In my small area there have been hundreds of 500 edge tourings (air cooled) with engines destroyed from overheating. Polaris recognizes this problem but refuses to do a recall. They admit that there is an engineering flaw which allows the fan to draw hot air from the muffler/exhaust area unto the right side piston causing overheating and loss of the engine. They will even pay for the labour to repair your engine but you have to buy all the parts from them ($600 plus). They now even try to sell you a $400 kit to insulate the muffler/exhaust and so keep the heat away.
I have one of these machines and I think the people at Polaris are very stupid if they thing that myself and the other thousands off people who own and know about this problem and the companys response would ever consider buying another Polaris machine again.
I would welcome any and all response to this post.

EDIT: Sorry I meant to say 550 not 500.

Thank You
Wally Lockyer

In my small area there have been hundreds of 500 edge tourings (air cooled) with engines destroyed from overheating. Polaris recognizes this problem but refuses to do a recall. They admit that there is an engineering flaw which allows the fan to draw hot air from the muffler/exhaust area unto the right side piston causing overheating and loss of the engine. They will even pay for the labour to repair your engine but you have to buy all the parts from them ($600 plus). They now even try to sell you a $400 kit to insulate the muffler/exhaust and so keep the heat away.
I have one of these machines and I think the people at Polaris are very stupid if they thing that myself and the other thousands off people who own and know about this problem and the companys response would ever consider buying another Polaris machine again.
I would welcome any and all response to this post.

Thank You
Wally Lockyer[/b]

If its an "engineering flaw" and if this problem happened to the hundreds that your talking about and polaris happened to do a recall, you'd practically never get your engine back, because from what it sounds like, its a bad design in the motor, however i do think it is stupid that the don't just give you the exhaust insulation for no charge.

Sell the sled and get a liquid cooled one, you cant go wrong with that

I didn't know Polaris was still making a "500" air cooled.

Assume you mean a "550"

What years are effected. We are riding a 2000 Sport with 6000 miles on it.

Since Edge came after the 488s, sometimes called 500s, were dropped, I can only assume you mean the 550 engine. It is well known and documented that those engines tend to have problems. You might get 500 or you might get 5000 or even double those miles before they poop, but often they do. It is not an engine that can be counted on like it predecessor fan cousins. It is not an engine that has arrived in its final form - except perhaps in the last couple of years. Time will tell.

There are so many variations of the engine over the years they have built it. One can see it two ways; either you can appreciate the fact that Polaris has continued to refine what is a fan with nice power (for a fan) to try to make it a worthy engine, or you can wonder (as I do) why they took what seemed like some good steps in creating an improved engine, and then let the market do the test running for them. Personally, I prefer not to be test running a machine when I am alone in some remote part of Alaska, far from the nearest traveled trail or settlement. I could resurrect an old Mercury, Chapparal, or Evinrude snowmobile if that was what I wanted to do.

I have a 550 Edge Super Sport myself. It has about 7000 miles on it and has only been rebuilt 3 times. When I go out today, it will probably be on my old 488 trail. 21 some thousand miles and the untouched cylinders and new rings (w/ 8000 miles on them) still give me 100 psi or better. At least if she lets go, she'll do it with credit to spare. Not surprisingly, Polaris does not acknowledge that engine for its reliability.


I would add that, while the problem is obvious: the engines fail, the cause(s) is/are not so obvious. I think we would have seen them fixed almost right away if the cause had been easy to diagnose and correct. (That would be another good argument for doing the testing in-house; it's really hard to know exactly what happened when customers bring the product in after a failure.) And overheating itself is not often a cause, but rather, a sympton of another problem. I do think there is too much heat due to the size of the cylinders and not enough of a margin to safely get rid of that which is why the engines fail in some circumstances. I think that is why the last two years have the engine being built with the more efficiently cooling plated Nicasil cylinders instead of the long lasting, but less effective in cooling, iron sleeved cylinders. It's and undesirable, if neccessary, move, but it may work to solve the sometimes0heat problem.

[quote]
In my small area there have been hundreds of 500 edge tourings (air cooled) with engines destroyed from overheating. Polaris recognizes this problem but refuses to do a recall. They admit that there is an engineering flaw which allows the fan to draw hot air from the muffler/exhaust area unto the right side piston causing overheating and loss of the engine. They will even pay for the labour to repair your engine but you have to buy all the parts from them ($600 plus). They now even try to sell you a $400 kit to insulate the muffler/exhaust and so keep the heat away.
I have one of these machines and I think the people at Polaris are very stupid if they thing that myself and the other thousands off people who own and know about this problem and the companys response would ever consider buying another Polaris machine again.
I would welcome any and all response to this post.

EDIT: Sorry I meant to say 550 not 500.

Thank You

Since Edge came after the 488s, sometimes called 500s, were dropped, I can only assume you mean the 550 engine. It is well known and documented that those engines tend to have problems. You might get 500 or you might get 5000 or even double those miles before they poop, but often they do. It is not an engine that can be counted on like it predecessor fan cousins. It is not an engine that has arrived in its final form - except perhaps in the last couple of years. Time will tell.

There are so many variations of the engine over the years they have built it. One can see it two ways; either you can appreciate the fact that Polaris has continued to refine what is a fan with nice power (for a fan) to try to make it a worthy engine, or you can wonder (as I do) why they took what seemed like some good steps in creating an improved engine, and then let the market do the test running for them. Personally, I prefer not to be test running a machine when I am alone in some remote part of Alaska, far from the nearest traveled trail or settlement. I could resurrect an old Mercury, Chapparal, or Evinrude snowmobile if that was what I wanted to do.

I have a 550 Edge Super Sport myself. It has about 7000 miles on it and has only been rebuilt 3 times. When I go out today, it will probably be on my old 488 trail. 21 some thousand miles and the untouched cylinders and new rings (w/ 8000 miles on them) still give me 100 psi or better. At least if she lets go, she'll do it with credit to spare. Not surprisingly, Polaris does not acknowledge that engine for its reliability.
I would add that, while the problem is obvious: the engines fail, the cause(s) is/are not so obvious. I think we would have seen them fixed almost right away if the cause had been easy to diagnose and correct. (That would be another good argument for doing the testing in-house; it's really hard to know exactly what happened when customers bring the product in after a failure.) And overheating itself is not often a cause, but rather, a sympton of another problem. I do think there is too much heat due to the size of the cylinders and not enough of a margin to safely get rid of that which is why the engines fail in some circumstances. I think that is why the last two years have the engine being built with the more efficiently cooling plated Nicasil cylinders instead of the long lasting, but less effective in cooling, iron sleeved cylinders. It's and undesirable, if neccessary, move, but it may work to solve the sometimes0heat problem.[/b]


I have a 2005 550 Fan and blew its first engine at 400 miles due to a ring catching in the mag side cylinder. Now at 1500 miles it blew again. This time they say I did not service my machine at the start of the year and the jets are dirty. Pretty coincidental that the same side blew again. With so many people reporting these problems it is very disapointing that there seems to be no help from Polaris.

Actually, Polaris fixed an awful lot of the early ones - so many, both parts and labor- that I would imagine it was costing them a pretty sum. That may be why we don't see it happening anymore. At the time, reporting the problems from Alaska, the news was received with some disbelief by many folks farther south who were not having the same issues - yet. Now that it is no longer an unknown thing and the company has taken corrective actions to improve the later models, they seem reluctant to help folks who own the older versions. It's unfortunate. At first I assumed that people were driving them hard in some way - until many friends, whose riding habits I know, started having issues.

I take a two pronged approach to the problem. First, I am hopeful that Polaris will bring back a mid-sized, reliable fan engine. Secondly, I have begun riding AC until Polaris gets things figured out. (At least they have been willing to build their 440 fans some years since Polaris quit.) Well, that and I'm going to keep the old 488 running as long as I can.

Oh dear.

