42 AMERICAN SNOWMOBILER • http://www.AmSnow.com■ TECH NOTES STEVE MARTIN
A FEW SIMPLE STEPS TO GET YOUR SLED READY FOR ANOTHER SEASON
Bringing your sled out of hibernation
I’ve put together a short plan of attack
of what to check and what needs to be
addressed to make sure your riding sea-
son is as trouble free as possible.■ (^) Start with a bath
The first thing I do when I rip the cover
off, is give it a bath ( 1 ). Even if it has
been put to bed clean, it has collected a
lot of dust over the summer. I use an
electric pressure washer, automotive
soap, a micro fiber wash mitt, and an
SOS pad for the raw aluminum parts. I
pull all the plastic parts off the sled ( 2 ),
side panels, hood, seat, and clean every
surface of the parts. A degreaser of some
kind may be necessary for the inside of
the panels. I then pull the pipe and
silencer off, I plug the Y pipe with a cap
from an aerosol can, and I put the
exposed wiring harness for the gauges,
headlight etc. into a zip lock bag and zip-
tie it shut ( 3 ). You’ll be amazed at how
much of the forest made it
home with you from the
previous season. I scrub
every surface until it shines
like new. This is a good
opportunity to discover any
damaged parts, anything
that has come loose, or any
leaks that may have devel-
oped. I always find some-
thing that needs attention.
I start to make a list of
parts I will need to replace.
The clutches are one of
the most important com-
ponents on a snowmobile,
and they have the biggest effect on per-
formance if they aren’t functioning
properly ( 4 ). I remove both clutches,
which on a Ski-Doo is a little more
complicated due to the jack shaft
being part of the entire assembly
( 5 ), but it’s not bad after the first
time. With a little YouTube help,
the correct tools and some effort,
servicing the clutches is an achiev-
able task, even for a novice mechanic.
Lay out a clean towel or some shop
rags and disassemble the clutches on the
bench. I clean my clutches
in the shop sink with simple
green and a soft bristle
brush. I make sure all the
rollers in the primary move
freely without too much
play, and I make sure the
weights are moving freely.
Expect them to be really
dirty if you put on a lot of
miles the previous winter. If
the sled has over a thousand
miles since the last service, I
replace both primary and
secondary springs. As they
wear, the spring rate will
change with use and heat, so it is good
to swap springs before the season. The
correct spring tool is required to remove
1
3
2
It’s been a long summer, and we’re all counting down the
days until the snow is rolling over the windshield, or the trails
are freshly groomed, ready to be attacked. Your poor snowmobile
has been in summer storage for months, sitting in the corner of
your garage begging for fresh 91 octane.
ON THE WEB // More how-to tips
at http://www.AmSnow.com/tech
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To ol - 16mm Socket
and wrench for
axle - 13mm wrench
for track ten-
sioning bolt - 10mm wrench
for jam nut