anyone who owns, or has owned, a 580 efi, and has had motors blown or other problems, please respond to this. on the sleds that blew up, were they stock, stock chip, stock pipe, what grade fuel were you running, do you have a eghaust or temp guage? i just want to get the info on the sleds, because 580 blow up's are a big topic here.

Even though i dont own one. *I will tell you about my experence with the 580. *

It was a 97 580 EFI. *It blew up in 2000. *It was mid season and i was driving it when all of a sudden it just stoped. *The track even locked for a few seconds. *I knew it was bad. *I couldnt even pull it over. *I felt so bad that i paid my friend half for the motor. *It has never been abused. Only drove it like i would anyother sled. *We are all driving doo's with no problems. *

I have to say onething about the 580 though. *It started and ran really good. *The Efi really worked. *But it had arctic cats reverse. *That broke about 3 times in the one season and the electric start broke in it also about once a year. *

Definetly not the sled i would look to buy.

Had a 96 Pantera 580 EFI for 4 yrs, put on 1800 miles, only trouble was 1st season it did not start (once), dealer found a pint of gas in the exhaust pipe. *Dealer thought 1 of the injectors may have stuck open and allowed gas through???
After that it ran fine til I sold it(oh yeah, reverse chain hd to be tightened once also,never happened again)

Now I own a 00 Pantera 580, got about 1500 miles on it,no problems w/engine, rebuilt starter once!
Also own 00 ZL 580 EFI esr, got 1300 miles on it,no egine problems but lousy starter bolts keep snapping off and rebuilt starter twice

I own a pantera 2001 and i hope to God this doesn't happen!

I ran a 95 580EFI Pantera for the last 3yrs. *I put over 3000miles on it last season alone. *Never had any engine problems.

Once, wouldn't start, turned out to be a dead cell in the battery. *

Rebuilt the starter 2 times, and it still never lasted a season. *In my opinion, Cat does not know how to build a reliable starter. *I just pulled it, for the last year, and it always started on the 2nd or 3rd pull.

The only real issue with this engine, was that it was a fuel pig. *Thats half the reason I switched to a 700 tripple Doo.

FishHog

I agree my pantera is a gas pig..Also i checked plugs and its always fouled,seems to be running rich or i have serious issues, but it only has 100 miles on it.

Should i be worried that the plugs are black and wet *or will this subside after puting more miles on it?

What about a 580 non efi?I have a 94 with 3400 miles.The original owner said he never had a problem.Have these problems pertty much all been linked to the Efi models?(rods,etc.) ???

Grant I would guess so. *I think its only EFI and only 97 with the problems.

What do you guy's consider a fuel pig? *My 00 Pantera and 00 ZL both get 10- 12 mpg. Have a buddy with a 99 Polaris 700 XCR that gets 4-5 mpg, now that I consider to be a gas hog!

My 97 EXT 580 blew up real good see past postings. *Rings and conncting rod problems very common. *AC knows it but don't do much. *Too bad it was a lot of fun.

What do you guy's consider a fuel pig? *My 00 Pantera and 00 ZL both get 10- 12 mpg. Have a buddy with a 99 Polaris 700 XCR that gets 4-5 mpg, now that I consider to be a gas hog![/b]
I think I get 8-9mpg on my 95 zr 580 efi. *Consumes oil to. *I think they set these to run rich. *I started running br9eya plugs vs the br9es and i haven't fouled a plug in 700 miles.

i have a 96 ZR 580 EFI and i ride with a 99 ZL 600 EFI 2000 ZR 600 EFI 2001 ZR 600 EFI and a 98 ZL 500 carb and the 580 never uses anymore gas than those machines i'm guessing that i always get right around 10 or 11 no matter what

I have a '95 580EFI with about 2000 mi. on it. *Up to this point, the motor has never given me any serious problems. *The only thing I've experienced is an electical problem that would put it into "limp mode". *I think it was a sensor. Dealer fixed it, but I can't remember what the exact cause was. *Hasn't happened again. *10 mpg (not great, but could be worse). *Always starts 1st or 2nd pull, and always runs spot-on. *I know many guys who've had '95's and '97's with no problems at all. *The one thing I've heard with the 580 though is to plan on new pistons @ rings at about 3000 mi (before it burns down or blows up).

How true mine blew @ 3100 miles! *Wish I would've known

Mine had over 6000 miles on it, and I never had any engine problems. *Like I said, gas pig 8mpg, compared to my buddies who were all getting 12-15, for the same type of ridding.

FishHog

Had a 97 pantera 580 efi lost one cylinder in Maine Feb 00
4300 miles ring locater pin wore out and let rings turn and snaged exhaust port ruined cylinder Jan 01 lost the other one at about 4700 miles same problem called Arctic Cat tech they suggested new pistons about every 3000 miles but I never seen that in writing All I know now is I would do both at one time or at least tear down and freshen up if I had trouble with a cylinder
Have A 00 Triple Touring now with about 3100 miles not touching it got 125 lbs compression all 3 cold eng. and hope for the best
Any one need 2 scored 580 cylinders

Just blew a piston and scored the cylander in my 97 ZR580 EFI on Saturday the dealer thinks the cause was a broken ring but will be able to tell more when he runs it on the computer.

http://www.snowmobileworld.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif Me and my father both own 95 ext 580 efi's. Mine blew up with 3600 miles on it. Locator pin disappeared and the ring popped out, caught the exhaust port and chewed up the cylinder. Over $1000 repair. Dads blew up at the beginning of January of this year with 3400 miles on it. Both piston skirts cracked on the intake side. One skirt dropped into the crankcase but did no serious damage. Both machines are stock and well cared for. Other problems include batteries on both(vibrating out of the tray and pulling cables out), Sensors on dads(not sure which ones), and i blew2 the clutch out of mine.

