I learned a few things when reubuilding mine. First is that most of the 99s and some 00s had glow plugs. There was an optional glow plug kit that was basically the switch and relay to hook them up. If you look down your intake they used 2 like a grid heater. I just used a ford starter relay and a switch on mine. Second this is the worker platform. They were stiffer sprung and had more gear reduction in the high and low range than the normal sportsman. They actually have lower gears than the new highlifters. In theory you could put in a sportsman gear case and pick up top speed. Idk if it has enough power to use the extra gear though.
@98dodge360v8 . Ya I would like to install the glow plug kit in this one for easier starts in the cold. Did you get yours running good with the oversized piston?
@@rockspowersports Yes. I have ~150 miles on it since last spring with countless low speed work hours. Runs great. I did turn the fuel up a 1/4 turn. Still has 1/3 of a tank of fuel of the original full tank last spring. I'm loving it. Use it too do about 4 acres with a brush mower and pull a 4x8 trailer loaded with wood frequently.
@@98dodge360v8 I bet that diesel is the perfect atv for what your using it for. Glad to hear it’s going well. I actually didn’t know they offered a 3 point hitch setup for these. That would be pretty handy though.
Love the video! I never thought I would see one of these in the North country, thought I was the only one LOL. I'm up in Pittsburgh not too far, small world I guess. Mine's a 99 that I bought in 2001. Had it ever since. I lost the injection pump on mine back in 2010 and Polaris discontinue in the parts made it hard to find, I just got mine back together after sitting in storage for 10 years. Anyway and one of your previous videos you had mentioned you had two other bikes did you get those together? Specifically talking about the diesel 455s. I've done tons of engine work on those if you got any questions feel free to reach out I thought it was cool to see somebody else who had one, you're well in your case three at one point LOL. I actually had to have a piston made for mine because I board a 25 over and nobody had replacement Pistons. So most things I find for mine that I need I end up having made. Either way they're awesome machines and I pretty much tore mine down to the frame the only thing I haven't been into is the gearboxes, but if you still got the other two and you're not going to fix them are you saving them for parts bikes I would be very interested in having one as a parts bike but I'm sure you already know how hard it is to find parts for these. Either way cool machine, and I like the videos!!
Small world for sure! And I have a bunch of wheelers but the diesels I’m not selling. I’m planning on fixing both the other ones at some point. I’ve had 2 custom pistons made up also from JE to rebuild the other 2. I rebuilt my first one quite a few years ago but I was able to get an oem piston and gaskets back then. I found pretty much on all 3 of these that the injector nozzles got plugged up and caused the piston to melt down… Glad you enjoyed the video
That's cool to see that I'm not the only one crazy enough to machine custom parts to keep these machines alive. Like I said I bought mine in 2001 but mine broke back in 2010-2011ish with an injection pump failure that took out the piston. I was able to get the replacement piston at that time right away but the injection pump was impossible to find. For me it took years to get the injection pump but mine's back together now and can't be happier LOL. I ended up cracking a piece between the two compression rings on the 25 mm overboar or .010 of an inch, and had to have my Piston machined too. If you get a chance check out the Alibaba website for Chinese diesel Pistons injection pumps and injectors. I found two injection pumps that are almost identical to the Polaris that belong on a Yanmar and in a pinch I'm going to try to make it work if I lose the injection pump I have now. Even the Pistons on the yanmars are pretty close they've got the same bowl cut design for the injector spray pattern the only difference is they were 92 to 93 mm versus 87 to 88 mm. But of course you could simply bore the block out and put a sleeve in which is what we were considering doing at the machine shop in Berlin, but we went the other way and just machine the Piston ourselves for the factory specs. Maybe if you don't mind we can bounce information back and forth since all the parts are discontinued if you find anything yourself and likewise for me for parts to keep them going. I was reading some of the other comments and I myself did not realize the sportsman 500 gas job ATV had a different gear ratio than the diesel and the transmission so that was a bit of a surprise because I thought mainly the difference was the power plant. And I do see parts for the power plants all over the internet where people had parted them out but the primary thing is Pistons rings injectors and injection pumps that seem to be difficult to find. I hope you do get the other two fixed I'm glad to see that there are people saving these because they were such a cool machine, slow but cool LOL. I've got a bunch of posts on Facebook public on my 455 and I'm at bjzwv83@gmail.com if you ever want to share potential resources for parts or just chat technical information on the machines. I just want to keep mine going and try to find some surplus parts in the event something breaks because yes I agree it seems to be the injector and the Piston is the weak point...., Thanks for the reply holler at you later
@Chad Herriot These diesels have a electric fuel solenoid to shut the engine down which is activated by the key. The Red lever that looks like a choke is a manual Fuel shut off, in case the key doesn’t shut her down.
@@rockspowersports I purchased a 455 and it won't start or even act like it wants to start. Have you ever ran into this issue? I've confirmed the injector is sparying fuel, everything under the governor cover looks good. If guessing there's no electrical components causing the no start issue, so it must be low compression.
