2009 800 Dragon

[dvst8r]

... proven fact MARINE fuel= summer fuel- different flash point fuel in tanks not changed as much as in summer. this means u may be purchasing summer fuel for your sled...

Proven by whom? As I stated earlier I was involved in a law suit, where this very thing was the deciding point, and the refinery that produced the fuel said off hiway, and on hiway are 100% equivalent, the dye used has no effect on the performance of the fuel, and they are stored in the same tank before the dye is put in.

The turnover of any tank is just a matter of its customer base. There are lots of people who use off hiway fuel all year round for various apps. Seeings that you have intimate details on this I can only assume you are from the PG area. So you of all people should realize that forestry consumes lots of off hiway fuel all year round. Which would lead to high turnover of the holding tanks.

As far as flash points are concerned, you appear to be confusing diesel and gasoline. The only real change in summer to winter gasoline is the RVP rating which in short is the vapor pressure of gasoline at 100F, summer gasoline is made so it evaporates slower so it doesn't just boil away in the summer. The only real reason that they produce summer gasoline is so that it doesn't evaporate away. It is far cheaper to produce winter gasoline then summer as it uses more butane per volume, and butane is cheap, but the knock rating is still 91, summer or winter. This is the rate at which it burns, the higher the number the slower the burn the greater it resists detonation.

I have no dog in this fight, but I do want to keep facts, facts.

 

[overkill131313]

Proven by whom? As I stated earlier I was involved in a law suit, where this very thing was the deciding point, and the refinery that produced the fuel said off hiway, and on hiway are 100% equivalent, the dye used has no effect on the performance of the fuel, and they are stored in the same tank before the dye is put in.

The turnover of any tank is just a matter of its customer base. There are lots of people who use off hiway fuel all year round for various apps. Seeings that you have intimate details on this I can only assume you are from the PG area. So you of all people should realize that forestry consumes lots of off hiway fuel all year round. Which would lead to high turnover of the holding tanks.

As far as flash points are concerned, you appear to be confusing diesel and gasoline. The only real change in summer to winter gasoline is the RVP rating which in short is the vapor pressure of gasoline at 100F, summer gasoline is made so it evaporates slower so it doesn't just boil away in the summer. The only real reason that they produce summer gasoline is so that it doesn't evaporate away. It is far cheaper to produce winter gasoline then summer as it uses more butane per volume, and butane is cheap, but the knock rating is still 91, summer or winter. This is the rate at which it burns, the higher the number the slower the burn the greater it resists detonation.

I have no dog in this fight, but I do want to keep facts, facts.

so true.....when I buy "marked fuel at the bulk station.....I pump in 91 prem fuel and they come out with there can of dye and give it a "tint" same fuel as road gas......most of the time when I buy my marked gas at the local gas station it is not even marked because they forget to dye it.......about 50% of the time it is non marked........and their 500-1000 gallon above ground tank gets filled every week.

 

[hung-low]

i've been reading this post & would like to put in my 2 cents. facts that are posted here. 91 octane fuel is ok if actually 91 octane from high traffic pumps. marine fuel COULD possibly be old summer fuel correct? warranty ended 3 weeks before failure correct? weather dealer/customer/myself/all forum members know what we are talking about or not ALL MANUFACTURES have warranty end dates correct? sounds like a crappy deal a blown up sled without warranty but these end dates are there for a reason, unfortunatly it happened this way. hope all works out.

 

[dvst8r]

...91 octane fuel is ok if actually 91 octane from high traffic pumps. marine fuel COULD possibly be old summer fuel correct? ...

There is no such thing as marine fuel, just taxed and not taxed fuel. Summer fuel and winter fuel have no bearing on the rate at which it burns. Only the rate at which it evaporates at high temperatures. In Northern Canada I doubt we even get real summer fuel, as the 100F that the RVP is tested at, almost never happens where this is being discussed, and being that it is cheaper to produce winter fuel, I am sure it is as much of a winter fuel as the refinery can possibly get away with, as it is more $$$ in there pockets.

