Hey everyone. havn't been on for a while. I've had numerous problems with my 99 mach Z since i got it from the carbs to the stator. My luck with this machine is making it very hard to have a lot of Ski Doo/Mach Z pride. Anyway, last year was full of fouling plugs and just not performing well. I went out today for the first time to ride. I didn't go much more than .4 miles until i hit a 3-4ft deep whole/rut in the ground that was impossible to see until you were on top of it. I knicked a tree a couple years ago due to the throttle getting stuck all the way open and i think i weakened the right front suspension. So when i hit this rut today all the weight of the sled goes on the right side and tears off the whole ski. all the arms and shock were just destroyed. the ski is bent beyond repair and i had to drag it back to the trailer and hit the bar for 3 hours while my buddies went riding. This is going to be very costly because aside from that damage there is also damage to the floor board and god knows what else. I don't have the money to fix it either. I think i'm going to have to pack it in for this year, fix it over the off season and get rid of it before next year. So .4 miles this year on my sled, anyone had a bad day or a couple fouled plugs (which i foulded 2 of 3 during the .4 miles) read this and feel a lot better. Had to tell the story. Sometimes you have to consider you or a sled cursed and move on i guess. oh yeah this is how i'm feelin about it :bash: :bash: :cussing: :cussing: :( :( :crazy: :dazed:

and I thought I had a rough day

Hope you get it fixed up this winter and get a chance to enjoy it

Dont feel too bad, i'm in the same boat ( or one next to yours). I was over at my friends house the other day, just playing around in the fields. This is the first ride after putting about $600 or $700 into the sled....(suspension, skis, etc...) 32 miles of playing and the thing bogs down so bad i shut it off. Try to pull it over...no good, siezed. I get it home and tear it apart, turns out a crank bearing let loose, and half of the little balls got ground up, leaving metal shavings all throughout the engine. The ball retainer in the bearing broke loose, and made its way up into the combustion chamber, destroying the piston and cylinder head. Replace the pistons, crank bearing, seals, wrist pin bearings....(not done yet, maybe tomorrow). This is the third year it has seized, and i've only had it for 3 years!!!! One was a crank bearing, (clutch side) [This time it was mag. side] , and the second time was a loose fan belt, got water on it, overheating the one cylinder.
This is after I blew up my neighbors $600 chain saw, due to idiocy (dont even ask). Then today I left my truck idleing in the driveway ( -3 degrees F) and the radiator was frozen, so it overheated for like 10 min. :cussing: .....NOT a great week.
It got better though, my dad helped me thaw out the radiator and made sure there was no other damage, and helped me assemble the crank and lower part of my engine today....made my day MUCH better....THANKS DAD!

Don't worry man, we've all been there, (well, some of us have at least) Just guts it, pay the money, and get back to riding when you can...I wish you the best!

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: whanker......... :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Man, when I have another bad day, I'll have to come back and read this thread. Hope lady luck puts her hands on you guys pretty soon. I'm still waiting for her to come my way too after this year!!

I'll give you something to laugh at in the meantime. Last week I left the local Kinko's, got in my car and put the keys in the ignition. It was a frigid day so I turned the keys to start the car so the heater would run and radio would play while I plan the rest of my day before leaving the parking lot. After about 3 or 5 minutes, I noticed the CHECK ENGINE light is on. I figure the computer's telling me it's time to change the oil, which I just did myself the week before. So I reach to the glove compartment for the owner's manual for instructions to reset the light. As I'm reaching for the manual, I notice the heater is still putting out really cold air. After looking in the manual, I realize my car has a seperate light for the dummy oil change reminder, so the CHK ENG light is for something else. So now I'm starting to get p.o.'d because something must really be wrong for the light to come on and my heater is not working. Now I'll have to cancel my appointments for the rest of the day and spend the rest of the day at the dealer probably. As I start dialing on my phone, I noticed my tach was dead too. I reach for the keys to turn the car off and.............. I NEVER EVEN HAD THE CAR RUNNING!!!!! :cussing: :hallo1: :lol: In my haste to get in the car out of the cold, I only turned the key to the ACC position. I just put myself in solid contention for the Darwin of the Year Award!!!!!

Bummer.

I had a similar story many moons ago. I ended up getting a cash advance so i could buy a "good condition" used sled and not miss the season. That was my '87 Exciter and I still have her to this day - turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Rates are low right now so maybe you could do the same with a home equity line of credit if you own a home?

NEVER GIVE UP!

G MAN

Jim, that's a good one! :lmao:

a bad day sure makes you appreciate the good days.

