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New owner of old 89 Skidoo

2K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  thomaspanton 
#1 ·
New owner of an '89 Skidoo Saga 377. This is my first snowmobile.

The first two rides I had no issues aside from high fuel consumption. Sled burned about 1L of gas per km traveled. Sled started 1st pull, clutch engaged smooth, but haven't figured out why it uses so much gas.

Fast-forward to today. Out on the lake I noticed I had to give it a lot of gas to get it start moving. The clutch was engaging at a really high rpm (no tachometer). If I was sharp on the gas, the engine would bog. Gradually adding gas, I could get the sled to move. With me, a passenger, and some gear behind me I could only do 30-40km/hr top speed. No more throttle response after 1/2 throttle was applied, sled just seemed to "top out".


Because I'm so new to sled ownership, I really don't know where to begin looking for issues. I had a look at the belt drive and the belt looks mint.

Not sure what could have changed today to cause the bogging/clutch issues.
 
#3 ·
I will try with new plugs... hopefully that cleans it up.

Update:

It ran fairly well today and I didn't have the rough clutch nor the high rpm engagement issue today.

What happened today seems like an "overheat" or maybe an issue with the ignition coil.

After riding about 1 or 2 km, towing maybe 80lbs of stuff behind me, I stopped to check my gps. Then, I couldn't get the sled moving again. I'd give it gas and the engine rpm's would not rise, the engine would just get louder. Sled shut itself off when idling. Checked the plugs. One plug was wet-fouled and the OTHER plug was dry-fouled.

Put the same plugs back in (in hindsight should have changed them) and waited a few minutes. Sled gave me no further issues the rest of the day.

Coming back in, the same issue happened. When I drive a km or two, then stop, then try to get moving again the same issue comes up. Leads me to believe it's an "overheat" but it's a fan-cooled sled!?! Something's not right.

I noticed that I may not be getting full power from my sled. My top speed while towing maxes out at 30-40 km/hr.... usually. There were some brief moments today my sled really came to life with power. Throttle responded throughout the lever range, instead of only 1/2 the lever range (the first half) that it usually responds to.

Has got me thinking... has it been running on 1 cylinder this whole time? Is the 2nd cylinder cutting in and out?

What could be causing these brief spurts of power and unresponsive throttle after 1/2 open?
 
#5 ·
Well I figured out the issue!! I was using general purpose 2 stroke oil... I didn't know I needed to run "injector" 2 stroke oil. Cleaned things right up and I put new plugs in to boot. Runs like a champ.

However, I still have the fuel consumption issue. Seems like I'm only getting 4-6 mpg... drinks gas like crazy. About 1L of fuel for every km travelled. Any ideas guys?
 
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