Tech Tips
'08 - '11 XP- There are two holes on the XP's behind the shock tower that let snow in. These holes (especially the clutch side) need to be filled in with silicone. They are located where the plastic meets the aluminum. The easiest way to find them are by placing a flashlight behind the shock facing toward the back of the sled. Look inside and you will see where the light is coming through. This area allows water to get to the clutch and can make the clutch slip. You will notice that your belt leaves big black marks on the primary clutch when the belt is getting wet.
- Drill a 1/4" hole (or slightly larger) below the
primary clutch. This
will allow any water to drain out of the belly pan that has entered.
Without this hole water will sit on the bottom.
Every time you hit a
bump or whoop the water splashes up on the primary clutch and can
create
belt slippage.
- If you don't have electric start....Remove your ring
gear!
This really is a no brainier. I know, I know there
are a
lot of opinions on this one. Some say "you need it for
harmonic
dampening". So why do the Ski-Doo hill climbers and hill
cross
sleds not come with a ring gear? ROTATING MASS! One
pound
of rotating mass is equal to 7 pounds of stationary weight.
Don't believe me? Try it! It really
works. My
opinion is that they put it on every production sled because it is
easier. Then they don't really have to worry about which ones
have e-start and which ones don't. I ran my '07 800r with no
ring
gear for 3200 miles in two years. No crank failure, matter of
fact it still runs great. It was the first thing I removed on
my
'09 (which now has over 1500 miles with no crank failure).
The
torx bolts can be real pain to get out, so be prepared to use a propane
torch and an air driven impact gun.
- Clean your clutch often!!! The Ski-doo TRA clutches are great clutches, BUT they are prone to getting dirty and gummed up. I am not talking about spraying a little brake cleaner on the clutch faces (and walking away) or just scrubbing the clutch faces with an sos pad. You need to pull your clutch on a weekly basis (depending on how much you ride). I pull my clutch after every 100 miles or so, sometimes after every ride. Pull the clutch apart and check your arms, make sure they swing freely. If they are gummed up even a tiny bit the RPM's will fluctuate. Check the rollers to make sure there is not too much play and that they spin freely. Check the ramps to make sure there are no burs on them. Check to make sure the spring cup bushing doesn't have too much free play. And finally check the buttons and o-rings, if these are worn at all the clutch will make a ringing noise and fluctuate RPM. This process only takes about 10-15 minutes so there are no excuses. Did I mention to clean your clutch OFTEN??? Check out the video below.
- If you are running an aftermarket muffler...or even a stock muffler for that matter, make sure the pipe - to - muffler connection is sealed. It may look like the springs are tight and everything looks good but exhaust can be leaking out. Check for places where oil has leaked out around the pipe connection. Oil leaking out means there is an exhaust leak somewhere. Another thing to check is the belly pan outlet hole. Some muffler manufactures have left a gap around the area where the muffler exits. This unsealed area can let exhaust gas back into the engine compartment. Sucking exhaust gas into the intake can be one of the major causes of bogging and sluggish performance. You will notice that you have a problem when you carve on the exhuast side and the motor starts to sputter and bog (Note: A small RPM drop 100-200 is normal when carving on the exhaust side in really deep powder because the snow causes backpressure on the exhaust system). If you see a leak, seal it up with some high temp silicone. While your at it check your Y-pipe bolts for tightness also. If they come loose (which they do on almost all Ski-doo sleds) the exhaust will leak. If your muffler doesn't seal at the belly pan...well you might have to get creative and seal the gap.
This video is approximately 21 minutes long.
It briefly
goes over the entire process of removal, cleaning, and reinstallation
of a Ski-doo XP clutch.
Best of all the video is FREE! The mechanic is Mike Suter
from Star Valley Ski-Doo in Thayne,
