I am sure some folks will be along shortly to give their input on an exhaust mod. However if I recall correctly, didn't they make boss seats for ZX chassis sleds? That might be something you can look into.

 

Yea i saw that from thread from 2008,2009 etc but i wonder if they still make em


but i guess if their website still exist, i guess they still produce them

 

Here is my 99 ZX over the years

 

Oh damn i havnt seen your ZX and REV pics, they are sick ngl

 

Here’s my Summit after some work

Here I cut the stock running boards off for tube boards

Riser bars added and I moved the hand controls down on the bars so I wasn’t hitting them while off trail riding

Adding some more vents to the hood…….cut the rest out obviously lol………side panel pic I was adding a cool air intake.

Theres so much you can do, some are cheap, some are expensive

 

So a its the same as here now…….I bought that 99 ZX in 04 for $2800 lol 😂
Times have changed!! I love the ZX chassis, they were great sleds IMO, but I would go Rev or newer if you can find it for the right price?

 

Me too i love the ZX but but since the seat is so low it might not be comfortable but if its like the 90s Formula Z, i would probably be comfortable enough unlike a Tundra II, my knees kept hurting. But yes if i can find a REV for the right price, ill probably get one but since i want a skidoo atleast for next winter, ill maybe get ZX

and yes im kinda new to Sledding
i only drove '08 SummitX 800r once (its the one in my PFP but not mine and the engine died
sadly recently) and a Tundra II once

 

Are you new to sledding?

 

Let us know when you settle on a machine and need a shop manual to help you through.

You are young and on a limited budget. And ZX's are old, but you don't have to settle for something that is a complete POS if you know what to look for. Since you haven't bought a sled yet....any engine preference you are looking at? Maybe you can learn something from us in the meantime and save yourself from avoidable trouble. The deals are out there during the summer months.

Shopping for ZX's in 2022...a few things I've observed that are watch-outs...

The oil reservoirs are discontinued and only come from part-outs. They commonly melt from red hot/sticking brakes/parking brake left on. And fundamentally, the ZX oil reservoirs all will eventually crack due to being hot-plate bonded 2 piece injection molded assemblies in constant attack from petrochemicals.

RUST - Look for red rust dust and fiberglass everywhere underhood as a surefire confirmation the expansion chamber is rusted through. The exhaust systems are not available new and specific to the year/engine of ZX. Sure, Dynoport does list a ZX pipe but it has a cost that rivals half the price of the entire sled.

RUST - The engine being a ball of white oxide with no trace of paint on the cylinder head. Trailing arms on the backside and bottom being extra rusty/crusty. The arms in the skid having heavy corrosion. Not seeing a single fastener on the sled with at least some trace of Zinc plating. All of these indicate a salt-soaked prior life. They are not an easy fix and will continue to be an inconvenience with owning/maintaining this sled and you should keep looking.

Look where the rear of the trailing arm mounts to the tunnel (underhood area) for signs of bending/repairs/extra riveting/holes. This would indicate prior crash damage/repair.

This list does continue, but those items above are a good start to avoiding a total POS coming home with you.


And for your original question:
Primary clutch spring/cleaning, Boyesen Rage cages, Fuel tank grommet replacement, and a service job on the brake system are 4 really good "low buck" projects to address right away on a new to you ZX.

 

Let us know when you settle on a machine and need a shop manual to help you through.

You are young and on a limited budget. And ZX's are old, but you don't have to settle for something that is a complete POS if you know what to look for. Since you haven't bought a sled yet....any engine preference you are looking at? Maybe you can learn something from us in the meantime and save yourself from avoidable trouble. The deals are out there during the summer months.

Shopping for ZX's in 2022...a few things I've observed that are watch-outs...

The oil reservoirs are discontinued and only come from part-outs. They commonly melt from red hot/sticking brakes/parking brake left on. And fundamentally, the ZX oil reservoirs all will eventually crack due to being hot-plate bonded 2 piece injection molded assemblies in constant attack from petrochemicals.

