cthulu

My 97' Mountain Max has been overheating, it has always seems to run hot but I went out this weekend on hardpack without any deep snow to run through and the thing boiled over on me in 10 minutes. I have heard it could be air in the system, my question is how to bleed the air off. Do you just run the thing and have the radiator cap off and top it off while running? Will that bleed the air or do you need to do something else. This is the 700 triple with the radiator in the runing boards. Also, any tips on how to know whether the water pump is actually pumping?

kccats

You will want to remove your thermastat and heat it up on the stove with a thermomiter to see at what temp it opens? And perhaps get a new lower one.(ORielies, Auto Zone, Advance). Then once its all back together Jack up the front of the sled as high as you can with it running and warm top it off. And again DON'T use just straight anti freeze, 50/50 will cool better!

cthulu

Thanks for the reply. What I did last night was with the sled level, took off the radiator cap,started it, then topped it off at the cap as the manual states, then after that I filled the overflow tank to full. I ran it for about 20 mins and it did not overheat but that was jsut idling. I need to take it out on the trail and see if that fixes it. I was wondering though about the thermostat, as I know when I have had this problem in a car its usually the thermostat or the water pump. Is the thermostat located where the coolant line drops into the top of the engine about 8" from the coolant fill cap? I am pretty sure it is as thats how most car thremostats are located but I dont have a service manual so I am not 100% sure. I was also wondering about tilting it with the nose up as you state as that would allow any air in the cooling area of the running boards to bubble out. I will have to try that tonight before I run it on the trail.

dean

Im having the same problem.
I took the thermasensor out, but I can't tell if its fine or not. Is there a test I can do before I replace it?
I'm not quite sure why I need to lift the fromt end up before i put antifreeze in it. Also how can I be sure if the water pump is working>
thanks

cthulu

I dont have a manual for this machine but whan I called the local shop the guy told me the 97 MM triple (what I have) doesnt have a thermostat, is this true? Anyone with a manual out there for a 97' tell me if it has a thermostat or not?

700max

mountain max problems? fun.. 97's do have thermostats. im not quite sure off the top of my head what running tempature is, but the thermo is located on the head, its the little pod looking thing that the hose clamps to and has 3 10mm bolts. best way to find out if it is toast will be to take it out, get a pan of water, and put it on the stove. set the thermostat in the pan. if u dont see the center post move when the water is boiling then u know your thermo is bad. u stated in the original post that u ran it on hard-pack with no powder in sight. from experience, and especially if you're running the stock tunnel. you will overheat on the trails very fast! i have a ekholm tunnel on my 97, i dont heat up as fast but i still have to get off the trail or even off the sled itself to throw/pack snow on my heat exchangers.
you will know if your water pump is working properly beacuse just like a car, it will make a nightmare of a noise. the water pump runs all by the crank and is even joined with the oil injection pump " not a common part to go bad " another thing is that mountain max's are very tempramental when it comes to the air in their systems. all i do is pop the cap, top it off, run it on a stand till i know its hot or even watch your temp light. then slowly pop the cap and top it again. i just rebuilt the motor in my 97 at the begining of this season and it took me about 7-8 times of topping off the cap before the temp light would stop coming on. hope all this info helps. if u need any more info just let me know. i also have parts gallore for 97-00 mountain max. my email is fieldsplace@cpucafe.com

good luck!
cameron.