@@kevinsullens492 I would check compression before you start trying to chase down anything else. I know i looked at everything else first and it ended up being a bad injector nozzle which caused the piston to burn down. I still had 250PSI compression but it wouldnt start unless you gave her alot of ether... in a perfect world the compression should be 441PSI the service limit is 313PSI
@@kevinsullens492 If you can’t get your hands on a compression tester you could pull your injector and dump some transmission fluid down the cylinder and that should bump up the compression to at least try to start it. That is if your compression is the issue. Let me know how you make out.
Nice, never knew they made diesel atv's.
They didn’t make them for very long.
@@rockspowersports polaris and there bright ideas
They don't Want you to know. Never advertised them.
Most dealerships didn't know of them !
Awesome video! I’d love to have one for my collection! What a great novelty machine and conversation piece on a poker run.
@Nomadic Newfies They sure are! There are much better trail machines out there but that’s not what this was made for.
I have a Polaris Diesel 455 1999 I would like to sell if you know anyone interested.
@@softwareteacher could you give me your general location and price?
@@The1980toyota Jupiter Florida and price is 2000 OBO
I learned a few things when reubuilding mine. First is that most of the 99s and some 00s had glow plugs. There was an optional glow plug kit that was basically the switch and relay to hook them up. If you look down your intake they used 2 like a grid heater. I just used a ford starter relay and a switch on mine. Second this is the worker platform. They were stiffer sprung and had more gear reduction in the high and low range than the normal sportsman. They actually have lower gears than the new highlifters. In theory you could put in a sportsman gear case and pick up top speed. Idk if it has enough power to use the extra gear though.
@98dodge360v8 .
Ya I would like to install the glow plug kit in this one for easier starts in the cold. Did you get yours running good with the oversized piston?
@@rockspowersports Yes. I have ~150 miles on it since last spring with countless low speed work hours. Runs great. I did turn the fuel up a 1/4 turn. Still has 1/3 of a tank of fuel of the original full tank last spring. I'm loving it. Use it too do about 4 acres with a brush mower and pull a 4x8 trailer loaded with wood frequently.
@@rockspowersports One insane thing about these is the 3point they offered. I looked and there are still pieces in polaris's system.
@@98dodge360v8 I bet that diesel is the perfect atv for what your using it for. Glad to hear it’s going well.
I actually didn’t know they offered a 3 point hitch setup for these. That would be pretty handy though.
@@rockspowersports If you go to look up parts there is a 3 point mount group for the rear a-arms.
I wish polaris would make them again. I'd love one. I have a polaris sportsman 500 year 2000 pretty good machine.
I have a Polaris Diesel 455 1999 I would like to sell if you know anyone interested.
I was able to find one thanks though
My tractor dealer here in Kalispell, MT has one for sale for $4k with 600 miles on it. It is in excellent shape
Nice! You don’t see them come up for sale very often..
Hi do you know if that diesel Polaris is still for sale
Love the video! I never thought I would see one of these in the North country, thought I was the only one LOL. I'm up in Pittsburgh not too far, small world I guess. Mine's a 99 that I bought in 2001. Had it ever since. I lost the injection pump on mine back in 2010 and Polaris discontinue in the parts made it hard to find, I just got mine back together after sitting in storage for 10 years. Anyway and one of your previous videos you had mentioned you had two other bikes did you get those together? Specifically talking about the diesel 455s. I've done tons of engine work on those if you got any questions feel free to reach out I thought it was cool to see somebody else who had one, you're well in your case three at one point LOL. I actually had to have a piston made for mine because I board a 25 over and nobody had replacement Pistons. So most things I find for mine that I need I end up having made. Either way they're awesome machines and I pretty much tore mine down to the frame the only thing I haven't been into is the gearboxes, but if you still got the other two and you're not going to fix them are you saving them for parts bikes I would be very interested in having one as a parts bike but I'm sure you already know how hard it is to find parts for these. Either way cool machine, and I like the videos!!
