When I had my 97 700, I had some experience pulling it and could go from totally in the sled to on the bench in about 45 minutes. Practice, practice, practice.
After draining the coolant (I use a small shop vac and suck it out of one of the top hoses) turn off the fuel and remove the exhaust, airbox, and carbs. You can probably keep the carbs attached to the cables, but if needed, you can unscrew the tops and move the D-slide/needle and cables out of the way. Disconnect the oil line from the oil pump and plug the line so you don't lose all the oil and make a mess. Disconnect the oil cable from the oil pump. Don't lose the c clip, those things will jump a LONG way. There is also a plastic bushing on the oil cable, don't lose that either.
Pull the recoil rope out and while it's out, attach a vice grip to it so it can't retract. Cut the rope from the handle right next to the handle and tie a figure 8 knot in the rope so if it retracts, it doesn't go into the recoil.
There are two motor mount bolts under the front Y pipe and two motor mounts on the back of the engine. Remove the nuts from the bolts under the Y pipe, remove the mounts from the chassis but leave the mounts attached to the engine on the carb side. Pull up, move the engine to the bench. That will give you total access to all the steering.
You also may find all sorts of interesting things under the engine, it's amazing what people drop and can't find.
When you put the new steering column in, make sure to use blue Loctite as well as a new Nylock nut on the nut that is at the bottom. Pretty much every Polaris sled I have taken the engine out of has had that nut loose, which makes the steering loose.
Use a torch or match to melt the end of the recoil rope so that the end does not fray. Secure the rope in the extended position after the engine is installed and push the end up into the handle, then tie a good knot. Make it tight so that it does not come loose. If the knot fails, the rope zings into that recoil housing faster than you can say the bad words that will be sure to come out of your mouth.
If that happens, you get to learn how to start your sled using a strap or piece of rope wrapped around the primary clutch. Oh boy, new skills
The Liberty engine is pretty simple and easy to work on. A manual is helpful for the proper specs and procedures. Take LOTS of pics as you go, then you will know what it looked like before you worked on it.
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