Polaris 350 4x4 quad - is it worth it? ((((PICS))))

[firehart]

So, does it get dark at all in the summer up there?

[Nick_R_23]

Yeah, it usually becomes a full normal night dark at around 1 in the morning, but it will be getting earlier in few days. Im never up early enough, so I dont know when it gets light again, but right now its 6:30 in the morning and bright as ever. It can be nice if you really want to get something done, just work on it all night and you'd never realize how late it is.

Our weather report says sunrise was 4:13 AM, and sunset is 11:49 PM. But its still bright for a while even after the suns set. While Im at it, we will have a High of 66*F, a Low of 52*F, and its currently 46*F and the suns bright enough to blind you.

-Nick

[RedRider_AK]

Looks and sounds like a nice deal, 100 bucks is a steal! Also, kudos on getting free parts!

[Nick_R_23]

Thanks, man! Now that I have this other bottom end, it should be done in no time! I also have some parts pics now.


Theres the bottom end, taking a well deserved oil bath for a few days. Spins over like its brand new now. It will have a complete rebuild when its all said and done.


This is the whole assy that the guy gave me. I think that tranny and a Rotax snowmobile motor would make a sick go kart.


All thats left to be put back together. Mainly just the motor, and everything else just needs to be put back on. It coming along a lot faster than I figured!!


This seal is part of what killed the old motor. The camera makes it look better than it really is, in fact its a pretty big chunk missing from it.


This is the 2 case halves, the chewed up spots are where the balancer went. I think that it literally exploded, because theres a million metal shavings in all parts of the motor, and it also make a huge crack on the edge of the case on the right side.

More pics as things get done!!

-Nick

[Nick_R_23]

Well I got the motor out, taken apart, cleaned up, now all I need is the basics to put it together - bearings, seals, gaskets, that kinda thing.

Apparantly, one of the weak spots of the motor was the counter balancer. For whatever reason, the bearings, and either end of the balancer, would break, and create the mess shown in a previous pic. This one was still good, sort of. The bearings, although shot, were still intact, and are able to be replaced. Problem was that the shaft on the balancer that had the gear to drive the oil pump had broken off. And if any of you have tried to find an intact used balancer, they are next to impossible to find. You cant order the individual bearings for the balancer either. If you need anything, you have to buy the entire balancer assy new, which cost $414.99. Situation wasnt looking too good.

Since the shaft had snapped off flush with the rest of the balancer, and since the thing was broken anyway and we figured we couldnt make it any worse, we decided to have our neighbor machine a shaft into the balancer. This guy is good, he can create works of art from a lathe or milling machine. He decided to give it a go. Turned out to be the most beautiful job I have ever seen, it looks brand new. Best of all, it should outlast the rest of the motor.

One of the people at the Polaris shop knew where to get the bearings for the balancer individually, so we got them also.


Whole bare assy.


Check out that shiny new shaft on the end!!!

So....
Bearings---70$
Labor for the balancer---30$
Saving 300$ and knowing that my neighbor is a better machinist than the guys at Polaris Ind.---PRICELESS

-Nick

[RedRider_AK]

Wow, that makes Polaris OEM seem cheap! 419 for a new balancer is nothing, Factory Yamaha wanted 70 bucks for a new thumb throttle LEVER when I broke mine.

As for "putting a Rotax in there", agree it will kick balls as long as the clutches can keep themselves together... I say this because I've seen what happens to clutches when you overload them with power, I put a 14 hp Honda engine in my Manco go-kart, the clutches on it are rated for 6 hp. It ripped and shredded for about 30 minutes and then the secondary clutch exploded LOL.

[Nick_R_23]

We were finally able to get the last bearing on today and start putting it back together more. I got the whole bottom end and cylinder done before I thought to grab the camera.













I will be finishing the motor tomorrow (hopefully), then Ill look over the machine one last time to make sure theres nothing else Ive forgotten, then drop it in and shes good to go!!!