Sorry for the misfortune, guess we've all been there at different times. Jim, that was a good one!

that sucks...Whanker I think after 3 times you might wanna sell that phazer. :bash: ...Jim there is only one word for that BRAVO! :lmao:

Well, yesterday I put on a new secondary clutch, bearings, spacers, bla bla bla. I had to move the carb so that I could hammer out the bearing as it was seized on. So, naturally it was -33 and when I moved my carb the fuel line broke in half. Not a big deal. 5 bucks and I've got enough fuel line to repair 20 sleds. So I figured I'd wait till today to do the fuel lines. left carb off and put a rag inside the carb and intake to keep any snow out.
Go outside thismorning and we got 1-1/2 feet of fresh snow! Wahoooo! right? Not really, snowplow went by a buried my sled! Started digging it out and noticed that the weight of the snow broke my windshield! Arrrgggg!!! finally dug it out and opened the hood, and low and behold.......rag was pushed inside my intake manifold from the wieght of the snow making it's way in through my vent holes in the hood! Now I've probably got enough snow in the intake to total about 1/4 cup of water when it melts! Now I have to trailer the sled to a shop. Let it dry out, take it apart, and make sure all is dry before I start pulling it over.
But......I'm optimistic, so I'm going to take the situation and make the best of it. Check the condition of my pistons and rings, clean the carb, rebuild the fuel pump, and do a few other minor things while it's good and warm and dry!

My suggestion to those of you having serious problems........go buy an old machine, when your good one breaks down, you've always got the old one to fall back on. And as long as it's not being used as a regular rider, you'll never miss a ride with your buddies due to a mishap. Nowadays, you can pick up a decent old machine for about $500 bucks! And.........if the old one breaks down, 9 times out of 10, you can gerry rig it to get you home, or at least to the nearest road to put it on a trailer.

Thanks for the words of wisdom guys. We've all had bad days riding but this was just disheartening. i could fix it but that means borrowing money i really don't want to have on my shoulders. My tax return is coming in feb. or mar. but that's going towards new tires for my trans am. Terrible year for me, hopefully i took the bad luck from everyone. good luck to you guys/girls.

Keep your eyes open for used parts, collect them as you find them so it's not such a big hit in the wallet. There's a ton of CK3's around.. There's a lotta deals out there, who knows, you might be back on the trail before you know it....

Well here is a bad day. Last year a friend of mine borrowed my sled so he could go riding the whole weekend with his brother, his brother's friend and girlfriend, who are all up from NYC. They set out Saturday morning with 3 sleds, mine, a 2001 600 Yamaha Venture, and a 1989 Artic Cat 530 El Tigre. Well the girlfriend is all excited because this is her first time out snowmobiling and she wants to drive. :crazy: :crazy: So she rides the Venture with her boyfriend on back. Off they all go, they get about 2 miles, she is the middle sled, she misses a turn and hits a tree with the right ski. She breaks her lower leg with the bone sticking out thru her skin and the ski and trailing arm are basically folded back up under the sled. :( One of the guys goes back and gets his SUV and drives it down the trail to rescue her and get her to the hospital. She was O.K. but will probably never ride again, or walk the same. Costs my buddy about $2,000 to fix his Venture and the whole weekend is shot after about five minutes of riding. :bash: At least she was not riding my sled :D :D. Guess everyone learned some lesson about letting a newbie ride a 600 liquid. !!! !!!

Oh man! Sorry to hear that. It sure puts a guy's problems into perspective. I am in the middle of a "Money Pit" like scenario with my sled. $1400.00 and rising by the day. This was only supposed to be a "tune-up and some slides". I sure hope when I get her back I am fortunate enough to get a little more than .4 miles on. Best of luck, and don't give up. :bash:

Hey everyone. just got back in from trying to start my Trans Am cause it's pretty warm out. Taking the battery out i accidentally hit the AC canister near the battery and started two mini fires. I put them out with a extinguisher. It was mostly plastic and nothing major. I need a new battery, terminals and wires, and a plastic cap for my AC. :bash: :cussing: . My luck is getting rediculous. I think i'm just gonna stay away from everything i own for a while

The worst thing about whanker was that i had to tow a very angry whanker home all three of those times. Haha! Just buy a ski doo, j/k buddy the phazer will never die!

Originally posted by DOO THE DOO@Dec 21 2004, 10:18 AM
that sucks...Whanker I think after 3 times you might wanna sell that phazer. :bash:
378126


i think after 3 rebuilds in 3 years its time to burn that thing to the ground..... :bash:

i've had my bad days aswell, one of them when my throttle cable broke killing the sled in -20 degree weather 2 km's away from home, in a deserted field in about 3 feet of fresh powder. the sled sat in that field for a week......... :blush: :blahblah: