HOW TO STOP YOUR POLARIS SPORTSMAN FROM BACKFIRING!

Follow me on / titaniummangarage
I'll show you in this video how to fix that nasty backfire issue you have with your 2 stroke Polaris Sportsman, Xplorer or, Trailboss.

[@franklinarguedas4832]

Hi again, by the way, you were talking in one of your videos about converting your Polaris sportsman 400 into a 500 , I know that the con rods are identical, the cylinder heads are the same, but the cylinder size is different on the Polaris Sportsman 500 and the strokes are 5 mm different. How did you overcome that issue? Thank you, Franklin

[@TitaniummanGarage]

I converted a 425 4 stroke to a 500. I used a 500 cylinder and piston. I wish we would have been talking before I did this. My buddy and I talked about this for a year. The part number for the con. rod doesn't match according to polaris. So for the longest time Him and I didn't attempt it. He parts them out..I rebuild them. One day he slapped 2 engines down and said: Here! Your smart enough..just try it! So I put a 500 jug and piston on a 425 and it ran. Perfectly I might add. What is the 5mm stroke difference? Do you mean in height from the crank?

[@adrew1963]

great video thanks for more info,I have a question my sportsman 500 2001 is backfiring only when I get off high throttle would one of these issues you mentioned be the problem? and thanks again

[@keegandaniels6951]

i have a 05 sportsman 800 with the same problem...

[@KevinMcmullen-jf1kl]

Speedo cluster on a2002 Polaris 500HO no lights

[@jhonnygonzalez1623]

Good videos friend I watch them all .. you don't have a video of how to connect a cdi box and the high coil

[@wayne6525]

I have a 2008 Polaris Sportsman 500 HO EFI. The fuel gauge flashes and I don't trust it. It'll start right up.. run fun then within 100 yds... it's slowly loses power and stalls with a backfire at times. Prolonged starting procedures get it running again. I discovered the carb boot to the manifold was very loose so I put it back on and really tightened the two narrow carb clamps. It's a new used machine to me...but is it suppposed to be a bracket to support the carb and secure it to the frame to prevent this? If you have time... please let me know.

[@TitaniummanGarage]

You mean the throttle body. I dont believe there was a bracket. I have a video on fuel pumps I did on an 07. Sounds like you need a new pump and filter.

[@wayne6525]

@@TitaniummanGarage I took off the body and front storage unit... I found a bare wire next to the steering shaft and corrected that. I then in the front, facing forward was a thin black box what I think you called the ECM. This one is Polaris brand part # 4011817. I found a pretty good crack in the front cover. Bad enough to let dirt and moisture in. Is it ok to open the unit (if I can) to see if there is any obvious issues in there? I called ModuleMaster and was told that is not an item they are involved with.

[@wayne6525]

@@TitaniummanGarage Ok...thanks. I pulled the plastic body off and am checking for any other issues and am replacing the spark plug. (if I can get to it) I discovered the CDI box has a large crack in the cover. What do you think I should do? I called ModuleMaster and they advised me they do not deal with these items.

[@TitaniummanGarage]

@@wayne6525 Thanks for the reply back. I was curious what it was. I knew they had wiring issues with the wires going to injector and other components. You might have to buy a used one. Check ebay or power sports nation. Not sure what your skill set is with electrical but it could be something you could solder back up. But it could fail again. I would buy used if you cant get new.

[@wayne6525]

@@TitaniummanGarage I was replacing the spark plug and what a chore that was!! I discovered that the spark plug was very loose in the cylinder head. I didn't even need a wrench to turn it... just a socket. This has got to be a major cause of most of it.... but I'll keep digging after I get it in. I also discovered that the ECM had only two screws holding it on...one had a ground wire attached. I cleaned up the ECM cover placed Aluminum foil tape of the crack. We'll see (when I get it all together again) if these efforts make a difference. Thanks again. Glad I found your channel.