We have not 1 - but 2 550 tourings

came across this forum and this thread searching to see what others had to say about our recent engine trouble

this is what has happened to one of our sleds this year - we sound lucky - or rather, it's probably UNLUCKY to have got 2000 miles out of it so far....just would have been nice to have this trouble last season when the warranty was still valid *sigh*

any advice for how to deal with Polaris?

obviously this is an issue

dealer suggested the upgraded fan kit - $200 plus install x 2 sleds - I'M NOT IMPRESSED

this is AFTER the $1500 ish to rebuild the one that blew

I hate hearing all these stories about the 550's since I bought the wife an '08 Supersport this winter. She's only put 600 miles on it so far, but she loves it. I took it for a little spin one night and found I like it too! What a nimble little sled! Guess all I can do is hope for the best. Luckily we have a really good dealer who has looked after us well, and that was big part of the decision to go with the Supersport.

Yes, I hate hearing these stories as well as I bought two used 2007 polaris snowmobiles with these 550 engines. I'm hoping the Nicasil cylinders will do the trick. I really like the RMK trail and my wife loves her Edge LX. We sometimes ride in some remote areas and I would hate to get stranded. I just keep my fingers crossed.

I'm curious what year models you have in those machines?

dealer suggested the upgraded fan kit - $200 plus[/b]

Do you know what you're getting for a $200 "upgrade"? (Seems to me that any necessary "upgrade" should be covered under recall or other warranty to "make right" a manufacturing defect.

I'm curious what year models you have in those machines?
Do you know what you're getting for a $200 "upgrade"? (Seems to me that any necessary "upgrade" should be covered under recall or other warranty to "make right" a manufacturing defect.[/b]


we have the 2005 year models

Apparently the fan kit helps draw heat out of the engine better than the original fan? It's so hard to tell.

here's what the dealer said after talking to Polaris:

It has to do wiht tight tolerances and heat buildup. To help get rid of under hood heat, there's a fan heat update kit that retails for $194.99. There was also talk about an new oil pump gasket to help keep the oil pump cooler. This ultimately was the demise of these engines.
Riding them harder (faster) is better for them. The fan spins faster thus cooling the engines better and under hood air is forced out better. Maybe that's where this kit helps out too. I haven't seen one so I don't know what's in it although I'm told there's ducting, etc included.


So basically - rebuild the engine that seized, do the fan upgrade, possibly oil pump.....wtf? They can't build an engine properly so I have to buy all these upgrade kits and rebuild stuff?

I'm so frustrated. Not sure what to do.


edited to add: Polaris rep said they are "not offering any goodwill" on this situation because not ALL the engines failed and when they did, it was usually within the first year.

we have the 2005 year models
...................
edited to add: Polaris rep said they are "not offering any goodwill" on this situation because not ALL the engines failed and when they did, it was usually within the first year.[/b]


Thanks. So your's still have the iron sleeved cylinders (which lasted so long in older, smaller engines and could be rebored...)


"Not offering any goodwill," and sure not getting much as a result either. My old Trail RMK has been overdue for replacement for several thousand miles. (It's nearly 11 years old and will likely have close to 23,000 miles by the time it reaches that mark, assuming it hasn't failed.) Guess where we've sent the $$$ for the last two new machines? Uh-huh, Thief River Falls: Arctic Cat. I like Polaris and would prefer to be buying their line of stuff. In the hard snow north where I live, I am not wild about limited use LC machines. I am not willing to spend good coin on the 550s which all seem to fail and the 340s have really been gutted so...we wait and rebuild old stuff.

we have the 2005 year models

Apparently the fan kit helps draw heat out of the engine better than the original fan? It's so hard to tell.

here's what the dealer said after talking to Polaris:

It has to do wiht tight tolerances and heat buildup. To help get rid of under hood heat, there's a fan heat update kit that retails for $194.99. There was also talk about an new oil pump gasket to help keep the oil pump cooler. This ultimately was the demise of these engines.
Riding them harder (faster) is better for them. The fan spins faster thus cooling the engines better and under hood air is forced out better. Maybe that's where this kit helps out too. I haven't seen one so I don't know what's in it although I'm told there's ducting, etc included.
So basically - rebuild the engine that seized, do the fan upgrade, possibly oil pump.....wtf? They can't build an engine properly so I have to buy all these upgrade kits and rebuild stuff?

