indy squirting antifreeze out of the cap
- Thread starter VMAX4
- Start date
Is it actually getting that hot?
More often than not, just replace the radiator cap. Make sure it has the same pressure rating, should be fine.
Had that happen on my past XLT and XCR sleds, replaced the cap and all was good!
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I have a 1998 xc 600 mine ended up being a broken water pump belt.I thought for sure it was a head gasket.I replaced that and it stated doing the same thing again.after I replaced it and just read someplace that this is common on these sleds.Its easy to check this.that's all it was.I once had a 1993 Indy 500 that I had a bad cap on so I bought a new one and it worked great.BUT.it was a after market cap.Well about a year later my sled blew and it got hot so I rebuild the motor and went riding again replacing everything seals piston rings and I rode about 300 miles and it blew up again.so now I'm really trying to figure out whats wrong.and I figured that maybe the head is not flat anymore so I took the neck off the top of the head so I could set it up to check the flatness and sure enough a little black piece came out of the inside of the neck it was just about the same size of the hole that the antifreeze flows throw.here all this time it ended up being the little black piece that was manufactured on the bottom of the aftermarket cap I bought and it was acting as a valve it was letting the fluid flow throw but not all the time so that why it blew up both times all because I could just go to an auto parts place on a Sunday to pick one up so I could go riding again how would have ever guess that it would cost me that much time and money.but like anything you gotta learn on your own so when you get old someday you can sit around and talk about crap like this
snow_monkey
New member
I also had a friend that lost a water pump at 4500 miles on a 1997 600 xlt triple.
Not l ikely the belt, i've never seen a belt go on these It's as thick as one on a car... well old car. Not like the ones that are on twin liberty motors those are about the size (thickness) as a vacuum cleaner belt or a old turntable belt. There have been on ocassion the little "check valve" in line from the res to the pump that have been known to let it back flow & cause this same sympton. However you can let that xlt idle all day & never get it to overheat, put some time (1/2 mile) on & it will over heat. You wont always get antifreeze in the cyl that has blown, however you will get the expelled gasses to go straight to the res... It's the path of least resistance. You will burn all three holes if you continue to run it that way.
indy_500
Well-known member
Not l ikely the belt, i've never seen a belt go on these It's as thick as one on a car... well old car. Not like the ones that are on twin liberty motors those are about the size (thickness) as a vacuum cleaner belt or a old turntable belt. There have been on ocassion the little "check valve" in line from the res to the pump that have been known to let it back flow & cause this same sympton. However you can let that xlt idle all day & never get it to overheat, put some time (1/2 mile) on & it will over heat. You wont always get antifreeze in the cyl that has blown, however you will get the expelled gasses to go straight to the res... It's the path of least resistance. You will burn all three holes if you continue to run it that way.
It is possible that it could be the belt, but it would've blown up, when that belt goes out, so does the oil pump. since the belt drives both. It's not a bad idea to replace the belt either way, you can get them for $25-$30 on various sled websites. A dealer will run you about $50. If it was me, i'd start by replacing the belt, cap, and all the gaskets (head o-rings, base gasket, water cover gasket, thermostat gasket, and the gasket for the spark plug holes) although those dang gaskets start getting pretty pricey.
Just one more thing a head gasket is cheaper than blowing up that motor.I would do radiator cap to start if you don't know how to do the head gasket and really watch it.but if this was me I would do head gasket and look at them when you take them off it don't take much for a leak.and than after you replace make sure you let it run and get hot and than let it cool down and re torque the bolts one more time.also replacing the clear lines and check valve going from the bottle back to the motor and really look at the coolant bottle so that it dint get so hot that is deformed or has a crack in it after getting it hot.hot water and steam can do a lot of damage so really look over it good.if you have another friends sled just try his radiator cap.that way your not out the money if the sled has the same problem with that cap and remember to bled the air out as much as you can so that its not air locked when you try this.If you lived anywhere around ST Michael MN I would come give you a hand.I just hate when there's good snow and a little hiccup like this comes along.good luck
mn_polaris_guy
New member
I had (still have) a 1995 XCR and it was the cap. Start there and work your way to the belt and head gasket.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.