RUST - Look for red rust dust and fiberglass everywhere underhood as a surefire confirmation the expansion chamber is rusted through. The exhaust systems are not available new and specific to the year/engine of ZX. Sure, Dynoport does list a ZX pipe but it has a cost that rivals half the price of the entire sled.

RUST - The engine being a ball of white oxide with no trace of paint on the cylinder head. Trailing arms on the backside and bottom being extra rusty/crusty. The arms in the skid having heavy corrosion. Not seeing a single fastener on the sled with at least some trace of Zinc plating. All of these indicate a salt-soaked prior life. They are not an easy fix and will continue to be an inconvenience with owning/maintaining this sled and you should keep looking.

Look where the rear of the trailing arm mounts to the tunnel (underhood area) for signs of bending/repairs/extra riveting/holes. This would indicate prior crash damage/repair.

This list does continue, but those items above are a good start to avoiding a total POS coming home with you.


And for your original question:
Primary clutch spring/cleaning, Boyesen Rage cages, Fuel tank grommet replacement, and a service job on the brake system are 4 really good "low buck" projects to address right away on a new to you ZX.

Hey, thank you for the information, for your question about the engine size, i would prefer like a 700 or 800 so i can follow my friends or family member that has like 800 EFI, 900 Ace etc

Sorry for the late reply

 

The seat height is the biggest difference. Then it's how far the feet can be pushed forward. I think the best way to know if it is worth the time/effort to mod the seating position is to sit over a pillow or two. The ZX was a move forward. Raise the seat further, push the feet forward, then raise to the steering and plastics and windshield to match the new seating position, and that's a Generation 1 REV. Keep pushing the feet forward to reach a Gen 2 and then I think it skips to a Gen 4.

The multiple generation REV platform is also the advent of an A frame type build to solidify the taller steering and the overall chassis. I am not expert on the different frames. I just want to make sure that I don't oversimplify the changes that sleds have taken over the years, and inadvertently provide ideas to ZX mods that are not quite right.

Just like with a car, the seat is never right for everyone. Raise the seat and the steering wheel is a little off. Someone who is 6'5" will see multiple times better improvements on a REV Gen 2 over a REV Gen 1, then another who is 5'5".

My best suggestion for ZX owners is to keep the actual seat stock and set it aside for authenticity and resale. Then mod any seat to make it fit for a better/higher seating position. An inch, two or three will be a lot more comfortable than what is there. If you only care what it looks like, then get a REV Gen 2 and up. When I see what guys on DooTalk have done to their ZX, and more commonly to their REV Gen 1 REV, I think it looks good. Who cares if it shows the majority of the gas tank. That guy maybe cares, but I don't, and many others do not either. Do what feels right, not what others think. As a good example, look at what POWERMODZ Louis Skebo has done to his sleds.

As for the engine power. I do not believe this is anything to worry about. If you look carefully across DooTalk, you will see the sleds with the gamut of power from a 600 ACE to a 500F fanner to a 600 EFI to a 900 ACE and on and on. There is no end to the snowmobile power craze. What is often found under the hood of a ZX is usually pretty stout, so a non issue. I have my favorites, but those are engines that I have grown to know better.

The one in my avatar is an original red/yellow ZX chassis with an 800 twin.

 

Hey thanks for the reply, about the keeping the seat stock for resale value, i dont really care about that, i would probably sell it if it cost more to repair it than buy a REV XM/XP or wanting to have a more recent sled, and i saw what Louis Skebo did and god damn its nice but i guess we'll see until ill have the money to buy a Ski-Doo

 

I'm in the process of building a zx summit "mod" sled I guess you could say.

The one nice thing about the ZX chassis is there is a lot of cheap aftermarket or stock parts being sold on local classified sites, at least it would appear that way around me. If you have some mechanical skills and some ingenuity, snowmobile parts are kinda like jelly bean parts, easy enough to adapt parts from other sleds to your own.

As for the seat, I'm in the process of swapping on a Polaris Assault Switchback seat, which is pretty common and you can find a few posts on here where people have done it before. I will also advise keeping your stock seat for re-sale.

Check local classifieds, check eBay, tons of cheap used parts kicking around.