Ski Doo engine issues

[Garrett]

Still looking for a used trail sled. I have a question on Ski-Doos. Seeing a lot of mid 2000 (2004 to 2007) MXZ's or GSX's that claim to have rebuilt engines, top ends ,etc....

Is there something inherently wrong with sleds in this vintage or just normal for sleds this old?

Thanks

 

[snobuilder]

Still looking for a used trail sled. I have a question on Ski-Doos. Seeing a lot of mid 2000 (2004 to 2007) MXZ's or GSX's that claim to have rebuilt engines, top ends ,etc....

Is there something inherently wrong with sleds in this vintage or just normal for sleds this old?

Thanks

Short answer is yes. Poolaris had issues as well with the 800 up to around 2013 and their 800 definitely became better starting in 2015 with the 800HO.
Stick with the Polaris 600 or the 800 HO and you will have better luck and with Ski-Doo I believe their motors got mostly better with the etech version....whatever year that is.

On the other hand if you only have 2003-2008 kind of money to spend, the Yamaha 4 strokes are bullet proof.

 

[SledTL]

Still looking for a used trail sled. I have a question on Ski-Doos. Seeing a lot of mid 2000 (2004 to 2007) MXZ's or GSX's that claim to have rebuilt engines, top ends ,etc....

Is there something inherently wrong with sleds in this vintage or just normal for sleds this old?

Thanks

I believe that the 500SS, which is a 600 carb not the sdi, had a lean out issue from an emissions stand point. The SDI motors are good, but they run on a battery and if it dies the sled won't run.

 

[russholio]

2003 through early 2005 Doo 600's had an issue with the moly coating on piston rings flaking off. My 2005 apparently didn't suffer from it as it had just over 10k miles when I sold it, and compression was still solid (I checked religiously). I never touched anything internally. I don't know if 800's had the issue or not.

 

[1fujifilm]

Still looking for a used trail sled. I have a question on Ski-Doos. Seeing a lot of mid 2000 (2004 to 2007) MXZ's or GSX's that claim to have rebuilt engines, top ends ,etc....

Is there something inherently wrong with sleds in this vintage or just normal for sleds this old?

Thanks

Number one, I like Ski-Doo and am a fan that has owned 18+ since the beavertail of 2003.
I agree with quite a bit posted on here already about 800's needing to be rebuilt due to various issues.
The major point of this discussion is the question is the year range of 2004-2007 Doos. These sleds are 12+ years old now with likely 10k in miles plus. These sleds were ridden hard, many were towed in the salt dozens of times and are in my opinion now ready for the junkyard.
Heck, owners only paid 6-8k new for these sleds.

My advice, stick to 600 E-Tec newer than 2010 with lower than 4,000 miles and stay away from the 800's!
Sad thing is you are approaching the cost of a new 2018 600 Carb with E-start for $6,500. if you can afford it, just buy the new one.

Bear

 

[whitedust]

My 2003 mxz 800 froze the crank at 3900 miles and on tear down the rings were flaking too. The 600 Sdi had the same ring flaking issues and some 600s were recalled and rings replaced. I had my 800 replaced with a 2005 new engine and seemed very solid. I then bought a Yamaha 4s attak and kissed all my engine problems good bye and been on 4s ever since.

 

[shelby369]

Buy a cat......

 

[toddspolaris]

and all those skidoo motors use isofloex grease to keep the outer crank bearings lubed, eventually the grease is gone and poof there goes the crank bearings.

 

[tomx]

I had a very similar experience to whitedust

 

[old abe]

Many Doo top end rebuilds due to bad/flaking rings. Small block carb 500SS/600, the non HO 600, pretty much bullet proof, and has been around 20 years now. We still have 2, 600 SDI's. A 05, and a 07, neither engines have been touched, and well past 10K miles on both of them.

 

[wheels006]

I purchased a 2005 mxz carb a few yrs ago and it's been great. In my research at the time I learned to stay away from anything older than an 05. So far it's been accurate! I only have 5500 on mine and I think you can find similar miles/condition sled(always enclosed trailer, etc) for anywhere from $2800-$3500. I plan on spending another season on this before upgrading.

 

[goofy600]

600’s were better than 800’s but understand older 2 strokes need at least top end rebuilds just because parts wear out depending on how the manufacturer designed them but if rebuilt right can last a long time.