MY 96 580 efi cat has almost 4200 miles and has never had a problem. I hope to repiston it this summer to avoid the dreaded piston skirt breakage that is so common on these sleds. I would highly reccomend this sled though and I would take it over the carbed version any day. Its much crisper on the bottom and midrange and always runs spot-on. I was riding yesterday with a bunch of carbed sleds and it was a warm and foggy day. Mine ran great and their's were all farting and snarking and running boggy - I hosed a 600 powder extreme and a 700 RMK on the hillclimbs too! Gotta like it!

own a 97'pantera efi pre-owned by a 60 yr old. 3100miles. Blew up after 5 days. Replaced both pistons and the jug. Starter also broke. Live north of 60 always starts on 2nd or 3rd pull in -30to-40temps. Mechanic said that the coolant seal was installed backwards and it wasn't getting enough coolant, he also said that it had been apart before, which makes me suspicious.

My dad has a 94 EXT EFI with 13000-14000 miles on it. *That is not a misprint. *He has never had any engine trouble. *Has always done general maintenance to it. *He just got back from a 5 day ride where they added on another 800+ miles. *No troubles.

my zr made it to 3095 then completely died. *i though i should rebuild but every body said its running fine, *leave it alone, *i should have rebuilt., *but thats just my expierience. *have a good one

94 EXT EFI, scattered piston and demolished jug, bent con rod...threw a 97 EXT EFI motor in end of last season. *Have been riding it very hard, still together. *Fingers crossed, plan on new pistons, etc. this summer.
Just bought new 02 ZR600, hopefully no new disasters for a while! *http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

I had a 94 ext efi, Only ran good the day I sold it.

If it snowed I was working on it, or taking to the dealer.

I should have kept it and swapped to carb stuff instead of spending the money on all the efi repairs. Hindsight is 20/20.

I have a 1997 EXT EFI 580, the clutch blew up 2 years ago, there was a recall on the primary, bushings on the weights not there! *Cracked then boom! *The darn thing now has an electronic problem can't figure it out! *has not ran for 2 years. It only has 420 miles on it! *The 580 pins that hold the rings from turning on the pistons are known to come out around 3000-5000 miles. *You should check these for sure!

I just turned 4500 miles and I just love the EFI 580 motor. SO much crisper than the carbed 580. Always runs good, hot or cold. Starts easy and has not cost me a cent to maintain so far.( other than the clutch.)

the cause of the first piston pop was a faulty timing sensor.at 3800 miles
cost 1200 to repair and I thought everything was ok but after only 400 miles it went again this time it was the ring pin Arctic Cat is replacing the piston and a brand new cylendar, no charge this time thak god. just a big hassle.

I had a 97 Zr 580, bought it after a rebuild w/ 4800 miles on it. 1 year later it blew again, COST: 1400.00. Couldn`t go through that again so I sold it. Loved the sled, very sharp looking and had alot of power.

I blew the engine on my 96' efi zr580 twice. The first time it happened i got it fixed and then the second time it happened when i was drag racing in a field. I had gotten it fixed and after i broke it it i decided to really give it some throttle. I raced a kid on a Polaris XLT 600. we did one drag and i roasted him. (Our sleds were both stock). The second time i was beating him even more, I was pushing 100. Then all the sudden she cut out and died. It's been in the shop ever scince. It was last year. Should be up and running again this year though.

My buddy has a `97 zr 580 efi and has blown up three times in 3500miles.Last time there was no save anything as it completly let go .The rods were out of the side and bent the crank in half.This sled had two stators put in it,one clutch.all covered.The she burt down (after market chip),then the rod broke for the second time(35mphwhen it happened) and the last time and final time complete trash.I`m a cat man saying this.Sell it!!!The triple ports in this area were bad news,while the early 580 e.fi. were excellant for service.

My buddy has a `97 zr 580 efi and has blown up three times in 3500miles.Last time there was no save anything as it completly let go .The rods were out of the side and bent the crank in half.This sled had two stators put in it,one clutch.all covered.The she burt down (after market chip),then the rod broke for the second time(35mphwhen it happened) and the last time and final time complete trash.I`m a cat man saying this.Sell it!!!The triple ports in this area were bad news,while the early 580 e.fi. were excellant for service.


Just wondering why the triple ports are bad news?

I have a 97 ZR580 EFI... 4100 miles on it, no problems with pistons... mines with coolant hoses rubbing!! Sort of a pipe in the butt!

Had a 94 ZR pop a piston twice, but both times it was racing... leaned it out just a bit too much! :doh:

Do not own a 580 myself, but know of at least 2 that blew up last year. both had about 3000 miles. that seems to be the magic number. They think the rings turned. Recommendation around here seem to be to overhaul the motor at 3000, with new pistons and rings.

Me, I am riding a 98 Pantera 800 triple, which I just bought last year. Getting about 8-9 miles per gal. wondering if a temp-a-flow would help improve mileage??

We have a 94 ext 580 efi that now shows over 8000 miles on it and never blown or
open the engine. :D

Does anyone know of a '97 580 motor for sale?

To make a long story short, some jerk in the Cambridge area sold a friend of mine a '97 ZR that was improperly re-built. The motor lasted 1 week-end, siezed, and is now junk.