There is NO way a gas station could stay in business if they didn't have a high enough turn over to at least prevent stale fuel. I don't think most people realize the amount of fuel consumed on a daily basis. A tiny gas station will do 20,000 Gallons (~76,000L) a month, a decent sized one will do 100,000 gallons (~379,000L) not talking card locks, just your average on the corner gas station.

 

[jbb]

if it was any kind of dealer they would have come up with some sort of a compromise. this sleds been a pos since day one by the sounds of it. 3 engines in less then 1000 miles? they make it sound like its the first time a polaris 800 blew up. all you have to do is read the forums to see what a pos they truely were. and on the skidoo comment? remember the 07 rev? remember doo gave an extra yr after the fact? if polaris was any kind of company they would of stepped up. or are they still licking there wounds from all they warranties they already had to give out?

 

[Depsnolvr]

I know this kid and feel very sorry for him. young fella affords a new sled and barely has had one successful ride on it in three years and now has a 13000 paper weight.

Beaker, you MUST have a relashionship with the dealer or how would you know this guys story to a tee and not be defending him ? Please help this kid a little, there must be a comprimise somewhere

 

[tantrumpipeline]

get good insurance and leave it locked to your truck, some crackhead will remedy your problem:d Personally I would make a sign and park your sled in your truck with a large banner stating they don't back their products etc. and park it in front of the dealer on public property whenever possible, you'd be amazed how fast this can work, when I lived in BC we had a neighbor do this with a ford truck that the dealer wouldn't fix, he ended up with a new truck, it was a ford from that dealer but at a stealof a deal, I'm sure he took a hit but it wasn't a total loss, he didn't have anything negative to say about them after it was all said and done, worst part of this is you'll still have a polaris mind you that pro rmk is pretty badass

 

[hung-low]

you guys all have some pretty good points BUT where is the rest of the story? i think if it was my sled i would know why it supposidly went thru 3 engines? i'm sure polaris has had problems like all other sleds but i think if truly 3 engines i would be lookin at what I'M DOING.
don't get me wrong i would be pissed i just think we may be missing a few facts here. i'm sure dealer came up with some sorta help? if warranty void only so much dealer can do?
OP maybe you could give us more facts did the dealer offer ANY help? trade in? deal on repair? ???????? please fill in all the un answered blanks so we can see how bad it is. been in this situtation myself not a good place to be but fact of the matter sled needs to be repaired. buy a manual, parts & fix it yourself will save labour cost, shop for deal on parts etc

 

[utilityvehicle]

Some of the issues I have seen is when guys fire up there sleds and rip it accross the parking lot stone cold and wonder why they have motor issues. I can go to the mountains any given day and watch this happen. I have 1000miles on my 09 with no issues. gotta watch a cold seize

 

[davelaw1982]

no relation to dealer, nor fuel expert. proven fact MARINE fuel= summer fuel- different flash point fuel in tanks not changed as much as in summer. this means u may be purchasing summer fuel for your sled. my point is if the sled is detonated it is a fuel issue. polaris reccomends non marked fuel so why run marked MARINE fuel? you should contact a lawyer it sounds like it will take sombody with a law degree to read the warranty experation date to everybody.
not trying to stir up crap but as a person that spends lots of money buying the latest & greatest sleds/quads etc i would like to see ppl cut back on the ''screw it its warranty'' mantality. this would help keep costs down on new units so manufactures don't have to factor stupidity into pricing.
getting back to topic op should work with dealer/polaris whoever it takes to repair sled to get it back onto trail. as for the fuel topic i think a little research on all our parts will show us alot. why run a 150 hp motor & try to save a few cents on fuel? on this unit that failed running 91 boat gas was the ethanol jumper plugged in or not

Detonation is not always a fuel issue..... Timing will have major impact on detonation, you may have the correct fuel, but if your timing is well advanced, the "correct" fuel on the cap "91 Octane" will not be enough.... ECM???

 

[livingthethrill]

Help!

