The last update

[400brian]

I have a '73 X8 that has been sitting in my shed for a long time. Have gathered a lot of parts for it over the years, the idea was to rebuild it for the son. But, as he couldn't care less about sleds, I had kinda forgot about it.

Then...when the JD Sled book came out last winter, one of the first things we learned was just how big a PITA the '73 sleds were, and in particular the '73 X8s.

This one is pretty much how it left Horicon. Neither the vapor lock or clutch programs were ever done on the sled.
The only updated part I have found so far is the vented spark plug access cover.

[400brian]

According to the book, these were built in May of '72 without engines, crated and stored until later in the summer when the engines arrived. The story is that they chartered a 747 to fly them in ASAP, then set up a line and hired Horicon area school teachers who were off for the summer to finish them up.

The folks at Horicon felt like they had really pulled a rabbit out of their hat, as they had pulled the JDX program ahead a year at RJ's insistence, as he felt they needed a 40 hp sled in the lineup. The Kioritz 440/21s were a brand new design, the engineers had played with some prototypes, but they had some of the first production engines in these sleds.

Everything was great until it snowed, then the complaints started coming in from the dealers, and the factory had no solutions to the issues, as the owners were essentially the test drivers.

The sleds were fouling plugs, had an excessive fuel burn, were hard to start ( vapor lock ), belt failures, the Salsbury clutches were failing, and there may even have been some track failures. They were just a model 500 painted black, but the 40 hp engine was causing all sorts of issues. They finally held a dealer meeting in March of '73, up in Land of Lakes WI. to explain all the fixes they had come up with.

The plan for this sled is to pull the engine, take a close look through the exhaust ports, do a compression check, and if all is acceptable, I'll clean it up, replace the crank seals, and paint the shroud.

The chassis needs a good cleaning, a little rattle canning, and then the installation of NOS parts can begin. No restoration here, this will be a rider, with the wife looking forward to being the driver.

The installation of program 150 ( the vapor lock kit ) and program 160 ( the Comet Clutch upgrade ) was mandatory on all sleds in dealer inventory, and optional on customer owned machines. There can't be many that got missed like this one. I'll have to install those parts to make this a decent rider, so perhaps this sled will be the one to get "the last update".

[400brian]

The seat on this sled is cracked down the middle ( full length ) with several across as well. Simply put, it is junk.

I had one other 00/JDX molded seat. Danzig had picked it up at Ed Meyer's place several years ago. It had been recovered with a fuzzy black fabric, but had a strange feel as to what was under it.

Katy and I were in the shed on Saturday, so we cut the cover off to see what we had. It was kind of like a Faberge' Egg, as we worked our way down through the layers. The black fabric was cut away to reveal the strange feeling surface below. The entire seat had been covered with...wait for it...Yes...duct tape!

[400brian]

I started pulling the duct tape off, pretty sure I wasn't going to find a pristine seat under it.

There are two cracks like that across the seat, and they are 3-4 inches deep. Not exactly a great foam to recover either. SO,...I am still looking for a recoverable 00/JDX seat foam. The wife's tender bottom may be sitting on this, so I would like a nice one.

[kwc]

Holy smokes, that is one used up seat foam!

Keep the progress pictures coming.

[HoosierDeereMan]

Brian,

I was looking at the very first picture you posted. Is that the original hose for the air silencer? All of them I remember are "U" shaped and point straight up with the rodent screen protector. Your's looks like the glove box would choke the air getting to it? Just curious? I'm pretty sure I don't have a good seat foam but I'll check the next time I'm back in the barn.

Troy

[400brian]

That's what the original hose looks like. The update kit included the now more familiar "U"shaped intake hose, and a new tool box.

[400brian]

The 440/21 came out this weekend, and the Salsbury clutch has been successfully removed.

A quick compression test showed 140 on the pto side, and 125 on the mag side. A bit of oil down the weak side and it came right up to 140, so I'm pronouncing the engine good to go. Clean-up and re-seal will commence.

[400brian]

The sled is showing a little less than 1000 miles on the clock, and it has none of the updates, so you would kind of assume it would be relatively unmolested. It still had the original WDA-34 Walbro on it, but when I was getting ready to pull the engine I noticed something a little different. We've all seen some questionable repairs made to these old sleds, on this one it was on the carb. I had a screwdriver in my hand loosening up the choke and throttle cables, and so it was quicker to remove the two screws that hold the bracket that the cables mount to, than it was to find a wrench to take the cables off the bracket.

The two screws that hold the bracket on top of the carb have a JD part number, but are also listed as .168 x 5/16".
What I saw looked like a watch stem in the top mounting hole. It was a chrome knob...I took my pliers and got it loosened, then turned it out by hand. I turned and turned, I was a bit shocked to find that the screw was around an inch long! Apparently it didn't interfere with the choke or throttle butterflies, but all that screw was hanging in the throat of the carb, and that is an air restriction!

[400brian]

The flywheel came off without issue, that's always good to get behind you, and the fan shaft slid out of the bearings just like it is supposed to!

Matt Gabler was here this past week, bringing a gift from the East, so now the seat problem has been solved.
FYI- Matt was on his way to Minocqua to pull the pier and pontoon out of the lake, and my wife put a couple of apple pies in the truck before he left. That should have made him popular when he got there.

Take one typically grungy 102-C Comet clutch...hit it with a little bi-carb, and Ta...Da. Maybe not quite as good as new, but pretty nice compared to what it looked like before.

[jdsledsrgr8]

The pies only lasted 24 hours. They were super good. I will drop off any parts anytime for a gift like that. Thank you Brian and your wife. Happy to help.

[400brian]

Engine has been cleaned up a bit. What a grungy SOB it was. Still not white glove clean, but I keep reminding myself that this is a RIDER!

PTO seal has been removed, never know what you'll see when its out. More than once I've found corrosion behind the seal. This one isn't too bad, but you will notice a ring around the shaft where the seal made contact. This is rough to the touch.

I'll oil up some paper towel, pack it around the bearing, clean the shaft with some solvent, then polish that area with some 400 grit. I will also try to install the new seal a bit deeper, to get onto a fresh surface. We'll see if that works.

[400brian]

Well, the shaft polished up without too much effort. The seal installation was scary, I had a hard time getting it to start square, then it went in hard every millimeter of the way. Can't drive it in further then before, it bottoms out. I think I've had that thought before, with the same result. By my count, this is the fourth Kioritz engine I've re-sealed without splitting the case.

The mag side shaft looked great, and the new seal had a little step in the edge that really made installation go better. It tapped in with less issue. A good job done.

Waiting on some parts from Pat's Small Engine, specifically a fan belt, carb kit, and some clutch arms, but that won't hold things up at this point.

[400brian]

Being as this is a rider, a few functional upgrades are being made. The clutch to be used is a 102C off a '78 rather than a 100C. I actually found an NOS clutch kit, but at $600 I thought it a bit pricey.

The original gas tank has had fuel sitting in it for probably 30 years, so I opted to go with a '75 plastic tank.

Duane Gjerseth set me up with the tank, and the aluminum heat shield I needed for the vapor-lock upgrade. The tank was pretty grungy, but it cleaned up nicely with just detergent, hot water, and a chunk of chain for the inside.

JDJR provided the NOS fuel fitting, and New Breed Parts the cap/gauge, and a fuel pickup with check ball.

Thanks to all.

[Steven Rempel]

This is my favorite project to watch. Keep it up. Love it.