Hi everyone, as some of you may know I finally have my barn find sled ridable and out in the snow! As thrilling as its been (holy smokes it flys now the cobwebs are out of it) this maching has a few developing issues. When the motor gets good and hot it seems as though it gets Too hot.. temp guage isnt working so im not sure if its overheating. Should I replace the thermostat? My parts book shows I need the AM54852 but Im having difficulty finding one.
The other issue and the biggest issue is when the motor gets hot it breaks down under WOT but is ok up to 1/2 throttle. My jetting and carb sync are spot on. Bad Ignition coil?? Ive seen this before where a coil gets warm and stops performing. Any opinions on this are greatly appreciated.
This 80 Liquifire was my childhood nemisis, it would never ever run, always make me walk. Start first pull in the summer and not at all in the winter. Its my personal goal to FINALLY beat the JD Liquifire and make it a GOOD RELIABLE trail machine. Is it possible??? LOL
The first three things I would try are:
1. A working temp guage
2. A working temp guage, and
3. A working temp guage
Finally, a good friend of mine told me one time that the motto should be " John Deere snowmobiles, making kids walk home since 1972"
OK, seriously start by getting a good temp guage. You have no idea as to how hot your engine is getting and that's bad. Secondly, of course you should replace your thermostat if it's been in there many years. I think I see them on Ebay all the time but maybe that's because I don't need one. That's how it seems to work, when you need something it appears there are none.
Best of luck and please don't give up on your LF. You own the highest build number of any John Deere sled.
DA
Feel free to check out our website www.buscobullet.com for restorations or parts.
If I were you, I would not get a 260 some degree temp gauge, get a lower range. 180 is about as high as you want to run. Thermostat opening temp is 108. You can test in a pan of water on stove with cooking thermometer. Hold the stat off the bottom of pan with a wire or the like, just want water temp, not bottom of pan. Make sure the pump is circulating coolant, radiator and heat exchanger not plugged, etc
After you get your temp problem under control and you still have problems with this cut out problem, I would lean on a CDI. Thermal breakdown might be happening.
I just noticed a small external head gasket leak also the rad has a small leak. I must have over heated j
It. Does anyone have a good used temp gauge? I want an original. Also, if ANYONE knows where to find a thermostat I can't find one from a reliable source anywhere. Thanks again guys
There's a guy with NOS thermostats on eBay right now but the part number listed is correct for 76-78 liquifires rather than 80-84. Wanted to make sure you didn't buy these for your 80.
I just tested my thermostat and it seems to be working now that I've cleaned the calcium buildup off the end. Opens at 110 everytime. So now I wait for my gasket set, and in the meantime will continue to scratch my head as to what's going on here.
WinnipegStPaul9 wrote: You own the highest build number of any John Deere sled.
DA
Not so fast DA (lol).......According to the numbers that Matt has on the website that honor goes to the 1973 X8 with a total production of 10,897, compared to 9,080 for the 1980 Liquifire.
I believe that the 1980 Liquifire is actually #4 on the list. The 73 X4, and 79 Trailfire 440 had higher numbers (in that order).
80 Liquifire (purchased 1996 ~ Running)
80 Liquifire (purchased 2010 ~ Running....Now)
80 Liquifire (purchased 2011 ~ Not running - I officially have a problem now)
83 Snowfire (purchased 2014 father/son restoration project)
78 Spitfire ~ sold (should have been shot for this)
motoXman wrote:I just noticed a small external head gasket leak also the rad has a small leak. I must have over heated j
It. Does anyone have a good used temp gauge? I want an original. Also, if ANYONE knows where to find a thermostat I can't find one from a reliable source anywhere. Thanks again guys
new breed has some super nice repop gauges for sale !! also be sure to unhook the rev limiter it could be goofed up and shuttin-er down for you ,just unplug it wade
certificate recipiant of the 12 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifre 440,
certificate recipiant of the 13 vintage challenge !! on a 340/s
certificate recipient of the 14 vintage challenge !! on a 78 liquifire 440
joe forgot the certificates for the 2015 vintage challenge
crossed the start/finish line twice at the 2013 and 2014 I500 on a 78 liquifire 440
Well here it is running again. still needs some carb work but it works decent enough. I still need a temp guage and would like to upgrade the carbs to something more modern. Any suggestions what might work better than OEM ?
also the rad has a small leak. I must have over heated j
