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06 Apex GT

mapo

Newbie
Joined
Sep 12, 2021
Messages
24
Age
59
Location
Ontario
Country
Canada
Snowmobile
Apex Gt
Just picked up an 06 apex gt and having some problems, When inspecting I noticed the three big idler wheels/bogeys were completely loose, no big deal right. Upon further inspection I realized the coolant tank and overflow are empty which is odd because there is no overheat light coming on even after running for a bit, There is a tiny amount at bottom of tank but the coolant lines and heat exchangers get warm. So now my questions are:

How to fill and bleed the coolant system?
Does the skid need to come out to change idlers?
Why doesn't an overheat alarm come on?
Could there still be coolant in the system/what couldve happened?

This is my first 4 stroke sled so used to the older 2 stroke cats, any help would be greatly appreciated. Did my research but looking if I could get a more direct answer.
 

With this being your 1st 4-stroke Yamaha, I would recommend becoming a VIP member on this forum and in doing so, it will provide you access to receive the service manual for your Apex. This forum is probably one of the best forums where knowledgeable users offer help and supporting the site by becoming a VIP only ensure the site will be here for years to come. And, having access to the service manuals is also a nice perk but its the users' knowledge and their willingness to share is that makes this an awesome site.

Here are the excerpts on how to bleed the system:

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Myself, I use this and it makes flushing your coolant a breeze:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BW39HJS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As for changing the rear idler wheels, I suppose it could be done while the suspension remains in the sled but considering all the washers and spacer tubes, it would probably be a lot easier to do with the skid out. Here's an image that shows you the washers and spaces I mention:
yamigps.JPG


As for the overheat light not coming on, you may not have ran it long enough or as you mentioned, there may still be some coolant left in the system. Cracking the bleed screw would be a good way to determine if there is any fluid in the system.
 
Thats awesome, thanks alot for that useful information. Ill check er out and try and get this thing going good, its got 30k on it but herd these last a while if maintained.
 
welcome!

just had a quick look for the tool yamaha used to sell for making the rear axle assembly easyer as it was slightly smaller than the shaft used and makes assembly much easier. i do it in the sled all the time and it can be done without the tool.

odds are it could use a coolant flush or replacement. i personally do all my toys with antifreeze every 5 years as reccomended by yamaha. top it off and check for air with the bleeder screws. odds are it is fine if you cannot see a leak. the reservoir never stays full on either of mine and the 2011 has 30000 km on it.
 
Ok good to know, just pulled the idler wheels of after work, and gonna order some now, Is there any upgrade to these or are they all the same?
 
the up grade for that sled is to outer wheels with replaceable bearings as the factory outers could not have the bearings replaced for those years. the ones from a 2011 apex will work on that sled and the bearings are serviceable.
 
If there is NO coolant, it will not know the temp of the coolant because the temp sensor is above it.
Hence, it will not give an overheating light.
 
So, update:
There must've been some coolant in the system as the heat exhangers would get warm a bit, So I filled it up full (didnt bleed though). Now that its full, the heat exchangers get warm, and after running at idle for about 5 min the rad fan kicked on, then after a couple mins the sled died. No alarm or nothing, just kicked off. Its still working fine now but I read that it overheated and auto shut off because theres no snow. Can anyone confirm this and does everything sound normal or anything I need to be aware of. the coolant tubes were hard so I assume coolant was flowing, just dont know why it didnt alarm before shut off??
 
The fan kicks on around 190ish. I forgot the exact number.
Then a yellow warning light comes on with a thermometer symbol around 200ish.
Then comes a red light & shuts it down around 240 i believe.

A couple of tips:
1. I always ran 50/50 mix with Water Wetter. Huge improvement. I've ran in -20 F with no issues.
2. Hang back of sled in the air overnight. Remove rear bleeder nut on tube that runs in the back between heat exchangers. Lower slowly until coolant comes out then cap it. Refill, run & repeat process until no air.
3. You can run sled with yellow light while riding. It's just time to run in some powder a tad to get some snow in there. The red light means you're on the edge.
4. Your fan works & it shut down so the safety mechanisms work.
5. I installed a digital temp gauge. Peace of Mind. I used to freak out when the yellow lite would come on. Turns out sometimes it was hovering around 190ish & there was NO problem. I just didn't like it over 200 for too long.
6. Just remember, with NO coolant, it will NOT turn on fan or warn you. HOPEFULLY it shuts down before blowing the motor. This has happened many a time usually when a stud takes out the front exchanger while riding.
 
Last edited:
Ok will definently bleed, still wondering why the lights never came on (maybee the guy disconnected??) but they do light up when the system does a system check when turning the key once before starting, I guess well see if she overheats once it snows, The only thing now is that she idles at around 2300rpm which seems way high, anything that might cause this, or just age. its got 30k km.



Also would like to ad the temp gauge, whatd you use? and whered you mount on engine. (heads)?
 
A possible reason for the light not coming on and still overheating after adding coolant is that you have an air pocket in the system. I would follow Steve's recommendation of bleeding the system rather than wait to see if it overheats once it snows.
 
Bleed first. Twice
Then we'll check the lights.
The idle is easy if nothing else is wrong.
I'll check where i got the gauge.
 
Okay I bled the system twice till I got a good flow of coolant coming out the bleed hole. When I start it now sometimes the red light comes on and then turns off after a bit and it runs like it did before, Itll kill istelf after a while but of course there is no snow to cool it, the fan comes on like before. still no warning lights at that point. Is this normal or......
 
On cold starts, it is normal for the red light in conjunction with a flashing temp icon on the dash to flash until the motor warms up. After it has done so, the red light and flashing temp icon will go away:

There images were taken from the Owner's Manual for your 2006 GT:

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