Bad Doughnuts????

[Paraclete]

sorry for the noob question

I bought a 07 Apex Attak last year and got almost no miles on it.
The sled has 1700 miles on it and I found the FAQ on how to replace doughnuts but I have not seen an easy method to diagnose problems.

1
How do I tell if they are bad?
2
Should I just go ahead and replace them with copper?

 

[Irv]

sorry for the noob question

I bought a 07 Apex Attak last year and got almost no miles on it.
The sled has 1700 miles on it and I found the FAQ on how to replace doughnuts but I have not seen an easy method to diagnose problems.

1
How do I tell if they are bad?
2
Should I just go ahead and replace them with copper?

At 1700 miles you should be good but the best way to check them is to stuff a rag over the exhaust ends after the sled is running and see if it stalls?
If it stalls quickly you're good to go but if it takes a while to stall or keeps running then it's time to change them out.

 

[actionjack]

Its not that hard to break the sled down to the point you can actually see the pipes and the donuts. In the process you can do all the tweaks everyone has learned and learn a lot about your sled in the process.

Depending on the rider at 1700 miles you could need very little maintenance or a lot of little stuff including the donuts. I doubt the donuts but its possible. If you still have the factory front end plastic bushings they are probably shot even if you bought the sled from a grandmother.

You should also check the secondary and speedo bearing using the sticky.

 

[Paraclete]

I will fire it up this weekend and try to stall it out.

it will give me an excuse to hear the vvvrrroooommm

Next level of noobness both exhaust at the same time or one at a time?

 

[Riceburner]

Both at once.

 

[sleddog66]

both at same time. Word of caution though, make sure the sled has warmed up, as you do not want to stahl the sled cold, as you may foul the plugs trying to restart. Always warm up the sled fully before you shut it down

 

[Paraclete]

Ok so here is the plan.
Since it is in my garage and has been raining for about 5 days I will have my wife start in in the garage and let it warm up for about 2 hours

I will them come and make sure the everything is ok.

 

[thor452]

Ok so here is the plan.
Since it is in my garage and has been raining for about 5 days I will have my wife start in in the garage and let it warm up for about 2 hours

I will them come and make sure the everything is ok.

your jokeing right? the sled will over heat in about 15-20 mins in the summer just let it run for 5 mins or so before you do the test. my first set of dounuts were at 1200 miles on my 07 almost best to replace them with the copper if you have the time and money at this point. some times all will seem well and you get her out on the snow and she starts to backfire. may even make it a few miles on them and then mid season you have to repair. season is too short verry min cost if you do it before it wears thru the pipes as long as you will be doing it your self it takes a few hours of labor to have the shop do.

 

[Paraclete]

Yes I am kidding,
And don't tell my wife.

It seems like everybody is having good luck with the copper so maybe I will just replace.

 

[Paraclete]

OK I did the exhaust test and it almost stalled in a couple of seconds but I let off before it actually stalled.

I looked at the bushings today. Above the ski pillar they are definitely metal. I could not tell where the arms join to the sled.

 

[rbig18]

I am in the same place. I just ordered the new a-arm and bulkhead kit from Performance. In looking at mine I can see metal were used on the 'pillar" as you mention, but where the a-arms go to the bulk head I can see what is left of the white plastic bushing. It is loose and as far as I can tell completely shot.

I am also soon to hit the rag test as well.

 

[actionjack]

Even when you replace the factory plastic bushings with Oilite there remains the need to use the white Nylon looking "spacers" on the ends of the a-arms that are bolted to the bulkhead. The factory plastic bushings that get replaced are black or gun-metal blue (dark in color).