 

[1fujifilm]

My 2003 mxz 800 froze the crank at 3900 miles and on tear down the rings were flaking too. The 600 Sdi had the same ring flaking issues and some 600s were recalled and rings replaced. I had my 800 replaced with a 2005 new engine and seemed very solid. I then bought a Yamaha 4s attak and kissed all my engine problems good bye and been on 4s ever since.

Hilarious,
I bought my First new Rev (a 2003 800 as a leftover in 2004) for $5,500. I drove it on the Railroad grade from West Green Bay to Shawano and seized it up around Tilleda, WI. It cooled down and it un-seized (if that is a word) and drove it three more miles and it seized again.
Found out the dealer did not put much oil in it and I did not bother to check it.
Anyway, PTO side of motor crank bearing went bad and the dealer rebuilt it for free.
That thing was fun to ride (probably cause the Rev chassis was so new to me coming from a Polaris Evolved) but never got over 10 MPG and sucked oil right with it.

Bear

 

[renegade]

and all those skidoo motors use isofloex grease to keep the outer crank bearings lubed, eventually the grease is gone and poof there goes the crank bearings.

Not completely accurate, those outer bearings can be greased with very little effort and you tube. These older sles are definately not ready for the junkyards! They are nice riding sleds for the money, especially if you can find one with rebuildable shocks. Little bit of maintenance and a fresh rebuild, will ride like new. If you like one without rebuildables, buy them on ebay. It's going to be a gamble on any used sled.

 

[blkhwkbob]

You can get 600 etec's cheap because nobody buys them used. They sit forever. And GSX's also have poor resale value. Just FYI.

 

[longtrack]

Any kind of 2-stroke is a time bomb if you want dependability by a 4-stroke. YB

 

[whitedust]

Hilarious,
I bought my First new Rev (a 2003 800 as a leftover in 2004) for $5,500. I drove it on the Railroad grade from West Green Bay to Shawano and seized it up around Tilleda, WI. It cooled down and it un-seized (if that is a word) and drove it three more miles and it seized again.
Found out the dealer did not put much oil in it and I did not bother to check it.
Anyway, PTO side of motor crank bearing went bad and the dealer rebuilt it for free.
That thing was fun to ride (probably cause the Rev chassis was so new to me coming from a Polaris Evolved) but never got over 10 MPG and sucked oil right with it.

Bear

Yep those early 800s were gas and oil hogs smoked so bad I switched to Blue Marble oil just to give my buds a break. We did manage to eek out 11-12 mpg via a clutch Spring listed on Snow Tech my buds 2002 800 started out at Between 8-9 mph and man was he pissed. I came off a doo 700 triple single piper before the 800 and that thing in certain grade conditions would sip gas and oil to the tune of 17 to 20 mpg. Asked Robs on the Drumlin Grade about gas mpg on my 700 triple and he said oh yeah at a constant 55 mph those get 20+mpg. I thought my numbers were screwed when they went high since so much variation down to 12 or less in deep snow. Ahh the life of an ole doosman.

 

[Garrett]

Thanks for the info.

 

[toddspolaris]

Not completely accurate, those outer bearings can be greased with very little effort and you tube. These older sles are definately not ready for the junkyards! They are nice riding sleds for the money, especially if you can find one with rebuildable shocks. Little bit of maintenance and a fresh rebuild, will ride like new. If you like one without rebuildables, buy them on ebay. It's going to be a gamble on any used sled.[
You are correct , I have pulled many many of these motors out just to repack the outer bearings as a preventative maintenance, Repack the bearings every 6000 miles and a new top end and they will run a long time. My buddy has an 04 renegade with just over 14000 miles, have repacked the bearings twice and two top ends and she still runs strong.

 

[Garrett]

Not completely accurate, those outer bearings can be greased with very little effort and you tube. These older sles are definately not ready for the junkyards! They are nice riding sleds for the money, especially if you can find one with rebuildable shocks. Little bit of maintenance and a fresh rebuild, will ride like new. If you like one without rebuildables, buy them on ebay. It's going to be a gamble on any used sled.[
You are correct , I have pulled many many of these motors out just to repack the outer bearings as a preventative maintenance, Repack the bearings every 6000 miles and a new top end and they will run a long time. My buddy has an 04 renegade with just over 14000 miles, have repacked the bearings twice and two top ends and she still runs strong.

And what is the cost to redo the Top End?