Small world for sure! And I have a bunch of wheelers but the diesels I’m not selling. I’m planning on fixing both the other ones at some point. I’ve had 2 custom pistons made up also from JE to rebuild the other 2. I rebuilt my first one quite a few years ago but I was able to get an oem piston and gaskets back then. I found pretty much on all 3 of these that the injector nozzles got plugged up and caused the piston to melt down…
Glad you enjoyed the video
That's cool to see that I'm not the only one crazy enough to machine custom parts to keep these machines alive. Like I said I bought mine in 2001 but mine broke back in 2010-2011ish with an injection pump failure that took out the piston. I was able to get the replacement piston at that time right away but the injection pump was impossible to find. For me it took years to get the injection pump but mine's back together now and can't be happier LOL. I ended up cracking a piece between the two compression rings on the 25 mm overboar or .010 of an inch, and had to have my Piston machined too. If you get a chance check out the Alibaba website for Chinese diesel Pistons injection pumps and injectors. I found two injection pumps that are almost identical to the Polaris that belong on a Yanmar and in a pinch I'm going to try to make it work if I lose the injection pump I have now. Even the Pistons on the yanmars are pretty close they've got the same bowl cut design for the injector spray pattern the only difference is they were 92 to 93 mm versus 87 to 88 mm. But of course you could simply bore the block out and put a sleeve in which is what we were considering doing at the machine shop in Berlin, but we went the other way and just machine the Piston ourselves for the factory specs. Maybe if you don't mind we can bounce information back and forth since all the parts are discontinued if you find anything yourself and likewise for me for parts to keep them going. I was reading some of the other comments and I myself did not realize the sportsman 500 gas job ATV had a different gear ratio than the diesel and the transmission so that was a bit of a surprise because I thought mainly the difference was the power plant. And I do see parts for the power plants all over the internet where people had parted them out but the primary thing is Pistons rings injectors and injection pumps that seem to be difficult to find. I hope you do get the other two fixed I'm glad to see that there are people saving these because they were such a cool machine, slow but cool LOL. I've got a bunch of posts on Facebook public on my 455 and I'm at bjzwv83@gmail.com if you ever want to share potential resources for parts or just chat technical information on the machines. I just want to keep mine going and try to find some surplus parts in the event something breaks because yes I agree it seems to be the injector and the Piston is the weak point...., Thanks for the reply holler at you later
Is that atv any better than an old suzuki qudrunner 4x4 from late 80s? i got the 1989 quadrunner 4x4.
@Niko94 I like my Diesel but it’s pretty slow your 250 quadrunner could probably out run it. This thing does ride great and has good pulling power.
i had one bought brand new. mine was 1999 polaris diesel. could ride all forever on one tank. only draw back was top speed was only about 35mph.
How is it on fuel? I’m oddly interested in this ah I have a 420 Honda rancher
Doesn’t use much.. I filled it up probably a year or 2 ago. It doesn’t get used everyday but I still use it here and there.
45mpg
what’s the top speed on these ? i am about to buy a polaris d-bat 400 4x4
Top speed on this is around 30-38mph the d-bat is a completely different machine. They don’t sell them I’m the US, I’ve only seen videos of them.
yeah, i live in the UK haven’t seen many d-bats though only 2 or 3 videos of it
Yeah it doesn’t seem like there is very much info on them. As far as I know it’s a small yanmar diesel engine in those d-bats
I see that vermont plate in the back ground. You from vermont? And that looks like a grate rig I miss my 500 sportsman
@Brandon Codling. Yes I am in northeast Vermont, In island pond.
It’s a nice unique machine for sure.
@@rockspowersports ya never seen one but yes vary Nic. And good fishing up in them neck the woods too
What is that red lever where the choke is typically located?
@Chad Herriot These diesels have a electric fuel solenoid to shut the engine down which is activated by the key. The Red lever that looks like a choke is a manual Fuel shut off, in case the key doesn’t shut her down.
cool quad. thx for sharing
Wow First Time i see that 💜👍👌
I think it's cute...do they still sell diesel atvs?
@ShinerBock2007 They do not make diesel ATV’s anymore. But you can still buy a Polaris Ranger with the diesel motor.
Im here bc of your fb reel mang
Nice! Hope you enjoy the full vids as well.
My neighbor had one back in 2002
How are you embedding the speedometer information into the video?
It’s all on my go pro. It has the gps feature.
Love it
You should do a video where you show all your atv and projects
Maybe I will, I have quite a few projects right now.. probably close to 60 wheelers
You always leave your atv's outside?
Most of them I do, I’m limited on garage space
@@rockspowersports I purchased a 455 and it won't start or even act like it wants to start. Have you ever ran into this issue?
I've confirmed the injector is sparying fuel, everything under the governor cover looks good. If guessing there's no electrical components causing the no start issue, so it must be low compression.
@@kevinsullens492 I would check compression before you start trying to chase down anything else. I know i looked at everything else first and it ended up being a bad injector nozzle which caused the piston to burn down. I still had 250PSI compression but it wouldnt start unless you gave her alot of ether... in a perfect world the compression should be 441PSI the service limit is 313PSI
@@rockspowersports I'll check the compression today. Starting fluid doesn't even help the engine, no sign of life.
@@kevinsullens492 If you can’t get your hands on a compression tester you could pull your injector and dump some transmission fluid down the cylinder and that should bump up the compression to at least try to start it. That is if your compression is the issue. Let me know how you make out.
Is it a 2 stroke diesel
It’s a 4 stroke diesel.
Bolt a turbo onto that machine, diesels need a little boost.
That would wake it up some. I’ve thought about trying it
Man that would be great on farm.
id love to own a diesel Polaris, i own a gas and it eats up gas like hell!
Ya the older 500’s drank the fuel pretty good. This diesel sips it, but you sacrifice power compared to the gas..
Never understood why Polaris didn’t get into the dirt bike market
@Warren Stemphly You never know they might one day.
I have a Polaris Diesel 455 1999 I would like to sell if you know anyone interested.
How much are you looking to get for it and where are you located?