-Nick

[RedRider_AK]

Pimp! What's the plans for the Poonlaris now, is it gonna be left stock, or lifted and mudderized?

[junkrider]

I owned 1, it is called a 350L. Mine was a 2x4, it was damn quick for a huge utilty machine. The main problem with them is they will run forever with tons and tons of piston wear. This in turn finally causes the piston to break the skirt off then the skirt goes down and breaks the lower case when it gets sqeezed between the crank and the case. I would buy it in a heart beat, I took the racks off of mine trimmed the fenders and gave it a sportier look.

Don't let the Polaris haters scare you away from it. I'll race anyone anytime on my Polaris.

The same thing happened on a polaris sport 400 I'm rebuilding right now. Just curious, do they tend to run like crap just prior to the skirt ripping off? This one idled fine, but had no balls. Just put a bunch of cash into the swingarm, chain, sprockets and axels, so I'm destined to rebuild the motor, but I'd like to be sure that the skirt didn't break off from something else.

I did verify the CDI, timing, carb, mixture, plug, coil, wire, the reverse-safety circuit, etc before the skirt blew, but it ran like the timing was off or perhaps the reverse safety was stuck on. But, like I said, I checked all that and that was okay. I even ran compression check and compression was okay, which is why I didn't think the piston/jug were bad.

Thank you very much for any guidance on this!

-mike

[smokinwrench]

I traded for mine in the state it was. It ran good but always fouled plugs when at lower rpm's. I doen tons of plug chops and got it running perfectly jetting wise. But it never was perfect as far as how it ran. One day pop and I knew somethign bad happened. I rebuilt the topend without anythought then when I went to fire it up it wouldnt start and when it did it tried running away. That is when I seen the huge holes in the case. JB wled does wonders.

[Jolly Roger]

That thing looks wicked. Has to be the coolest Polaris ever, and I am not a Polaris fan (will never ride an automatic down a hill again). I just love it when a project comes togather. And yes JB weld does wonders

[Nick_R_23]

Damn, I seem to have forgotten about this thread!!

Pimp! What's the plans for the Poonlaris now, is it gonna be left stock, or lifted and mudderized?

Its gonna be left as it is for now, it really doesnt need any aftermarket. Id love to find a pipe for it and get it ported, but its just fine as it is. Its gonna be my trailer hauler, and since it has racks, itll be used for long trails and for camping and mountain riding, especially for Hatchers Pass.

The same thing happened on a polaris sport 400 I'm rebuilding right now. Just curious, do they tend to run like crap just prior to the skirt ripping off? This one idled fine, but had no balls. Just put a bunch of cash into the swingarm, chain, sprockets and axels, so I'm destined to rebuild the motor, but I'd like to be sure that the skirt didn't break off from something else.

Apparantly from what Ive heard from people here and from the shop, these motors are notorious for not showing any signs that the piston is gonna go out. They usually run just like they always do before the skirt breaks.

That thing looks wicked.

Thanks, I think that the rear tires make it pretty intimidating. Plus the true 4x4 makes it all worth it.

Well I guess its about time for an update.....its all together and running now.. but theres still a few tweaks to work out. First, the bolt that holds the drive clutch on keeps coming loose. Second, the shift linkage needs adjusting.. its sometimes hard to shift, and occasinally it will pop out of gear. Finally, the water pump leaks out the case. Kinda pisses me off because its all brand new seals, and ones bad already. Oh well, I guess that comes with owning any machine. Im gonna try and redo it tomorrow, I need to borrow a special socket from the shop though.

-Nick

[puftpolaris]

hey, I own that exact machine its a Trail boss 350l. that thing will run like a beast if you get it back together. One thing is if you do put the lower back together just the seal kit 4 the left side is $100, $250 for the entire motor: seals, bearings. With a big bore kit w/ wiseco piston and reeds alone... it ran oft from my friends 06 rincon Fi on 27" mudlite xtr. Mine is a 375 now, v-force reeds, bigger jet, lower gears from a 250, with a Monster coil and 400 fmf exhaust bout to be ordered.