100% agree. The Niche upper end kits are ok but definitely do not use the head gasket it comes with. The quality of the polaris head gasket vs the Chinese gasket in the kit is night and day.
I’m having a issue. I flushed the radiator and that flows good, new thermostat, fan works, fins on water pump spin, but I was wondering does your tank bubble right away when it’s cold? I don’t see any bubbles but I’m running out of ideas before I rip it apart and do the head gasket
If everything is working I would make sure you bled all the air out of the system. An air pocket will cause overheating. If its bubbling nu the overflow it most likely a head gasket.
Love your videos. You made sure the head was flat by sanding it down. Does the jug need to be flat as well? I didn't see you checking the jug for flatness.
Before I pulled the head, I did an engine pressure test. I made sure the motor was TDC. I applied about 90lbs of air to the cylinder. No air bubbles or sound out of the radiator. When I run the engine I see an occasional air bubble in the over flow tank. Do you think it's a bad head gasket? This is a freshly rebuild engine. I did not use an oem head gasket. What's your thoughts, head gasket bad?
When it overheated it blew out of the reservoir tank. Does that indicate pressure from a bad head gasket? I'm going to use a carbon monoxide detector to see if I can sense the exhaust gases from the radiator. I'll remove radiator cap and put the detector in a plastic bag and secure the plastic bag around the raditor fill neck. Thoughts?
You never cease to amaze. Nice work! I did a full rebuild on a 500 HO but now get a ticking (loud) when revved up. Was told it might be the starter gear. Any ideas?
Did you check the valve lash? ..006 it should be. It could be the gear or the clutch. I would pull both off and see what's making the noise. Pull the bendix gear and pull start it with cover back on..
@@TitaniummanGarage thanks for getting back to me. This one is a ranger so no pull start. I did check the lash. Trying new bendix today I hope. Keep up the great work!
Just driving today,perfectly fine and then coolant started spitting out of the reservoir,drove it back home going 5mph,”I wasn’t far away less then 700 meters” let her cool down,the fan kicked in and all was good,started her up and a really weird noise like a metal clanking or a train sound,what could that be?
I am having an issue I know you kind of addressed on an earlier video, as well as overflowing coolant but I think it is from the radiator being plugged with junk. The main problem I am having is that the machine runs fine at idle, and will run for a little bit at throttle but then it will start losing power and backfiring. I had the cam replaced by a reputable Polaris dealership last year thinking that was the issue, but it was not. I am going to try a new throttle cable as the two points were touching that shut down the bike, so I think it's stretched pretty bad. Anything else I can try? As of right now it's practically useless.
Yes, the radiator plugged will also do that. I would flush it out and clean the fins. With the power I would start with cleaning the jets on the carb and inspect the intake boot for cracks. If the boot is cracked it will suck in air and run lean causing a backfire. Or bad timing or bad valve adjustment will cause that as well. I bought one that came back from a Polaris dealer. The guys spent 1200 bucks and got it back not running. They never checked the cam and only adjusted the valve lash.
@@TitaniummanGarage I rebuilt the carb thinking that was the issue. The search continues. I'm wondering if they lined up the timing marks with the cam but didn't check the crank.
You have a video or can you do one that shows how to chase down a bad ground on a polaris? Found 1 problem when someone replaced the handlebar kill switch, it was loose. I tightened down the Allen screw and it would've have spark. So loosened it back up and now has spark. I believe I have another bad ground somewhere now
OMG! that would take hours. It all depends on where the issue is. Was the kill switch aftermarket? Some of those have issues. most aftermarket electronic for polaris..especially if it came from china....is junk. I've had new cdi's and kill switches go right out of the box already. Just follow your brown wires to the ground points. they are mostly to the coil. pull the black wire on the cdi box with the allen screw you mentioned tight. It bypasses the kill switch. If it starts, you have a bad switch or possibly a bad cdi. But check your grounds. make sure they are clean. If it was sitting outside for long periods of time, I would check ALL connections. Hope that helps.
@@TitaniummanGarage yeah, it's definitely a aftermarket kill switch. It was replaced before I bought it and the quad has sat outside most of its life, so should be fun chasing down all its issues, but working on it
@@TitaniummanGarageBuenos días desde España...¡¡¡ Tengo un problema con mi polaris Scrambler 500 4x4 2004 y me gustaría que me ayudases, no se como ponerme en contacto contigo y pruebo aquí para ver que pasa...te explico, me entra agua con aceite por el tubo que va hacia la caja aire y el depósito de aceite. Esta mezcla huele a gasolina...puede ser de la bomba de agua?...me puedes ayudar porfavor, gracias y un saludo
Thank you for sharing your knowledge I have learned a lot from you. You have saved me a lot of money
100% agree. The Niche upper end kits are ok but definitely do not use the head gasket it comes with. The quality of the polaris head gasket vs the Chinese gasket in the kit is night and day.
I’m having a issue. I flushed the radiator and that flows good, new thermostat, fan works, fins on water pump spin, but I was wondering does your tank bubble right away when it’s cold? I don’t see any bubbles but I’m running out of ideas before I rip it apart and do the head gasket
If everything is working I would make sure you bled all the air out of the system. An air pocket will cause overheating. If its bubbling nu the overflow it most likely a head gasket.
