Tom Lee
Extreme
"4) fix my squealing belt that howls if you let it idle for more than 15 seconds"
Ask your dealer to replace the three small bolts inside the secondary (I believe they are 6mm bolts with 8mm hex head) to stop the belt squeal. They keep the secondary open to the correct amount so the belt rides at the right height. The tips of these bolts get flattened and thus shortened over time allowing the belt to become tighter causing the howl at idle.
By the way I solved the tippy feeling on my VK Pro by installing a sway bar from an arctic cat f7, and using the wide ski skins from Yamaha on the original skis. I had to make two bushings and do a small amount of grinding in order to install the complete sway bar setup from the Cat. With front springs set on the softest settings it is more stable than with the springs set firmest without the bar.
Cant comment on the gear shift problem though, only have the fwd/reverse gearbox (06 model).
Excellent thread with lots of good info.
Ask your dealer to replace the three small bolts inside the secondary (I believe they are 6mm bolts with 8mm hex head) to stop the belt squeal. They keep the secondary open to the correct amount so the belt rides at the right height. The tips of these bolts get flattened and thus shortened over time allowing the belt to become tighter causing the howl at idle.
By the way I solved the tippy feeling on my VK Pro by installing a sway bar from an arctic cat f7, and using the wide ski skins from Yamaha on the original skis. I had to make two bushings and do a small amount of grinding in order to install the complete sway bar setup from the Cat. With front springs set on the softest settings it is more stable than with the springs set firmest without the bar.
Cant comment on the gear shift problem though, only have the fwd/reverse gearbox (06 model).
Excellent thread with lots of good info.
Most of your reverse-problems will also be caused by the tight belt. My '09 won't let me shift until the engine rpm's are all the way down to idle. If the engine has the rpm-hang, as it usually does after running for a bit, it won't let me shift no matter what I do. The primary will grip the belt just enough to keep pressure on the jackshaft/gears. Once the rpm's are normal (1400), it just slides into gear quite effortlessly...
The new belt for the '09 Phazer will also help for the shifting, since it has a more slippery surface on the inside, to prevent the primary from gripping it when ideling. My '09 came stock with the '08 Phazer-belt, since it's more slippery then the regular belts for the Vector's and Apex'es, but my dealer told me I could try to the '09 Phazer-belt if I had any severe problems shifting with the '08 belt. Just what I've been told...
The new belt for the '09 Phazer will also help for the shifting, since it has a more slippery surface on the inside, to prevent the primary from gripping it when ideling. My '09 came stock with the '08 Phazer-belt, since it's more slippery then the regular belts for the Vector's and Apex'es, but my dealer told me I could try to the '09 Phazer-belt if I had any severe problems shifting with the '08 belt. Just what I've been told...
greg sellentin
Veteran
that makes a lot of sense. my 07 came back from service with the upgraded tranny parts, but the "tech" adjusted the idle so high, it didn't shift. once i reduced the idle it shifted fine. the "tech" also left a long screwdriver/crowbar thing in the undercarriage, that vibrated out when I took it off the trailer. geniuses.
air19
Pro
Thanks everyone.
Good ideas about my service list. A good example why I like this website.
I'll let you know toward the end of next week how it's running after the dealer has worked on things.
Good ideas about my service list. A good example why I like this website.
I'll let you know toward the end of next week how it's running after the dealer has worked on things.
air19
Pro
I picked up my VK Pro from the dealer today and had time to ride it for about half an hour when I got home.
Reverse is definitely improved. The dealer said my drive belt was so tight that it wouldn't release into reverse.
Winter is quickly disappearing in Vermont. I'll probably be putting the sled away for good tomorrow. I'll check in on this forum a few times during the off season, but I'll see you all back regularily when the snow flies again.
Closing remark for the season - it's taken me two years and a few improvements, but I finally have a good knowledge of my VK Pro and for my grooming needs its working well.
Reverse is definitely improved. The dealer said my drive belt was so tight that it wouldn't release into reverse.
Winter is quickly disappearing in Vermont. I'll probably be putting the sled away for good tomorrow. I'll check in on this forum a few times during the off season, but I'll see you all back regularily when the snow flies again.
Closing remark for the season - it's taken me two years and a few improvements, but I finally have a good knowledge of my VK Pro and for my grooming needs its working well.
eric3793
Pro
air19 said:
Say it ain't so...just one more weekend. Well, maybe two. Your post explains why I never had much of an issue getting into reverse. My belt was never really tight. It's fairly loose especially now that I have about 4000 miles on the sled. I almost put the new one on but I'll wait until I put her away for the summer. I also have a low idle...too low at times making for long cranks when hot starting.
Do you have any items that I should check before the next season? I am really impressed that nothing has gone wrong after running this monster for two years. Just grease, check the chaincase level and one oil change per season. I don't even need to change the oil filter this time. The coolant level is fine and it has never overheated on me...even while grooming. I did foul the plugs in December but I cleaned them and ran them all winter. However, I don't do the really hard pulling that you do.
I read the posts regarding bearings and such but I'm not about to replace any that are not visably worn. Track alignment & tension is fine I have had several sleds with 8000 miles plus without bearing issues so I'll just keep running her.
It seems like we were just discussing the wide ski issue. You bought the Simmons and I ordered those skins...now winter is over. The VK is a unique machine and I have no intention of riding anything else for now...except for my wife's lightweight Renegade once in awhile.
I hope you all have a nice "off-season".
air19
Pro
eric3793 said:Do you have any items that I should check before the next season?
I hope you all have a nice "off-season".
Sounds like you are doing all the right things regarding maintenance. My dealer also cleaned the clutches, installed a slider kit in the primary clutch, and removed the shim washers from the secondary clutch. He also checked the wires to the rectifier and they were dry.
Off season will be lots of trail work and pulling in the usual 15 cords of firewood that we go through each winter.
Enjoyed your comments Eric on this and many other threads.
Take care.
eric3793
Pro
The VK is ready for its third season! She starts like a dream. I had siphoned all the gas out and and added about a gallon of blue Stabil/gas mix. Every few weeks I started the VK and let it warm to the point where the light went out. I added fresh mix in August in an effort to keep the condensation from causing issues.
Maine got 6" of snow yesterday in the north so someone must have been riding!
Maine got 6" of snow yesterday in the north so someone must have been riding!
YETI
Extreme
slush and rain here in Jackman not rideing yet anyone else
Teton RB
Newbie
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2009
- Messages
- 8
Wow! I was doing a little internet research last night on my overheating issue with my 07 VK Pro and ended up on this thread. I read the entire thing from the beginning. It reads like a novel based on the last two years of my grooming life. I have experienced all of the issues that Air19 has had. The information you have shared is priceless. I admire your relentless and creative efforts to resolve these issues and truly appreciate you sharing your experience with us.
We are a nonprofit organization located in Teton Valley here in western Wyoming and currently groom four venues here in the valley. I am the current president of the organization and am one of the vollunteer groomers here. We have a team of about 8 to 10 groomers each year and currently have three 07 VK Pros set up with Yellowstone Track Systems Ginzugroomers, rollers and tracksetters. We also have a Pisten Bully that has been broken down for the better part of last season. This preseason we discovered coolant leaking into the engine. It looks like we will be relying on the VK Pros to do the job this year.
I read with great interest your story of your overheating issue. For the most part the VK Pros work great. We get tons of snow here and the machines do quite well keeping it all under control with the exception of pulling the ginzus in warmer temperatures. We have tried scratchers, removed the vent cover, and still have the issue. It sounds like the additional radiator is the way to go. Unfortunately this would be at least a $3,000 investment to get all our machines dialed in. I'm not sure we can afford that at the moment but it might be wise to invest now before we blow up our engines.
Thanks for the advise. It is great to know that there is a solution out there even though it is kind of spendy.
By the way, I did a quick internet search of the radiator part number and only found one for $927. Do you have any other parts source that you recommend?
I'll be keeping an eye on this thread throughout the season. We have a little snow here but not quite enough to groom yet. Hoping to be up and running by the end of the month.
Thanks
We are a nonprofit organization located in Teton Valley here in western Wyoming and currently groom four venues here in the valley. I am the current president of the organization and am one of the vollunteer groomers here. We have a team of about 8 to 10 groomers each year and currently have three 07 VK Pros set up with Yellowstone Track Systems Ginzugroomers, rollers and tracksetters. We also have a Pisten Bully that has been broken down for the better part of last season. This preseason we discovered coolant leaking into the engine. It looks like we will be relying on the VK Pros to do the job this year.
