dwillowguy
Active member
At the end of last year's ridding ...engine was fogged and fuel was pumped from tank and then put away to sleep. Couple weeks ago was getting the Cat ready to prowl again, fresh fuel was put in tank and she fired up on the 4 pull. Let it warm up and spun the track and then shut her down. About a week later were getting ready to go to the mountains and were getting the machines into the trailer. I fired up the cat and let it warm up for 5+ minutes...drove out of the shop and out past the grain bin's (200-250ft) no more then 1/2 throttle...there was a slight miss during that time did'nt think nothing about that. Turned around and cracked the throttle, front end lifted up and she launched forward for about 150 ft. Engine then shut down and the track locked up coming to a stop about 30ft from trailer. Tried recoil...stuck, tried clutch unable to turn over engine....went and got a beer and let it sit for 10 min. Was then able to turn over engine, fired it back up but backfiring from mag side ..not a good sign. Checked compression pto side 150lbs mag side 50lbs...WTF. Torn engine down and both pistons had bad scarring on intake and exhaust skirts, with the failed piston's rings stuck on the exhaust side.
Cause of failure was lack of oil because the oil tank had gotten condensation in it during the summer storage (less then half) and that water had gone to the bottom of tank. That water froze and no oil was being pumped to engine therefore causing the squeak. We cleaned out the lines and got the rest of the water out, reprimed the pump and checked oil output. Talked to some sledheads and they said to put at least 1 once of gas line anti-freeze into oil tank whenever you fill up tank ( they too learned the hard way). I rebuilt the engine...2 pistons 1 jug and a gasket kit and she has about 300 miles on her now...both holes @ 150lbs
PS......At the beginning of each season add some oil into the fuel tank, top off the oil tank and go riding. Check tank level after ride to see if oil is being feed and enjoy.....
Cause of failure was lack of oil because the oil tank had gotten condensation in it during the summer storage (less then half) and that water had gone to the bottom of tank. That water froze and no oil was being pumped to engine therefore causing the squeak. We cleaned out the lines and got the rest of the water out, reprimed the pump and checked oil output. Talked to some sledheads and they said to put at least 1 once of gas line anti-freeze into oil tank whenever you fill up tank ( they too learned the hard way). I rebuilt the engine...2 pistons 1 jug and a gasket kit and she has about 300 miles on her now...both holes @ 150lbs
PS......At the beginning of each season add some oil into the fuel tank, top off the oil tank and go riding. Check tank level after ride to see if oil is being feed and enjoy.....