I'm so frustrated. Not sure what to do.
edited to add: Polaris rep said they are "not offering any goodwill" on this situation because not ALL the engines failed and when they did, it was usually within the first year.[/b]do anyone have the part number for the fan upgrade kit or polaris teck number.whats in the kit! the fuel relocation kit and pump parts number is 2203590.its absolutely wrong for polaris to get away with its obligation to repair their snowmobiles.better yet to still continue putting out problematic 550 engines.get the thing wright before it gets to the customer and not the customer fixing polaris's mistakes.

One thing you wrote stuck in my head and deserves another comment:

we have the 2005 year models

There was also talk about an new oil pump gasket to help keep the oil pump cooler. This ultimately was the demise of these engines.[/b]


Huh? What oil pump gasket? There is none. All they use at the oil pump juncture is an O-ring to seal the union. That kind of makes me wonder who's selling what?

The lower case on the engine, the crankcase, is not a high heat area normally. While I have seen the 550s get rather hot in that section when they have been failing or on the verge of failing, I think that heat is a sympton of a problem elsewhere rather than a specific cause. And I don't think the case has overheated every one of the three times I've had engine failure.

Thanks for all the responses so far. We are still waiting to hear back from the dealership - hubby is going direct to the sales rep we deal with (2 machines, 1 trailer, all service) - we're hoping they will help us deal with Polaris.....

Not sure what the deal is with the guy talking about the oil pump gasket - this was the dude from Polaris apparently. The service guy at the dealership said in his email that the Polaris guy used to race these machines so he believes he knows what he's talking about.

I just can't get over the fact that they screw up on the design of these engines and now WE the customer are left holding the bag. I have never experienced anything like this before! If the product is inherently defective by design, I shouldn't have to fix it! (or in my case, PAY someone to fix it).

I'm going to do some research on the Sale of Goods Act see what I can come up with.

Never p!ss off a woman with access to the Internet ! :)

do anyone have the part number for the fan upgrade kit or polaris teck number.whats in the kit! the fuel relocation kit and pump parts number is 2203590.its absolutely wrong for polaris to get away with its obligation to repair their snowmobiles.better yet to still continue putting out problematic 550 engines.get the thing wright before it gets to the customer and not the customer fixing polaris's mistakes.[/b]

I don't have the part number for you unfortunately - we're not going to do the fan upgrade right now.

I couldn't agree more that Polaris should deal with their problems and not put the onus on the customer.

I'm really sorry I didn't hear about the 550 engine problem sooner - and if I had heard about all the issues customers were having getting Polaris to deal with it - I would never have bought a Polaris machine.

The next sleds won't be Polaris, I guarantee you that!

I don't have the part number for you unfortunately - we're not going to do the fan upgrade right now.

I couldn't agree more that Polaris should deal with their problems and not put the onus on the customer.

I'm really sorry I didn't hear about the 550 engine problem sooner - and if I had heard about all the issues customers were having getting Polaris to deal with it - I would never have bought a Polaris machine.

The next sleds won't be Polaris, I guarantee you that![/b]IS IT POSSIBLE for you to ask your dealer for the number for the fan upgrade because my dealer has no knowledge of it,too make it simple just call him or give me the number please.the number for the relocation kit and other parts came from a dealer in gander which is not even close to me as im in labrador nl.

I was on the verge of buying a new 2007 Polaris 550 but after reading all this, I would not take one for half the price. I knew there were issues with this engine but man, come on. Trade, sell, or give that thing away. Perhaps an engine swap could happen.
I decided to go with a Arctic Cat Panther 2008 4-stroke 3 cylinder liquid cooled and got it for less than what another dealer wanted for the 2007 Polaris 550 LX. The wife will be riding it and I'll be along side her on the Z570LX.

Good luck on the engine issues.

Richard

Mine blew ---2005 SS 350 miles on it , got it in the shop now, going to fight this BIG time,
Believe me, dont let Polaris push you around,, you have the support og the BBB and the attorney general of your state as well as small claims court..
PLEASE everyone fight this!!!