Love your videos. You made sure the head was flat by sanding it down. Does the jug need to be flat as well? I didn't see you checking the jug for flatness.
I always put the head on the jug to check if it rocks back and forth. Most times the jug is good. I have another video on checking that.
Before I pulled the head, I did an engine pressure test. I made sure the motor was TDC. I applied about 90lbs of air to the cylinder. No air bubbles or sound out of the radiator. When I run the engine I see an occasional air bubble in the over flow tank. Do you think it's a bad head gasket? This is a freshly rebuild engine. I did not use an oem head gasket. What's your thoughts, head gasket bad?
@@dvcm27 If its occasional it might be air still trapped in the lines. I dont think it's the head gasket.
When it overheated it blew out of the reservoir tank. Does that indicate pressure from a bad head gasket? I'm going to use a carbon monoxide detector to see if I can sense the exhaust gases from the radiator. I'll remove radiator cap and put the detector in a plastic bag and secure the plastic bag around the raditor fill neck. Thoughts?
You can run a longer hose off the radiator overflow and put the other end in a bottle of water and rev it up to check for bubbles
You never cease to amaze. Nice work! I did a full rebuild on a 500 HO but now get a ticking (loud) when revved up. Was told it might be the starter gear. Any ideas?
Did you check the valve lash? ..006 it should be. It could be the gear or the clutch. I would pull both off and see what's making the noise. Pull the bendix gear and pull start it with cover back on..
@@TitaniummanGarage thanks for getting back to me. This one is a ranger so no pull start. I did check the lash. Trying new bendix today I hope. Keep up the great work!
@@RayofallTrades My ranger did the same thing. Replaced the belt and the bendix gear and it was quiet.
@@TitaniummanGarage thanks for the reply. Tried both and same issue. Oh well. I'll let you know if I figure it out
Just driving today,perfectly fine and then coolant started spitting out of the reservoir,drove it back home going 5mph,”I wasn’t far away less then 700 meters” let her cool down,the fan kicked in and all was good,started her up and a really weird noise like a metal clanking or a train sound,what could that be?
What’d it end up being?
@@kjwade probably shit coolant
I am having an issue I know you kind of addressed on an earlier video, as well as overflowing coolant but I think it is from the radiator being plugged with junk. The main problem I am having is that the machine runs fine at idle, and will run for a little bit at throttle but then it will start losing power and backfiring. I had the cam replaced by a reputable Polaris dealership last year thinking that was the issue, but it was not. I am going to try a new throttle cable as the two points were touching that shut down the bike, so I think it's stretched pretty bad. Anything else I can try? As of right now it's practically useless.
Yes, the radiator plugged will also do that. I would flush it out and clean the fins. With the power I would start with cleaning the jets on the carb and inspect the intake boot for cracks. If the boot is cracked it will suck in air and run lean causing a backfire. Or bad timing or bad valve adjustment will cause that as well. I bought one that came back from a Polaris dealer. The guys spent 1200 bucks and got it back not running. They never checked the cam and only adjusted the valve lash.
@@TitaniummanGarage I rebuilt the carb thinking that was the issue. The search continues. I'm wondering if they lined up the timing marks with the cam but didn't check the crank.
@@TitaniummanGarage I supplied the cam so I sure hope they put it in!
Might not hurt to double check.
You have a video or can you do one that shows how to chase down a bad ground on a polaris? Found 1 problem when someone replaced the handlebar kill switch, it was loose. I tightened down the Allen screw and it would've have spark. So loosened it back up and now has spark. I believe I have another bad ground somewhere now
OMG! that would take hours. It all depends on where the issue is. Was the kill switch aftermarket? Some of those have issues. most aftermarket electronic for polaris..especially if it came from china....is junk. I've had new cdi's and kill switches go right out of the box already. Just follow your brown wires to the ground points. they are mostly to the coil. pull the black wire on the cdi box with the allen screw you mentioned tight. It bypasses the kill switch. If it starts, you have a bad switch or possibly a bad cdi. But check your grounds. make sure they are clean. If it was sitting outside for long periods of time, I would check ALL connections. Hope that helps.
@@TitaniummanGarage yeah, it's definitely a aftermarket kill switch. It was replaced before I bought it and the quad has sat outside most of its life, so should be fun chasing down all its issues, but working on it
@@TitaniummanGarageBuenos días desde España...¡¡¡ Tengo un problema con mi polaris Scrambler 500 4x4 2004 y me gustaría que me ayudases, no se como ponerme en contacto contigo y pruebo aquí para ver que pasa...te explico, me entra agua con aceite por el tubo que va hacia la caja aire y el depósito de aceite. Esta mezcla huele a gasolina...puede ser de la bomba de agua?...me puedes ayudar porfavor, gracias y un saludo
Meanwhile I can’t even get the choke off the body panel 😂
lol. Had that happen. get a Bigger wrench.
Long story short , no engine will hold compression if head bolts are loose ,not the gaskets problem ! No doubt in my mind
Mine intermittently spews all the coolant out the puke jug and I can’t for the life of me figure out why