[@MariaHernandez-xk4qq]

Hello my name is Leon and I've got a 1998 polaris sportsman 500 4x4 , far as the pilot screw how many turns out should it be? And the same as the idle screw plz help I'm totally out of ideas.

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Turn the pilot screw all the way in then turn it out 2 and a half turns. You might have to tweak it. I do 2 and a quarter then bump it up if needed. The idle screw, the long one sticking out of the bottom of the carb I tune by ear. Just make sure you dont turn it to far or you'll have to adjust the throttle cable as it will cause the safety kill switch by the throttle lever to close and it wont start.

[@itspaul7105]

My 250 stroke Polaris backfired and spit out black smoke whenever I pull started it and won’t start anymore do I need a new top end. Already tried cleaning the carburetor

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Not necessarily. Black smoke usually means its running rich or your oil injector is set to flow to heavy. Do you have compression? check the spark plug. sometimes a backfire will foul out the plug.

[@jdbsl3919]

My 2021 Polaris sportsmen 570 dosent like running to long before it starts with the back firing. 😢 New oil new gas 😳

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Wow. Not even that old of a machine. I've heard with the 570's either the guys absolutely love them or hate them. Something about the motors not lasting long. IDK. I haven't worked on one yet.. But I'm sure down the road I will.

[@ronhanish]

is there a check for the cdi if its bad?

[@issacendischee3637]

Thank u but more bright lights so thanks

[@franklinarguedas4832]

Yep, you are right, the Polaris, I have one 2002 and two 2003, I think that this are the better built ones but that is a personal opinion, tend to overheat and the fan fails occasionally, I have been thinking of replacing the temperature sensor with a water temperature gauge and installing a manual on and off switch to control the fan directly when the temperature starts getting close to the 90 degrees Celsius mark, This obviously would require you to be on the alert and constantly monitor the the instruments. But this is what we do when we fly aircraft, so it is not a big complex thing to ask of anyone.

[@TitaniummanGarage]

I got a better idea. Only because I've seen your idea before..And guess what! Someone forgot to turn the fan on. Its a good idea if your the only rider. If someone else jumps on and forgets,( That's how I bought one cheap one time)So what I do is hot wire the fan and bypass the temp sensor. The downfall is its hard on the fan with it running constantly.

[@kran0504]

I have a polaris xplorer 400 1996. It idles good, but at full throttle it bogs down. Took air cleaner off and at full throttle fuel blows out the carb.

[@Rocketxx6]

Need your help my Polaris 500 won’t start but turns over and backfires as it’s turning over. I don’t know what going on

[@TitaniummanGarage]

I'd start with checking the timing and valve lash.

[@Rocketxx6]

@@TitaniummanGarage man you are good that was the problem now she running fine again and i really appreciate you man

[@truenorthmuskoka9077]

my polaris just started back firing and wont stay running. Dont over look the spark plug. I installed a new one and problem solved.

[@alexiabowman4818]

Need help with ours

[@LenV303]

Dude when your shoeing something it's probably best to have light cause I can't see anything you're trying to explain

[@lalo-Espinoza]

K k i just subscribed

[@brianboles5907]

Can’t c the oiler

[@jonathanw2391]

I have a 2008 Polaris 500 4x4 . Can you please tell what are the 2 lines coming from the front bottom of motor please

[@TitaniummanGarage]

They go to the oil reservoir tank on the left front side.The bring oil to the engine.

[@jonathanw2391]

@@TitaniummanGaragedo they connect to the air box ?

[@TitaniummanGarage]

@@jonathanw2391 there is a 3rd line. Ita bugger and goes to the airbox. It usually has a filter on it.

[@cloudsgeorge4748]

Hey I gotta 400 xplorer And the crank won't move

[@justorivera5568]

Yeah I have a 1994 sportsman Polaris 4x4 it runs good you know sometimes for at least a day in a whole day maybe two days the next day it would just start like sputtering backfiring what would that be

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Could be the needle and seat leaking gas into the cylinder as it sits. Do you shut the gas off when it sits?

