Tweet
In August of 2012 I bought a 96 SLT 780 with a burned down center piston. I rebuilt the engine with an SBT cylinder exchange kit. I also rebuilt the carbs, and converted to pre-mix. Early in the 2013 riding season I also replaced the reeds.
The ski ran great all of the 2013 season. I took the ski out a few times early (June) in the 2014 season, and it ran great. The ski then sat for about five weeks before I took it out again. On this occasion it initially ran great, but would not start up after taking a break. When I got it home and pulled the heads, I discovered major ring damage to the front and center cylinders. There was no sign of over heating or burn down - just ring impressions on the pistons and heads and scored cylinders.
I am now stuck deciding if I want to spend another $400+ to put another cylinder kit into a 19 year old ski. Not knowing what went wrong the first time, makes me really nervous about putting the money into it to do it again.
I always made sure to carefully winterize the engine between riding seasons. I would appreciate any insight anyone has into what might have caused the rings to fail.
The ski ran great all of the 2013 season. I took the ski out a few times early (June) in the 2014 season, and it ran great. The ski then sat for about five weeks before I took it out again. On this occasion it initially ran great, but would not start up after taking a break. When I got it home and pulled the heads, I discovered major ring damage to the front and center cylinders. There was no sign of over heating or burn down - just ring impressions on the pistons and heads and scored cylinders.
I am now stuck deciding if I want to spend another $400+ to put another cylinder kit into a 19 year old ski. Not knowing what went wrong the first time, makes me really nervous about putting the money into it to do it again.
I always made sure to carefully winterize the engine between riding seasons. I would appreciate any insight anyone has into what might have caused the rings to fail.