I read with great interest your story of your overheating issue. For the most part the VK Pros work great. We get tons of snow here and the machines do quite well keeping it all under control with the exception of pulling the ginzus in warmer temperatures. We have tried scratchers, removed the vent cover, and still have the issue. It sounds like the additional radiator is the way to go. Unfortunately this would be at least a $3,000 investment to get all our machines dialed in. I'm not sure we can afford that at the moment but it might be wise to invest now before we blow up our engines.
Thanks for the advise. It is great to know that there is a solution out there even though it is kind of spendy.
By the way, I did a quick internet search of the radiator part number and only found one for $927. Do you have any other parts source that you recommend?
I'll be keeping an eye on this thread throughout the season. We have a little snow here but not quite enough to groom yet. Hoping to be up and running by the end of the month.
Thanks
air19
Pro
Teton RB said:
Hi Teton RB,
Welcome to the VK Pro forum. With a fleet of 3 VK Pros you might be the biggest user on the forum.
One suggestion regarding the cooling is to purchase the second radiator setup for just one of your sleds. Then when the weather gets warm, that's the sled that gets pulled into duty. When it gets warm here in Vermont I really cut down on the grooming. Maybe you could get by out there with just one sled in those tough conditions. For the other two sleds I would recommend getting an override switch set up for the primary radiator fan so you can turn it on instead of waiting for the thermostat to kick it on at which point it's almost too late.
The second radiator is the big purchase. Feel free to give my dealer in Vermont a call if you want a second price quote. They are All Around Power at 1-800-748-1413 and ask for Ben in service. The override switch setup for the other two sleds will be very cheap in comparison.
Your VKs and Ginzus should do just fine for your grooming needs this year. I've seen more of the big ski centers out here cutting down on their Pisten Bully hours and pushing their sleds more.
Having that many different grooming operators though is a different challenge. How are you training everyone to take good care of the VKs and on good grooming techniques?
air19
Pro
2009-10 Grooming Season has begun
Hi Everyone,
The forum is pretty quiet right now. I'm back up and running this year. I've been out grooming our xc ski trails 4 times so far. We have about 10 inches of snow to work with. My biggest effort right now is brushing in all my wet areas. There are about 20 of them and I'm dropping fir trees nearby and using all the branches to create an insulation layer between the wet and the snow. Worked good last year on a couple, so this year while we are off to a slow start, I'm going to put in the effort to brush in as many wet areas as I can get to.
The VK Pro is running fine. Started up good. Running with the second radiator on in these early season mild conditions. Really like the flexi-skis while I'm building up the trail base. My trails have their share of bumps, stumps, and rocks and a little extra stability help with the skis is much appreciated.
Hope for a good snow season for all.
Hi Everyone,
The forum is pretty quiet right now. I'm back up and running this year. I've been out grooming our xc ski trails 4 times so far. We have about 10 inches of snow to work with. My biggest effort right now is brushing in all my wet areas. There are about 20 of them and I'm dropping fir trees nearby and using all the branches to create an insulation layer between the wet and the snow. Worked good last year on a couple, so this year while we are off to a slow start, I'm going to put in the effort to brush in as many wet areas as I can get to.
The VK Pro is running fine. Started up good. Running with the second radiator on in these early season mild conditions. Really like the flexi-skis while I'm building up the trail base. My trails have their share of bumps, stumps, and rocks and a little extra stability help with the skis is much appreciated.
Hope for a good snow season for all.
waynes
Veteran
With the forum so quiet it makes one think that there aren't many problems with the vk pro. (or not much snow)
I had my first run today with about 2 feet of powder and in some places(drifts) more. The 11 inch skins sure do a good job of keeping that heavy front on top of the snow.
Hope everyone has a good season no matter what your type of snowmobiling is.
I had my first run today with about 2 feet of powder and in some places(drifts) more. The 11 inch skins sure do a good job of keeping that heavy front on top of the snow.
Hope everyone has a good season no matter what your type of snowmobiling is.
Teton RB
Newbie
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2009
- Messages
- 8
We are finally getting going with grooming here in Teton Valley. We had some early season snow in early October but is has been rather dry and very cold ever since. A good storm rolled through here in the past few days and the temperatures finally climbed into the 20's. That allowed us to start grooming two of our venues. I went out today for the first time this season on my track. We have about a foot of good snow that compacted well. We are expecting significant snowfall (a foot or two) over the next few days. This should put us right where we want to be.
My VK Pro has some new additions this year. The hifax was replaced, the front suspension has been adjusted, scratchers installed, adjusted coolant ratio in the cooling system, and a fan overide switch installed. Thanks for the suggestions on this post.