[@franklinarguedas4832]

By the way, I began to check what spare parts are interchangeable because here in Australia we do not have as many Polaris reckers as you do in the US, and to order a brand new con rod for example, would set you back AU$450, and a new cylinder head would set you back AU$890. So I have to do my research to see how I can obtain spare parts the cheapest possible way.

[@corymcthrash]

This is exactly what my 6x6 is doing and I had a dealership replace the cam last year

[@nanadunn5211]

i have a 1998 polaris sportsman 500 it runs real bad and blows gas out the carb while running and then it will backfire and blow the carb off the intake please help

[@TitaniummanGarage]

That's your timing that's off. Check your valve lash and timing Mark's. I have a video on it.

[@amansrights]

Where you located i need your help getting mines fixed

[@danf-gg4lk]

On my 2000 500 sportsman the exhaust lobe on camshaft was wore out. New cam and it runs like new.

[@franklinarguedas4832]

Yes, and if you have the fan running all the time, it will kill the battery very quickly. All you have to do is teach the next rider to be careful and to keep an eye on the water temperature gauge, and be responsible for the wellbeing of the engine operation

[@franklinarguedas4832]

If you look at the Polaris Parts catalogue, you will find that the connecting rods are the same, even the part number seems to correlate if I remember rightly. What is not the same, is the crankshaft 1, next to the flywheel and the gears have different part numbers, but this may be also part of the Polaris trick to make people believe that the parts are not the same. When you look at the service manual, the 500 has a stroke of 75 mm and the 400 only 70 mm, I am disregarding the cylinder size which is obviously different, the crankshaft must, for all intent and purposes, also be the same size. The 2011 Polaris Sportsman 400 4x4 have many parts which are compatible or interchangeable with each other, and that makes sense in the scales of production economics, you cannot be creating special con rods for the 400 and then different con rods for the 500. I suspect that all those con rods would be the same size and length and weight and manufactured by the one company in one batch, otherwise, it is too costly to manufacture, what varies is the cylinder height and circumference to achieve the specified cc.

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Yes, I've found that out about the crankshaft 1. I know exactly where you are coming from. I used to work in an engine plant. I built 18 horse twin engines. We had 400 different engine we built. 3 different part numbers for the same part. I'm not familiar with the 400 4 stroke engine because I've only fixed one. So the info you are giving me is very knowledgeable and note worthy. Thank you! Polaris had a 425 Magnum in the late 90's. What I did to overcome any differences was to use the 425 crankshaft. The height was the same..I'm sure you saw the video. Now you got me wanting to tear down a 400. lol.

[@manuelnajera7413]

I have a Polaris sportsman 500 2005 it turns on real quick but when I rev it it dies any suggestions?

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Check the timing,valve clearance, cdi box. Clean the carb. Could be a number of those. Does it backfire?

[@theresaronk1197]

I have a 2000 polaris magnum, it hasnt ran in a few months. I changed out the stator, pick up coil, cdi, and solenoid. It finally now has a spark. Now it starts, but it back fires really bad like it made my carburetor fly off, what can this be? Timing, valves, or cam? If it is the valves or cam how do i tel they are bad? I'm at a loss! I checked the timing it looks like it jumped time, but not by much. The tensioner and chain look fine. PLEASE HELP!

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Ah! The dreaded magnum. I had the same problem. Is the cdi aftermarket? I don't know why, but they are a pain to time right compared to sportsmans. Make sure your chain and timing marks line up. If you want to go the extra mile, pull the flywheel off and stator. There is a mark on the gear behind stator and on the case. And the 2 marks up at the cam gear. There are silver links on the chain. One silver link lines up with Mark behind stator the other 2 silver links go by cam gear marks. I now do all my timing that wat. It's more accurate than the flywheel mark. Then you know your dead on. Rotate engine a couple times. Then adjust valve lash at lifters. .006 the gap should be. If you still have a backfire it's the cdi box or air is coming in somewhere. Cracked carb boot, bad rubber hoses, leaking air box. Hope that helps.

