snowmobile care | Outboard Motor Oil

Preparing for the First Snow

I always get excited when winter comes around and it starts to snow, because it means that it’s finally that time again where I can take my snowmobile out and about. Considering there’s so much time between winters, I always want to make sure that my snowmobile is in tip-top condition when the first snowfall occurs each year.

Typically in the autumn, so that I don’t have to think about it once it actually snows, I start stocking up on the supplies I need for my snowmobile. I get everything I need to clean and maintain it such as snowmobile oil and everything like that. By the time winter rolls around, I’m already completely prepared to take my snowmobile out in the snow!

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Testing Snowmobile Oil

Even though the snow has melted and the sun is starting to peek through the clouds, it is worth re-visiting the proper way to test snowmobile oil. Just as you would with car motor oil, open up the new quart of snowmobile oil and place the dipstick into the container. Remove the dipstick and let small drops of oil fall on a white sheet of paper or a paper towel.

Wipe the dipstick off and dip the stick into the oil tank. Pull out the dipstick and let a few drops of the old oil fall on the paper next to the new oil. Look for discoloration in the old engine oil. If the old oil looks significantly dirty, then you know that it is time for a change.

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Testing a Snowmobile Oil Pump

When it’s cold I can’t wait for warm weather, and when it’s boiling hot, as it is today, I can’t wait for the return of cool weather. I’ve been daydreaming about the snowmobile that is currently summering in my shed, and thought I’d use today’s post to explain how to test a snowmobile oil pump. An oil pump, for those unfamiliar with the mechanism, keeps the engine properly lubricated.

To test a snowmobile oil pump, start by disconnecting the threaded fitting on the oil pressure sending unit tube. You’ll want to use a wrench. Take your oil pressure test gauge and attach it to the port on the engine block. Start the engine and take a read out of the test gauge. A normal reading means you’re good to go whereas a low reading may indicate that the pump needs to be replaced.

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Offseason Snowmobile Care: Part Four

When your sled is left idle for a prolonged period of time, the fluid levels and charge in the battery to diminish. Before storing your sled for the spring and summer, remove the battery and put it in a safe, dark area悠 recommend putting it where you keep your outboard motor oil and other supplies. Throughout the offseason, charge the battery periodically and fill it with distilled water if the fluid level drops below the fill line.

Fill the carb intake, muffler, and cooling system openings to prevent small animals from crawling into and nesting in your sled. It is also important to loosen the track tension bolts as far as they will go. If the track is kept taut during the offseason stretching and cracking may occur. Tomorrow we will go over the last preparations and finish our series on snowmobile storage.

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Offseason Snowmobile Care: Part Two

Once the outside of the sled has been taken care of, it’s time to move to the more pressing concern: the engine. Begin by firing up your snowmobile and pulling the oil pump cable; doing this will enable a rich mixture of Evinrude XD100 oil to flow throughout the engine. The piston pin, bearings and some other engine components typically see little oil, and opening the oil pump ensures that they are properly lubricated before storage.

After you have ran the engine for 10 to 15 minutes, top off your fuel and add a fuel conditioner according to the specifications. It is important to top off fuel during the offseason to ensure there is no air in the tank. When the tank has air in it, condensation can form, which can wreak havoc on your machine. Now that we have dealt with the fuel and oil, tomorrow we will progress to the carburetor and drive belt.

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Offseason Snowmobile Care: Part One

Now that spring is in full swing, most of us won’t be going anywhere near our snowmobiles for a couple of months. But just because you won’t be on the back of the machine doesn’t mean that your snowmobile is out of harm’s way. A litany of things can go wrong with your vehicle while it’s in storage—from cracked parts and scratched paint to stale gasoline and outboard motor oil. To that end, it is imperative to take the proper precautions when storing your vehicle.

The first thing to do before putting your snowmobile in storage is to clean and polish it thoroughly. If using a pressure washer, use caution around bearing seals, as water can leak in and cause components to rust. Once the machine is dry, look for cracks and other signs of wear or damage. Now that the sled is clean and the body inspected, tomorrow we will start dealing with the various parts under the hood.

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