Mine blew ---2005 SS 350 miles on it , got it in the shop now, going to fight this BIG time,
Believe me, dont let Polaris push you around,, you have the support og the BBB and the attorney general of your state as well as small claims court..
PLEASE everyone fight this!!![/b]

Super Sport is a 500cc liquid not?

:cussing: My 2005 550 fan blew up this weekend as well. I am second owner but it had only 1000 miles on it when I bought it and I have only put 200 miles on this season. I had an older 1986 polaris 488 fan and just wanted something a bit newer to enjoy for a few years. Frustred is an understatement. The money I will have to spend will put me up to the cost of a new one and I still won't have any guarantees. Polaris probably won't care about my concerns because I am not the original owner. On the other hand I have expressed my extreme frustration to them. i did check out the sled with some searches before I bought and even asked a dealer about any unusual problems with them. I was only going about 35 mph which is typical of my riding style. my husband and I tour about and enjoy the journey...hardly a candidate to blow an engine. I am off to the dealer tomorrow....Polaris needs to learn that all customers are important not just the ones buying sleda every year for more power. it's tough enough to justify buying a newer sled with the low amount of use we get but now problems form them...
Barb Armstrong (amphijeba)

In my small area there have been hundreds of 500 edge tourings (air cooled) with engines destroyed from overheating. Polaris recognizes this problem but refuses to do a recall. They admit that there is an engineering flaw which allows the fan to draw hot air from the muffler/exhaust area unto the right side piston causing overheating and loss of the engine. They will even pay for the labour to repair your engine but you have to buy all the parts from them ($600 plus). They now even try to sell you a $400 kit to insulate the muffler/exhaust and so keep the heat away.
I have one of these machines and I think the people at Polaris are very stupid if they thing that myself and the other thousands off people who own and know about this problem and the companys response would ever consider buying another Polaris machine again.
I would welcome any and all response to this post.

EDIT: Sorry I meant to say 550 not 500.

Thank You
Wally Lockyer[/b]

Two of them showed up at the dealership here last week as well, one of them a simple burndown, the other with a piston completley melted, I had never seen anything so destroyed. Seems to me to be an issue with midrange jetting.

Super Sport is a 500cc liquid not?[/b]
Nope, 550 fan.

I limped home about ten miles with the exhaust side washed off down to the top ring last year on mine:

http://www.hunt101.com/data/561/6772piston.jpg

This was the third burn out on this motor. It runs well now- for now.

Just got back from the UP with a dead 06 SS w/M10. Crank shot. Bought it new 10/07, 1408 mi. Haven't talked to dealer yet, hope I can traid it for different sled. Not to happy. :cussing:

After reading this I am soooo happy I bought the wife an xc 500. I was thinking 550f but went w/xc for more performance.....G

This keeps scaring me. Has anyone had, or heard of, problems with the '08's? My wife's has a bit over 1000 miles now and so far trouble free (knock on wood). She doesn't baby it much, maybe that's part of the secret.

I have continued to work with my deraler and have more news. In my case the problem caused massive damage--the piston was toast the piston arms were even discolored from the heat. Polaris agreed to cover all the parts...and I was left with 12 hours labour. As the second owner of the sled I considered this reasonable. No one needsa a 900 dollar repair bill for a used sled with 900 miles on it but at least the dealer got something for me. One of the parts would not be available until end of March and I was not completely comfortable with the future reliabilty of the sled. so yesterday I traded it in on a non current new 2007 550 Edge to the dame dealer I has worked with. I was happy with what was offered for my Supersport. Although the situation is was not ideal I Polaris and my dealer did treat me reasonably fairly. If this happens to you try work with your dealer to get what you can from Polaris and go from there. My dealer di say throughout the problem years he has sold about 40 of these motors and mine is the only one he has got back with problems.

I would bet that those 40 machines probably don't have more than about 100,000 miles in total among them either. I can assure you that 550 fans being used in rural Alaska which total that kind of mileage involve far fewer machines. Consequently, the rate of failure over a 40 machine total is much, much higher. Our dealers work on plenty of of the 550 engines they've sold. It was common for the Polaris/Fuji 440 and 488 fans to reach the mid-teens without needing much serious attention. They'll be doing well if they can get the 550 to reach 10 on a regular basis IMO.

