30 year old sleds! Aren't they great

[lwb140]

thats funny !! there is a motorcycle shop near us i had the same experiance with a few years back . ordered a needle and seat from him in june and it was august before it came in , obviously he was slow to order it in , that was his story that it wasnt snowmobile season . my point to him was that if people worked on sleds in the off season he wouldnt be slammed with people beating down his door for parts the day of the first snow of the season , needless to say we didnt see that the same way and new breed snowmobile parts understands how this hobby works thx again matt for everything !! wade

[nick80lf]

In my situation where I had to wait for a chaincase seal it wasn't the dealer. She called the distributer while I was standing there and added the parts I was looking for to their order. I received everything but the chain case seal the next day.

I have to agree new breed parts is the best. I went to a kawasaki dealer today trying to match up a motorcycle water pump seal to the liquifire water pump seal. I gave them 5 part numbers that I thought might be close. They basically gave me the runaround, I had the feeling if they couldn't look the part number up on their computer they weren't going to bother.

Sorry

[atomc40]

I'm just as susceptible to gremlins as the next guy. "Knock on wood" today the stars have aligned in Toledo, Ohio. Everyone appears to be healthy for the moment. Now that I've jinxed myself, I'll go out to the shop and get my tools organized.

[JD_Sledder68]

I never got to even run my sleds last winter. Only one snowstorm to speak of and not enough to ride on. So they both sat for a full year or more. Now this winter we are already at 17" and more coming tomorrow. Both the 78 Liquifire 340 and the 82 Trailfire 440LX fired right up after priming. Checked carbs and they were all still nice and clean. Put fresh fuel in them and away we went.

I noticed on the Liquifire, that there was a distinct high pitched metallic ringing from the right side of the engine. I says to myself..."self, I think she's swallowing a piston". So I put it away and continued to ride the Trailfire. After a quick compression test on the LF, it shows 135 and 133. So pistons are likely good. Plugs looked good too. So I begin to suspect the chaincase may be making noise inside. I rock the secondary drive shaft back and forth and voila....I hear my noise. More investigation shows it to be the brake rotor making that clanging noise.

So tonight I listen closely and I can just barely hear the same sort of noise after hitting the brakes hard on trailfire as well. Is this normal for the brakes to make some noise as the rotor bangs around while riding?

Both sleds could use new brake pucks.....but that will be a summertime job.

[harleysportster]

Yes, the rotors can make noise. On some of models, there was a special spring clip installed between the rotor and jackshaft to help eleminate the noise.

[Mr. Deere]

Good to know that clips not needed! Forgot to re install mine.

[DeereKid9]

Today I started to question my son about what happened that the Trailfire quit running. "Did it run out of fuel?" I asked. I knew it was pretty close earlier in the day. He stated "I put some in it". Now here lies the problem that stopped my heart. I didn't have any pre-mix fuel ready.

So, I hurried to the shop tonight, to cry a little about the potential issues that lay ahead. Where do I start I thought. I pull the rope, MOVEMENT!!!!!! Nothing further needed for the night. As I walk out I notice that the two fuel cans are still topped off and sitting where I left them. Head scratching now.

I asked him where he got the fuel and he says "The little can in the corner". Ta Da, Snowblower fuel mixed at 50-1. WINNER. Well, kinda, I still have to fix the choke.

Not as bad as I thought it could be. Plus, Freaking Rob Haines is home. It was a good day.

[jdrob]

You guys and your noises ! If my sleds DON'T make noise I start to worry !