We have an excellent nordic program manager (Nick) this year who maintains our sleds (3 VK Pros, and 1 old 540) and our other equipment (4 rollers, 3 ginzugroomers, 4 tracksetters, and other miscellaneous equipment). He also oversees all four of our venues, trains all our new groomers and is the chief groomer at our most popular venue which is groomed 6 days a week. I have introduced him to this thread and he has read it from the beginning. Each of our other venues have a chief groomer and two or three other groomers. We have approximately 14 groomers total with Nick as the only paid groomer. All the rest of us are volunteers. If you are interested you can check out our website at www.TVTAP.org.
Thanks again for all the info on this thread. I will keep checking back in throughout the winter. When I get a chance I'll post a few photos of our gear and venues.
My VK Pro has some new additions this year. The hifax was replaced, the front suspension has been adjusted, scratchers installed, adjusted coolant ratio in the cooling system, and a fan overide switch installed. Thanks for the suggestions on this post.
We have an excellent nordic program manager (Nick) this year who maintains our sleds (3 VK Pros, and 1 old 540) and our other equipment (4 rollers, 3 ginzugroomers, 4 tracksetters, and other miscellaneous equipment). He also oversees all four of our venues, trains all our new groomers and is the chief groomer at our most popular venue which is groomed 6 days a week. I have introduced him to this thread and he has read it from the beginning. Each of our other venues have a chief groomer and two or three other groomers. We have approximately 14 groomers total with Nick as the only paid groomer. All the rest of us are volunteers. If you are interested you can check out our website at www.TVTAP.org.
Thanks again for all the info on this thread. I will keep checking back in throughout the winter. When I get a chance I'll post a few photos of our gear and venues.
trailboss
Newbie
Setting track with YTS drag and Tidd Tech Track setter
I also use a YTS drag and a 4' TT. We have 2 snowmobils, pull the drag with one sled ahead of the 2nd sled pulling the TT setting track, we do about 12 miles in 3.5 hrs. Before we do the classic trail, we have a 2nd YTS drag and we pull both drags on a 8 mi skate only trail, 3.5 hrs. We have, when a sled breaks down etc., hooked up the TT track setter to a drag and get a 2 for one run on the classic trail. A couple of problems with this set up: a little harder to pull and steer on big hills and corners, has a tendice to slide sideways on downhills and side hills (the TT stays straight in these situations), I have several down hill corners that I can set track more skier freindly with the TT (set track starting from the outside accross to the inside of the corner back to the outside). I feel the compaction drag is the best for leveling and packing the trails, the G2 and the Ginsu I don't think level the trail, Plus they are heavier, putting load on back of sled causing you to loose steering and you need to hook up electrically to sled or battery. In this forum thier are good solutions to get around these problems, check out air19. WHAT NO SPELL CHECK!!!!
OOPS!!! I am new to this forum, GREAT FORUM!!!! We have a 08 VK Pro and a Skidoo SWT 2 stroke, 2001 I think. MERRY XMAS!!! It's 38F and Raining here in the UP. I will leave a intro of myself later, got to go to Xmas dinner, later.
I also use a YTS drag and a 4' TT. We have 2 snowmobils, pull the drag with one sled ahead of the 2nd sled pulling the TT setting track, we do about 12 miles in 3.5 hrs. Before we do the classic trail, we have a 2nd YTS drag and we pull both drags on a 8 mi skate only trail, 3.5 hrs. We have, when a sled breaks down etc., hooked up the TT track setter to a drag and get a 2 for one run on the classic trail. A couple of problems with this set up: a little harder to pull and steer on big hills and corners, has a tendice to slide sideways on downhills and side hills (the TT stays straight in these situations), I have several down hill corners that I can set track more skier freindly with the TT (set track starting from the outside accross to the inside of the corner back to the outside). I feel the compaction drag is the best for leveling and packing the trails, the G2 and the Ginsu I don't think level the trail, Plus they are heavier, putting load on back of sled causing you to loose steering and you need to hook up electrically to sled or battery. In this forum thier are good solutions to get around these problems, check out air19. WHAT NO SPELL CHECK!!!!
OOPS!!! I am new to this forum, GREAT FORUM!!!! We have a 08 VK Pro and a Skidoo SWT 2 stroke, 2001 I think. MERRY XMAS!!! It's 38F and Raining here in the UP. I will leave a intro of myself later, got to go to Xmas dinner, later.
bf said:
