Sidewinder Heat Exchanger Hose

[Sprint44]

So a friend and myself have purchased 2 new 2018 LTX 137 sidewinders. We are on a 3 day ride in Quebec and both have 500 miles on them and we both ended up in the dealership today with antifreeze running out of both of them. My question is are any of you guys seeing ice build up under the tunnel, coming loose and ripping the 1 inch hose that connects the heat exchanger to the tube that runs up by the engine. I saw a post where Dan had a leak and had to tighten the clamps on this exact hose that got torn by ice. This is a horrible design and I see this as a continuous issue! Me and my buddy have lost all faith in taking these things on another backpacking trip. Has anyone heard of a fix for this issue?

 

[snowbeast]

Wow,first I have heard of this,but I do know right where you are speaking of,because my sled was all apart from a crash,and we had to remove all plumbing,including that area hoses. But I now have over 1000 miles on and no trouble,so it was ice ripping it,wow I never saw that coming,same design on my old cat turbo,with no issues,man I hope you guys get it fixed and never have that issue again,sorry to hear that.

 

[ROCKERDAN]

Mine has never made ice up there, it always makes ice on rear most sides but rest of tunnel for front 2/3 is empty mostly all the time....Must have been a certain type of condition with lots of powder then shut off maybe? And then ice up that far forward....seems odd to get ice up that far.

 

[Sprint44]

W

Mine has never made ice up there, it always makes ice on rear most sides but rest of tunnel for front 2/3 is empty mostly all the time....Must have been a certain type of condition with lots of powder then shut off maybe? And then ice up that far forward....seems odd to get ice up that far.

When we left the dealer and both sleds were completely thawed out. We went up the trail about 10 miles and checked everything out and there was a tremendous amount of ice on both sides and in the middle of the tunnel forming ice. We were on hard packed groomed trails. If the ice starts to fall as your going down the trail it's going to get thrown right to the front of the sled where this poor design is. It's not the first time this dealer had seen this issue as he had this hose directly from Yamaha in stock. Another guy had walked in the dealership and he had a 2017 where he had the same issue.

 

[Sevey]

Any chance a guard of some kind could be riveted underneath protecting that connection?
Crazy design not having the tunnel built like a fortress to take the pounding from ice.
If you have a heat exchanger up there, your going to have ice at some point.

A photo would be great.
MS

 

[lhdriller]

I have ice build up and it usually falls off the following day when i first start riding. I try to just take my time for the first few hundred yards. Once i hear it fall i stop and go in reverse to spit it out. Definitely need a guard up there. Poor design

 

[XP123]

I use silicone spray down both sides of the tunnel to keep snow and ice from sticking. Make sure to not spray the heat exchangers but get the sides of the tunnel pretty good. You will notice a lot less ice build up if you do this a few times a season.

 

[fatchance]

I always do the old, lift the back end up and drop it on pavement to rid the tunnel of any ice build up.

 

[DennyTuna]

Has me wondering why my over flow reservoir is empty after 850 miles. I will need to take a closer look at this as well.

 

[Never Satisfied]

Never had ice build up in front, the back half gets pretty built up. I get alot of water running down the outside right where the spars attach beside the fuel tank.

 

[HMTurbo]

Would a bit of flex seal or similar product work? Make a mess if you have to repair it but some of that stuff is very durable.

 

[DooZ]

Never had ice build up in front, the back half gets pretty built up. I get alot of water running down the outside right where the spars attach beside the fuel tank.

Same situation here with water running down near spare attachment. I was thinking it was possible that snow is coming up from the vent and melting on top of the tunnel. Seems odd to have that much water running out from under the gas tank.

 

[DooZ]

It sounds like a chuck of ice dislodges from the back and the track kicks it up into the hose connection? Sounds like there should be a guard produced if it becomes a more wide spread problem.

 

[ROCKERDAN]

This is a hard rubber round piece of hose...its sorta tucked up and away too.....

Its off how this happens. Can you please post a picture of the damaged hose?

Reason I mention this is....I would like to see how its cutting thru rubber with ice? This must mean the ice edge is so sharp it cuts it....I have cut this rubber with a sharp utility knife and its not that easy.

Or is it more or less destroying it by ripping it off the connection maybe?

Pics would be great, might help for some solution.

I know certain temps and conditions can bring on ice buildup when other temps and trail conditions can be far different ice buildup. But typically it is at the back sides on these sleds, and anything up front it cleared out as track spins. If a chunk flies up there It should be firing forward with track motion, and not upward into that hose....very odd and likely why this has never been posted or seen before this thread.

I assume you know for sure it was ice correct? Not something else that cut into it?

Dan

 

[Sprint44]