Has anyone tryed cold air vents we use to use them on older fan cooled sleds .

any suggestions on how to avoid burning up or is it a lost cause???
I have a 2005 550 classic with 900 miles and a 2005 trail touring deluxe with 1200 miles.

I guess that I was one of the lucky ones. My last sled was a trail touring 550. I never had an issue with it. Always performed great. My only complaint was that it just was not fast enough. Hence trading back up to a liquid.

She doesn't baby it much, maybe that's part of the secret.
I think you're right. The ones I've seen that had problems were at steady, partial throttle positions. Whenever there's a lean burn down issue the surest way to find it is with a steady throttle. Holding the throttle 1/2 way can be just as hard on a machine as holding it pinned across the lake.

I think you're right. The ones I've seen that had problems were at steady, partial throttle positions. Whenever there's a lean burn down issue the surest way to find it is with a steady throttle. Holding the throttle 1/2 way can be just as hard on a machine as holding it pinned across the lake.


That was especially true of the first years - I don't know about later. I do know people began to drive more carefully when they learned that the engines were burning up and that seemed to make things worse - even more failures. I do think an engine that can't take steady throttle at any position is one which is either poorly designed or set-up.

In rural Alaska, many or most machines are expected to pull sleds much of the time. I'm not talking a small ice-fishing sled either. At the very least, the empty sled weighs close to or over 100 pounds; loaded, it often outweighs the machine towing it. And that has really proven the mettle of- or lack of it rather, of the big Fuji fans. My 550 has been towing everyone of the three times its burned up. To put that in perspective, the old 488 I still run pulled a sled averaging 300-400 pounds for a distance of 130 miles a couple of weeks ago. Half the distance was trackless snow. When the engines were running we averaged around 30 mph and made the trip in under six hours inclusive of refueling and taking care of business. That machine rolled 21,800 miles across the odometer on that trip (though the actual is several hundred more than that). That machine tows a sled 60-80% of the time (and has worn one J-hitch "open" and is well into wearing a second into the same condition.)

It seems obvious to me that Polaris has forgotten or, at the very least, chosen to neglect the utility segment of the market. That's not a good thing to do if you really want to see what you machines can do - or not.

In my small area there have been hundreds of 500 edge tourings (air cooled) with engines destroyed from overheating. Polaris recognizes this problem but refuses to do a recall. They admit that there is an engineering flaw which allows the fan to draw hot air from the muffler/exhaust area unto the right side piston causing overheating and loss of the engine. They will even pay for the labour to repair your engine but you have to buy all the parts from them ($600 plus). They now even try to sell you a $400 kit to insulate the muffler/exhaust and so keep the heat away.
I have one of these machines and I think the people at Polaris are very stupid if they thing that myself and the other thousands off people who own and know about this problem and the companys response would ever consider buying another Polaris machine again.
I would welcome any and all response to this post.

EDIT: Sorry I meant to say 550 not 500.

Thank You
Wally Lockyer
Hi There,

I have the 2005 Edge Touring "Delux", "Delux" should not be included in this name as far as I am concerned.

I now have the machine in the shop for its second engine job. I lost the engine Feb 07... overheated and lost both pistons... this was repaired under warrenty. The machine is now inthe shop again with both pistons gone again. The first time there were approx 1400 miles in the machine, and this time there have only been 925 miles put on.

I had the nickle cell upgrade done last year... evidently that does not work and now the new upgrade is being done. Polaris is just putting the issue off and comming out with new additions as they try to get through the problem. To me it seems that they are just hoping to get lucky and that the problem will not come up again.

As for the ride of the machine, I think it is really good, but I will never spend another cent on a Polaris machine. This experience has just been too negative. Last year I lost the best of the season, and now I am missing the best of the season again.

I feel that 550 owners need to come together somehow on this issue..

All the best.

anybody know a good lawyer?The product is obviously defective.If they cant be fixed /updated then they should buy them back.Keep copies of all info regarding repairs they could come in handy.