[In2racn]

Our group of mostly 900 turbo sleds is nearly about to give up as we cannot complete backpack trip without our sleds miss firing and stalling due to pump/fuel issues.

This week, all was fine until we fueled at lac repo. Shortly after, first one, then all 4 sleds were struggling to stay running. We all use tank filters at each fill, so debris is not the issue. Multiple bottles of dry gas does not help. There problem gets better then turns worse. We are able to ride for awhile, long enough to take fuel at different stations, but If the sled has this issue, it ends up terminal with the sled finally not able to continue.

This is our 3rd year of struggling with filter and pump issues on the 900 turbos. This time it was 3 turbo R's and one 900 130hp.
Has anyone found the trick to keep these sleds running?

 

[FordFan17]

Our group of mostly 900 turbo sleds is nearly about to give up as we cannot complete backpack trip without our sleds miss firing and stalling due to pump/fuel issues.

This week, all was fine until we fueled at lac repo. Shortly after, first one, then all 4 sleds were struggling to stay running. We all use tank filters at each fill, so debris is not the issue. Multiple bottles of dry gas does not help. There problem gets better then turns worse. We are able to ride for awhile, long enough to take fuel at different stations, but If the sled has this issue, it ends up terminal with the sled finally not able to continue.

This is our 3rd year of struggling with filter and pump issues on the 900 turbos. This time it was 3 turbo R's and one 900 130hp.
Has anyone found the trick to keep these sleds running?

Did you ever switch out the sock on the fuel pump? Those plug up with tank debris and that can give you your issue along with changing the inline fuel filter. Another thing is I remember my dad having an issue a few years ago, ended up his DESS key wasn’t on correctly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[NSHM]

Do the turbos use a different filter and sock than all the other ski doo's?

 

[dirb]

Our group of mostly 900 turbo sleds is nearly about to give up as we cannot complete backpack trip without our sleds miss firing and stalling due to pump/fuel issues.

This week, all was fine until we fueled at lac repo. Shortly after, first one, then all 4 sleds were struggling to stay running. We all use tank filters at each fill, so debris is not the issue. Multiple bottles of dry gas does not help. There problem gets better then turns worse. We are able to ride for awhile, long enough to take fuel at different stations, but If the sled has this issue, it ends up terminal with the sled finally not able to continue.

This is our 3rd year of struggling with filter and pump issues on the 900 turbos. This time it was 3 turbo R's and one 900 130hp.
Has anyone found the trick to keep these sleds running?

I think just your having bad luck when all 4 run like crap and you all filled at same station it sounds like bad gas

 

[SKIDOOCHRIS]

dry gas also leans out the fuel mixture
same fuel pump and filters is used on all the four strokes

 

[Nuke_1]

 

[fast eddy]

I think this you tube video will help. There appears to be plastic in the tanks.
900 Ace Turbo & Turbo R - Fuel Filters Maintenance Tip

 

[nm9stheham]

The use of tank fill filters may or may not be doing anything for you. The inline filters in the sled are very fine, and if the particles are a very fine, then they will go straight through the fill filter and then get caught in the fine inline filter. Medium fine may get int he fuel sock. So you cannot rule out fine debris just because you use a fill filter.

OP, what have you been doing after these problems in the past to clear this up? Change out the inline filter or clean the socks or both, or what?

IDK your area well. What/where is 'lac repo'? What particular fuel?

 

[Blueblood]

he is in northern quebec on a saddlebaging trip.

 

[stevewithocd]

I've NEVER had a 4-stroke with gas problems.
That said, if all your sleds have a problem, they ALL need to have filters changed & tanks cleaned out.
If you guys were driving 2-strokes you'd have MUCH bigger problems.
DRY GAS is an old technology, but if you use it, TOO much can cause it's own issues.

There is a product out there that removes water from a tank.
I can't remember what it is, but it's a "SOCK" on a string you leave in tank over-nite or at stops & it removes water.
Maybe your group should invest in those.
I'll see if I can find the part number.

 

[stevewithocd]

I googled Gas Tank Water Remover Sock and came up with hundreds of options.
They are about $10 a piece so you can carry a bunch with you

 

[krm]

Like I said before it sounds like a Canadian gas problem

 

[krm]

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[stoney]

Like I said before it sounds like a Canadian gas problem

What does this mean exactly?

Could be simply old bad gas at a camp that doesn’t go through a lot of it.
Usually there fuel tanks are above ground too vs buried in ground.
Ethanol is another big problem, but isn’t E gas used a lot more in the US than Canada???
Sounds like gas in question is in QC, which QC is a province in Canada that actually uses less ethanol gas than other provinces, Ontario for example that pretty much has ethanol in all gas now except for small percentage of places.
Old gas and ethanol are a bad combination.