[@danf-gg4lk]

Sounds like a problem I had . Changed cdi, coil, plug, carb, air filter, checked timing twice, changed fuel and filter..... Ended up it was a bad exhaust lobe on camshaft. I learned running synthetic 0w40 is of outmost importance in these machines. I haven't owned the machine long but who knows what oil previous owners put in there.

[@chrism.c8162]

I have a Polaris rzr 800s . It starts backfiring at 30 mph any ideas of what can be ?

[@TitaniummanGarage]

I haven't worked on any 800's a 700 I had with the same issue..It turned out to be a crack in the carb intake boot. I couldn't see it until I pulled it off. Usually if it backfires it means its running lean. could be an air leak somewhere. start at the boot and hoses. clean the carb. make sure jets not plugged.

[@haeganmcintyre5298]

How would you know if a polaris sportsman 400 2 stroke was sucking air ? Because i cant figure mine out

[@TitaniummanGarage]

You could spay carb cleaner at the carb boot.

[@drumwish2010]

MY issue is i have a 500 scrambler 2x4 4x4 2007. well the fan won't turn off and then which of coarse drains the battery then it wont start after i pull start it runs great but it will shut off after a while. the temperature light is always on. I know its not overheating. My best thought is its the ECM. i unplug the fan so it stops running for now. what do you think? my quad is in pristine condition I would be willing to say the cleanest 07 you have ever seen . advice on the fix appreciated. ty

[@TitaniummanGarage]

That's my first thought too. Ecm.

[@TitaniummanGarage]

I have a video on an atp I did.

[@drumwish2010]

@@TitaniummanGarage why would the fan not shut off and temp light be on immediately when you start it cold?

[@drumwish2010]

Oh and my bad it’s an 08

[@TitaniummanGarage]

That's what the ecm does when it doesn't communicate right.

[@franklinarguedas4832]

You also have good stuff on your channel regarding Polaris machines. I do not touch the two strokes because I do not understand them too well. However, they may very well be much better, more powerful than the four-stroke counterpart. I have been doing this as a hobby, but I am getting too busy and this kind of thing is very time consuming, so I am being forced to slow down a little. I like small engines, they present a reasonable challenge and I learn a lot from the work I perform on them, it also teaches me to be more precise in all the work I do.

[@TitaniummanGarage]

I hear ya. It can be time consuming. For me its a way to relax, I find it challenging. Two strokes are a lot more powerful and Start good at the dead of winter VS a 4 stroke. Our winters get to -32 degrees here.

[@perrylund4889]

What would cause my 6x6 to idle higher as is gets warmer? I'm thinking colder air getting in from some where

[@TitaniummanGarage]

It will do that in cold weather. Is it a 400 or 500? In colder weather you'll have to dial the carb differently. Not to say that you aren't correct. You could have an air leak somewhere. Most of mine in the winter I'll turn the idle down so when it warms up it doesn't idle high. In the summer I readjust.

[@perrylund4889]

@@TitaniummanGarage its a 425 liquid cooled 4 stroke. That's when I have a hard time getting it into high gear and reverse without grinding gears to much

[@franklinarguedas4832]

Have you had any problems with your engines doing a lot of cylinder lapping? tinny noises when the engine is at idle or running a little faster?

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Hey, How's it going? Are you working on one or a couple of them? I believe you might be talking about piston slap. Yes I have ran into that. I seen them run for a couple years like that. A buddy of mine has one that does it. So far so good. It usually does it at idle. If its at higher rpms it could be a problem. I've had guys think it was the engine making noises and it turned out it was the clutch. It could also be the bearings making the noise.

[@franklinarguedas4832]

Yes, you are right, I made a mistake, I meant slapping/ I have three. All with top overhauls, on one of them, I decided to open it up and it was then when I discovered that the piston and the cylinder were scored very badly, to the point that it began to burn oil. The noise it began to make was that tinny metallic noise that one can usually associate with a loose timing chain or too much valve clearance, the other two engines are doing the same thing, they also blow black smoke out the tailpipe, so I am wondering whether this is a common design fault, especially when you are expected to start the engine dry at first instance.

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Funny you ask. I just had that problem. You are talking about a 500 right? I tell you. In the past month I've done a lot of research on this. At start up you will see some smoke. Oil burning off from any prelube you did during the build. If it smokes at idle its normal. if it smokes all the time, Its most likely the head gasket. If it smokes when you back off the throttle it could be the valve seals or oil ring. Mine turned out to be a bad oil ring. I bought a cheaper piston just to experiment. Turned out to be a big mistake.

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Oh! And to answer if its a design flaw. If it's a 98 or 99 They had soft cams in those years. Other then that they usually run for a long time. What I've run across was lots of overheating issues. Either the fan stopped working because of temp sensor or seized up fan or blocked radiator. Guys around here love to play in the mud. Maintenance is the key to keeping it running good. Keep the valves adjusted, clean the radiator, change the oil every year.

[@billymorgan730]

I have a 500 sportsman it idles fine when I rev it up and turn loose of the throttle it dies it does not have the switch at the throttle

[@TitaniummanGarage]

watch this video :kzbin.info/www/bejne/sGLcoX-gqapobNk They all have a switch at the throttle. what year is yours? could be a cdi or something not completing the circuit.

[@franklinarguedas4832]

One thing that I have discovered, that may be worth your while knowing, is that the Polaris engines oil pump hardly ever seize, they are virtually indestructible

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Sorry Frank. Can I call you Frank or do you prefer Franklin? I have to disagree on that one. I believe Polaris puts out a great oil pump, I did have one fail already. The nice part is they can be rebuilt.

[@franklinarguedas4832]

@@TitaniummanGarage Sure, most people call me Frank, no problem. I have not had one fail me yet, but I am not basing my statement on my own experience but that of those who race the Polaris and those who like ourselves are on the land working with the machine through mud and rivers, and the oil pump has not failed. But you may have had an odd one that gave way

[@loganslavens6436]

I have a Polaris 800 and when I rev it up and the let rpms drop it pops but I doesn’t try to shut off the engine

[@TitaniummanGarage]

I have only worked on 700s. Never an 800. What year? Fuel injected? Sounds like it's getting too much fuel. Or possibly air getting in somewhere. Does it have a carb boot? Maybe start there. See if it's cracked. Had that issue on the last 700 I did.

[@loganslavens6436]

Titaniumman Garage it’s a 2011, everything I read said either too much air to too much fuel, how would I find out or go about fixing it, I was thinking it was bc I didn’t have a spark arrestor in the exhaust.

[@christopherbertino1566]

I have a 97 trail blazer 250 acer, I just got it and started to redo it got her starting on first pull, idling great. I just redid the throttle cable and that's great. But my issue is after about 10-15 minutes of riding when I hit the throttle she starts to bog down and I have to flip on the choke to keep it idling at all. Then she will only limp home it it keep tapping the throttle very lightly. If I shut it off for like 2 minutes she will ride ok but starts to bog again after about 2 minutes. I am wondering if when I put the cable in since the cable is connect to the oil pump if maybe I need to adjust the oil cable to add more oil mixture. Like maybe the engine isn't getting enough oil and is heating up and some safety thing is kicking in. If not do you have any solutions to what might cause this issue?.

[@TitaniummanGarage]

I'd do a compression test. Clean the carb and see what happens

[@christopherbertino1566]

@@TitaniummanGarage tried that. Cleaned the carb 3 times before it would even run on it's own. And it idles fine rides fine but then out of the blue it bogs down and I have to flip the choke on and feather the throttle to keep it even idling, and every so often far far and few it will back fire out the blue 1 time for no reason

[@TitaniummanGarage]

If it backfires you might be running it too lean. Check the carb boot see if it's cracked. Of if air is getting in somewhere. Did u check compression?

