Sportfire Engine Help

Mailman · Post by **Mailman** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 8:16 pm

I have been taking my Sportfire engine apart to some extent to clean it before I put it back in the sled. When I took the exhaust manifold off I checked the pistons and inside of the cyl. and noticed that on the left or PTO side piston the top ring has about .20-.30 of metal before the top of the piston where as on the flywheel side piston there is about 1/8" to the top of the piston. I checked the cyl. on the flywheel side and found the no.'s 844A, 833E, & 440/2A stamped on the cyl. and just 440/2A on the PTO side cyl. I am wondering if this is normal or if it has probably had a piston and cyl. or just piston replaced. It seems that there should be more metal on top of the piston than say .20 - .30 The Kawasaki engine is a TA 440B-C202. Any help or advice would be helpful. Thanks. Mailman

Mailman · Post by **Mailman** » Sat Jan 07, 2006 10:59 pm

I also checked in the tech. manual and saw the pitcure of the piston and that's what the one piston looks like, but the other one has the ring right on the very top of the piston, sure makes me wonder.

:unsure: Mailman

JDFanPa · Post by **JDFanPa** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 2:41 am

OE deere pistons are usally specific to sled and engine model where as aftermarket pistons are often made to fit multiple engines this is a possibility for the difference. Another is that the piston that has an 1/8 is for an older kawi motor like used in old arctic cats. I am not positive on the sport but in the trail 440s the cat pistons fit an work.

JoeRainville · Post by **JoeRainville** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 7:51 pm

Hey Guys,

Sounds like you have at least one aftermarket piston in your sled. Some of the aftermarket pistons use an "L" shaped top ring, located at the very top of the piston, while others look more like the stock Kawi unit.

I also think most aftermarket listings show Sport / Trail and even some LF pistons as interchangeable. The Sport and the LF are both T-7's, but the Trail is a T-1 Kawi with roots back to early Cat Panthers. The T-7's came out on early Tigers.

The point is to becareful on what you order, and I usually suggest replacing your pistons as a pair, expecially when going to aftermarket units. That assures you get the same style and wieght pistons.

Good luck Guys,
-Rainville

Mailman · Post by **Mailman** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 8:27 pm

Joe,
Are the aftermarket pistons marked on the top of the piston with the size like they are in the automotive line, such as S, .10, .20, .30 and so on? Thought if I have to take this thing apart it would be nice to know if they are standard or oversize. Mailman

JDFanPa · Post by **JDFanPa** » Mon Jan 09, 2006 11:28 pm

Hey Mailman they arent marked that way most times in my experiences but usally have the size in millimeters so you can tell if its a bigger piston aslong as you know the standard size. I think .5mm is equal to .020 but it might be .010. Now that Joe R brought it up I do have a set of new aftermarket pistons that have an L ring and they were supposed to fit sport,trail and liquifire. So like Joe said its best to replace both if using aftermarket. There are almost always sets of aftermarket pistons on ebay in the $50-60 range which is typical of what you pay for 1 from a parts supplier.