna argue, no one said anything about the dowels having to do with the rings springing out, wherever you got that from, looks to me like you didnt understand what i said, for rings to work they must spring out, in order for them to spring out they must have a gap to allow it to open and close, to stop that gap from moving the dowels are put on and the rings are notched. This allows the ring to open up as the cylinders are not 100 percent pefect at all times, without that spring opening up to compensate on the wear of the cylinders, youd have no compression. lol some people thrive on picking apart what people say, makes me laugh

Rest my case,im not saying your wrong buddy, all im sayin is you picked apart what i said, you interpreted what i said, differently from how i explained it. and as far as the bad english its just bad typing.

"the dowels not only allow the rings from moving, it allows the ring to expand when there is wear on the cylinder walls" <-this should be

"the dowels not only stop the rings from moving, it allows the ring to open and close against the cylinder walls without spinning around" <-- Simpler terms since people are criticizing what i say.

Happy?

Much better grasshopper.

Do I need a piston pin puller as well??? Thanks!

Yes you do. They are cheep to buy and easy to make too.

your crank can be fixed a lot cheaper than a new one. 1/4" ready rod about a foot long and 2 nuts makes a great wrist pin puller.

I guess the next question is: Is it worth getting it fixed (only has a 1000 miles on it) vs. buying a used one.

Used One: $400

How much would it cost to send it out and get it fixed? (Snaped at the primary clutch, I believe the part cost $200)

Also what would make it snap at the primary clutch? (Its in the mail, Im hoping it turns over)

Appreciate all the reponses, I found a downloadable repair manual and it looks pretty strait forward so far with the input you have given me.

piston pin puller, all i ever did was get a buddy holding against one side, and a socket and hammer, beat it through while your buddy cushions the blows, worked fine as pie for me,a few times now. just did one last week like that.

This has got to be one of the worst pieces of advice of all time... c'mon now, fab one up and dont even take that kind of chance. You are asking for trouble and one of these times it will bite you in the ass doing it that way.

Can't we all just get along?
Anyway the young guy said he downloaded a polaris manual (Polaris has online manuals so theres no sense in buyin a repair manual, just print off the pages you need and take it to the garage with you, i printed off the whole 70 pages or whatever it is, put it in a binder and its the same manual you pay 40 bucks for.)

What I'd like is the address for this manual, please post or e-mail me the address for this manual PolarisXCSP...Another thing, everyone is right and everyone is wrong...My son was tearing apart quadrajets at age 5 and he can probably build a small block at age 15 without supervision...I never touched a 2 cycle in my life and rebuilt a 550 bearcat without a manual last spring...Like the Polaris young man says, you can do it if you think your way through it and do not be afraid or hesitant to ask questions from those of us who are supposed to have a little more maturity and wisdom...
I take heart that not all this generation is about give me money to get it done rather than can you help me fix it...
But someone please post the address for this sight...Thanks

http://plus.xdrive.com/u/933478056/2668115...uJx9AlUOZLK8HFg

Must create an account, not sure if this is the manual your looking for but it is 96-98 polaris. For all who may look at this thread later, this is the repair manual thats going for 20 on ebay.

HoopD

Pounding the wrist pins through the pistons can work, but it can also damage the big end rod bearings. Typically it's best just to use a puller.

Never do that again, that's one of the worst thing you could do to the crank.


Don

just go to www.polarisindustries.com, look around and youll find the parts catalog, shows the break down of every single thing on your sled, shows you how to take apart a whole engine and put it back together, the only thing you wouldnt have would be things like the torque specs, or amount fluids it takes and stuff like that, tells you all the stock jets for your sled, stock springs for your clutch, everything, its all i ever need to work on mine, i sent mine to a shop 2 weeks ago never again, can always do better work when your working on your own machine. and as far as the piston puller, it was a buddies sled i wasnt goin out to buy a puller to pull his pistons and he didnt want to either so i said easiest way to do it is what i did with the old 440s, hold one side and ill tap it through with a socket.
- youll have to sign up to that site, just fill out the form its all free, well worth it.

OMFG....LMAO