[@christopherbertino1566]

And negative on the compression. Like I said it'll be running fine and then boom outta no where it will bog down and need to flip on choke to save the idle

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Once it warms up the compression could drop. I had a 250 that did the same. Turned out the rings were stuck to the piston. I'm not saying you have the same issue. But I would check just to rule it out.

[@derekgreen9086]

Do you have any videos on 500 predator carburetor issues

[@TitaniummanGarage]

I haven't done any predators. But the carb looks similar.

[@ericmorin9613]

Good lord what a god send of a mechanic you are

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Thanks. Oddly enough I learned everything from KZbin. But at the time had to watch 4 different video to get all the info. So I started my own channel

[@thebull5099]

I got a 2016 polaris sportsman 450 efi. And it's sputters at idel. Cutting off. Want acc top speed. It back fires

[@TitaniummanGarage]

I haven't worked on any EFI yet. Don't know alot about them.

[@thebull5099]

@@TitaniummanGarage ok thanks bro

[@thebull5099]

@100% Canadian Yelp mines was the fuel pump. I cleaned mines out . Blew air through it and cleaned it. Works fine now

[@TitaniummanGarage]

@100% Canadian Thanks, that's a new one I haven't heard. Ill be sure to check for that. Most times I by pass the fuel pump when issues occur, just to rule it out with a small fuel tank.

[@franklinarguedas4832]

Hi mate, can you please tell me whether you have come across this issue: I put a new CDI from Procom, on my 2003 Polaris Sportsman 500, the engine started no problem, runs beautifully, but it cannot be switched off? What do you think is happening? Kind regards, Franklin

[@TitaniummanGarage]

Hmm.. That usually happens when the black wire is not connected. I know in the past I have said to pull the black wire to see if it fires. If the cdi box is working correctly the ignition key will not turn it off in some cases. You might have a faulty cdi box. I run across that before.

[@franklinarguedas4832]

@@TitaniummanGarage Hi, what black wire are you talking about? I am trying to sort out this problem before I return the Procom CDI, for one thing, it takes ages now with Covid-19 to get anything delivered to us, secondly, the CDI partially works, the engine starts and runs, but cannot be stopped or switched off. That is obviously dangerous.

[@TitaniummanGarage]

@@franklinarguedas4832 I may have to back up a little. First, what year is the Atv your putting the cdi on. As years went on..They changed the color. In my video I did about the cdi box was a 2001. There is a black wire that comes from the box and connects to the stop/run switch. Or kill switch. Usually if your not getting spark or maybe 1 spark and nothing you can pull the black wire to the kill switch and it usually starts. So it could be a faulty switch, cdi box or possibly a bad ground. If you tell me the year and model I'll see if the color of the wires changed.

[@franklinarguedas4832]

@@TitaniummanGarage Hi, my Polaris Sportsman 500 HO 4x4 is a 2003, it is a plug and play CDI, not strings attached to this one

[@TitaniummanGarage]

@@franklinarguedas4832 Nice. So that rules out the black wire. I took an 05 and put an 04 wire harness on it to get rid of the ecm. As I wired it up I noticed some of the wires had turned green at the ends. The copper turning colors. When I went to start it..The speedo lit up but wouldn't start. I traced the wires for an hour. I added an extra ground wire to the frame just to make sure I had a clean ground wire. I finally disconnected the 2 plugs up by the start/lights buttons. Cleaned them up and boom..She started. In your case If it is not the cdi it could be a ground wire or something in your key switch..I've had to replace those too. You should start at the 2 plugs up by the start button and then check the connection in your key. Use dielectric grease on them when you plug them in. Maybe try to add an extra ground wire. Not only did I work in an engine plant. I also used to build wire harnesses for the same company as well and learned from it. The one thing I have learned from working on these Polaris is most of the electrical issues end up being a bad ground wire or corroded somewhere and end up making the components go bad. Like in my case on the 05. bad ground fried the ecm. I hope that helps.