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Snowmobiles Information > Snowmobile Maintenance
Snowmobile Maintenance
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 Before
the snow starts to fall, perform snowmobile maintenance for enhanced
performance this winter! If you are not sure your snowmobile maintenance
is up to par, here is a simple 10 point process that will guide
you through checking everything out.
After this explanation on basic snowmobile maintenance, you will
know what parts you need from a snowmobile repair shop, if any,
and have a concrete list of snowmobile maintenance tasks to perform
before the season starts. You can choose to perform the necessary
snowmobile maintenance by yourself after checking the vehicle over,
or have a service center check it out further.
Visual outer inspection:
1. Once it has been cleaned and dried, take a walk around the vehicle
and visually inspect the exterior. Begin with the hood: check for
peeling decals, small cracks, cracked or deteriorated hood latches
and windshield fasteners. You can usually re-glue decals. Use emblem
adhesive and follow the instructions provided on the package. Any
cracks on the hood of your snowmobile should be repaired, especially
in high stress areas such as where the hood latches closed. Otherwise
the hood may become unusuable.
2. Examine the seat cover of your snowmobile for any nicks and
tears. Keep in mind that repairs in a high stress area may not hold.
If the damage is severe, simply replace the seat cover before the
seat foam deteroriates.
3. Use a snowmobile maintenance stand to do a visual inspection
of the track and rear suspension. Check the sliders (or hyfax) for
wear and deteroriation. Look over your suspension parts for apparent
damage. Make sure that all required idlers are there. Worn sliders
should be replaced, and so should bent or broken suspension parts.
4. Now check the track for tears, missing lugs or missing track
clips. Track tears are not fixable at all, and must be replaced.
If you do not, and continue to drive with a torn track, it will
eventually break down and leave you stuck on the trail.
5. The skis and runners should also be inspected. You can either
move the stand to the front of the sled, or simply tip the sled
on its side to do this. If you have steel skis, make sure that there
are no holes worn through and not bent out of shape. Plastic skis
should not be cut or gouged anywhere. Both steel and plastic skis
should have runners with low wear, and should be straight. You should
replace worn out skis and runners. And if a runner is in good shape,
but is bent, you can try to straighten it out with a vice and hammer.
6. Now you should inspect under the hood. Start with the drive
belt. Make sure that it is not cracked, worn or frayed. Also check
to see that you still have a spare belt. If you used it last season,
then get a new spare. You should replace worn or damaged drive belts
in order to avoid a fail on trails, as this can cause damage to
your sled. Plus—how will you get home?
7. If your sled has a fan or water-pump belt as part of its cooling
system, use your owners manual to ensure that the tension is correct.
Check for cracks in the belt and glazing. The belt should not be
shiny from slipping.
8. Locate your throttle and oil cables. You can check visually
whether they are frayed or damaged. If there are any cables or lines
that are not held securely in their routing positions, you should
have the missing fasteners replaced.
9. Check all of your fluid levels: injection oil, coolant, brake
fluid (that is, if you have hydraulic brakes) and chaincase oil.
Your coolant should be filled to the cold mark. Take a look at your
instruction manual for snowmobile maintenance provided by the manufacturer
for the correct procedure on chaincase oil. If any fluid levels
are low, you should inspect and find out the reason in order to
avoid any problems with your snowmobile.
10. Finally, check the exhaust springs and mounts to ensure they
are all there and fastened on tightly. Replace any of the springs
or mounts that are worn or missing.
This should give you a great start on your snowmobile maintenance.
Checking for problems is always the first step.
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