 

[nm9stheham]

The filters clogging do not appear to be an issue of ethanol per se, unless the ethanol is attacking something which is creating fine particles. We're mostly assuming filter issues but that is not confirmed; the OP has not come back and said what has been done in the past to his sled, when these issues have shown up. The common first step is the sock and filter.

If all the 4 strokes are using the same filter and sock, then the turbos would be expected to have the problems the soonest, as they will push more fuel through the filtering system.

Winter fuel blends contain additive like butane to keep vapor pressure up in cold temps, And they have to contain some level of 'anti-freeze' (for lack of a better word) to keep any water in the fuel from water from freezing in the tanks and pumps. This winterization necessarily occurs sooner and stays longer the further north you go. So these ingredients are just one more candidate for causing these issues.

And of course any particular incident, like this one, could be from unique circumstances, like new fuel pumped into the station tanks stirring up fine sediment or phase separated ethanol that then clogs the sled's fine inline fuel filter (which is 10 micron filtration IIRC) or sock. Or old fuel that has oxidized badly. Or....

 

[snowchopper]

Like I said before it sounds like a Canadian gas problem

Bad fuel comes from bad tanks.It is not a Canadian gas problem.

 

[stoney]

The filters clogging do not appear to be an issue of ethanol per se, unless the ethanol is attacking something which is creating fine particles. We're mostly assuming filter issues but that is not confirmed; the OP has not come back and said what has been done in the past to his sled, when these issues have shown up. The common first step is the sock and filter.

If all the 4 strokes are using the same filter and sock, then the turbos would be expected to have the problems the soonest, as they will push more fuel through the filtering system.

Winter fuel blends contain additive like butane to keep vapor pressure up in cold temps, And they have to contain some level of 'anti-freeze' (for lack of a better word) to keep any water in the fuel from water from freezing in the tanks and pumps. This winterization necessarily occurs sooner and stays longer the further north you go. So these ingredients are just one more candidate for causing these issues.

And of course any particular incident, like this one, could be from unique circumstances, like new fuel pumped into the station tanks stirring up fine sediment or phase separated ethanol that then clogs the sled's fine inline fuel filter (which is 10 micron filtration IIRC) or sock. Or old fuel that has oxidized badly. Or....

Yes, all the winter additives added to fuel does not help, but is necessary in colder climates.
Of course depending on the gas usage of said business, if they still have "summer" gas without the winter additives from a winter tank fill up and ethanol content too in that fuel, that is no good when the old gas separates from sitting and a layer of water is presented in the tank.

Gas pumps usually have a filter on the hose as it leaves the fuel tank, if I am not mistaken to collect some of the crap - how fine is that filter, not sure.

Whatever the issue, it has to be related where ever they all got gas and not the sled - what are the chances of sleds having the same issue if not gas related.

 

[NSHM]

I know the area where the OP was. They go thru a lot of gas there as it's at the end of a loop that a lot of people take. About 75 miles one way, so everyone tops off there to make it back. I read that they put in a second pump this year.
Maybe they got gas when the tank was almost empty or freshly filled. The tank used to be above ground. If it was water they claimed to have put in extra dry gas in their sleds. If the fuel already had 10% ethanol that would be bad as the new sleds are not recommended to ever use E15 gas.

 

[mattie]

All good posts, Non-ethanol fuel in Canada is gone. As of Nov 1st/2022 refiners got ahead of gov't mandates & switched over.to a minimum 10%.
So even if you see non-ethanol stickers on pumps - assume its not.

Spoke with a local Shell station owner & he held out as long as he could with the V-Power non-ethanol. But he was forced to switch from his fuel supplier. Said he hates the ethanol fuel because it plugs up the big tank pumps & he has to change filters monthly.

 

[stoney]

All good posts, Non-ethanol fuel in Canada is gone. As of Nov 1st/2022 refiners got ahead of gov't mandates & switched over.to a minimum 10%.
So even if you see non-ethanol stickers on pumps - assume its not.

Spoke with a local Shell station owner & he held out as long as he could with the V-Power non-ethanol. But he was forced to switch from his fuel supplier. Said he hates the ethanol fuel because it plugs up the big tank pumps & he has to change filters monthly.

I was recently looking at website for a bunch of fuel suppliers trying to see if any were left in ON that did not use E on all of their fuels and I recalled seeing on a few of their website that ethanol is added to all grades of gasoline now except a few provinces where it was not that were listed under a disclaimer - I was sure QC was one of the provinces and the east coast as well, maybe NL.