Re: Prince George BC. Engine blew up, 3rd time, only 922 km. Polaris won't warranty and dealer won't warranty their own work. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thx!

put the polaris in the garbage then go and get a real sled.(arctic cat)

 

[fargineyesore]

The "poor fuel" excuse is bullsh#t!! Why aren't the Doos and Cat's engines burning up? They use the same fuel as the Polaris owners. I think what Polaris needs is a class action lawsuit to get their attention. My 08 700 Dragon has scoring on both pistons. I warm it up to 115 degress EVERY TIME before I ride it and always have. I ALWAYS burn premium fuel (non-ethanol) in it. It has 1300 miles on it and now I have to get both pistons replaced. What a load of crap. I'll fix it this time, but I'm not impressed with Polaris one bit. They should quit trying to blame Polaris owners for their engine flaws.

 

[maxwell]

the fuel excuse is BS have accidentally run LOW octane fuel in my sled before as snow flakes are flying down into the tank...never burned up...

 

[hihi962]

Some of the issues I have seen is when guys fire up there sleds and rip it accross the parking lot stone cold and wonder why they have motor issues. I can go to the mountains any given day and watch this happen. I have 1000miles on my 09 with no issues. gotta watch a cold seize

well this wouldn't show detonation problems.. may toast the bearings or squeak a piston, but shouldn't detonate... anyways,
the only thing I could think of if they are certain it was fuel, would be if premium was not in the tank eventhough premium was purchased.. for example, all you guys have seen new pumps now a days, they have 3 grades and only one big long hose... you don't really think that you are getting premium as soon as you press the leaver do ya!? perhaps this place where he bought the bulk fuel from has a really large long hose (what'd he just say!) but yea, perhaps eventhough "Beaker" sounds a little blunt, he might be right. but if they can prove that the fuel in the tank did meet 91 octane, then his cedibility is out the window...hell, i don't even use fuel stabilizer and my 800 doo hasn't skipped a beat in 1600 miles (or any of my other previous sleds) mind you I shed my stuff to keep it out of the heat.

I know it sucks but a warranty end date is just that, an end.. In my opinion the manufacture should never bend the rules for anyone, but in saying that I think the dealer should, they know damn well the work done, did all the service, and seen some guys come back after 5 miles, there should be some dealer support there..

What I do: search long and hard for a premium pump with a dedicated hose... or let your buddies fill up first! haha jk.

 

[maxwell]

thats why i throw 5 bux in the truck first before fueling the sleds

 

[timbo]

First failure was the computer, second failure they wouldn't say what the problem was, this last one, they wouldn't give us the details but are blaming it on fuel. It was 13 days past the prior warranty. We have heard many different and conflicting reasons why they are having problems. Some dealers say its the parts some say its the computer, either way, we cannot get a straight answer.

Sounds like the dealer is covering his behind on this.It's your sled and they should give you a printout of all parts and mechanic's comments on each failure.
I would go to another dealer and have them run your ser# for warranty repairs done,you might be surprised.

 

[davelaw1982]

thats why i throw 5 bux in the truck first before fueling the sleds

5 bux in the diesel LOL

 

[dvst8r]

Even if they were using the HUGE bulk station high speed diesel hose, for gasoline even in a 20L fill (small for most sleds) would change the octane rating less then a half a point. NO way it is enough to cause any issue.

 

[Dynacorkle]

That Beaker dudes obviously a dealer if he has that info. The warranty's up and the engines toast. That sucks a$$. Buy a new one or have a (good) mechanic fix it up. Sounds like the bottom ends full of metal too, that sucks but may be flushable. These machines won't let you ride when detonating, they go into limp mode. Bad gas or not that wasn't it. The engine went again after 2kms?? That my friend is total F'ing bullshat. That dealer should be hung out to dry. Or at least hung! That said, fix it, then get yourself a power commander and fix the fuel mapping issue, which i suspect was the cause of the first 2 failures. You can get one with a map preloaded by Dynotech from somewhere. Time to move on before the season does. Good luck. Check the forums, the power commander is a good fix. If you need a good mechanic, i know the best in the kootenays!

 

[OnlyPolaris]

what your serial number. i can run it and see what all warranty work has been done to it.