Polaris/ water -n- moister getting into housing, winter use?

[itrap]

hello everyone,
just wondering about four wheelers in general.

i have a Polaris 400 sport. 1995 or 96 model, and last fall like a dummy i did'nt know, but anyways, i took it dwon to the lake and drove it in the water a little ways to clean it of from the mud that was on it.

water got into the coil housing and i ended up taking the thing apart and cleaning everthing up again.
it has been stored this winter, till i get a chance to put everthing back together again.
also another mistake i made was filling gas without a funnel, and it spilled on the side and guess what happened when i went to start the thing?
well it caught fire, and i ended up replacing most of the wires and switch and indicator lights.

guess i learned my lesson!...
live and learn......
my first four wheeler. was just wondering about winter usage on them if a fella should take caution of the terrain he is on so things don't get wet again like something simmular to this epasode?....

Thanks for the replys. and thanks for reading this post.....

[markc]

Sounds like you have had some bad luck lately.  If you spill gas on the quad in the future, let it dry sufficiently and you should be okay.  I have spilled it a million times it seems when filling up the lawn mower in the summer.

I am not sure about the older Polaris quads, but most of the ones they make now are sealed very well against water and mud, atleast the utility quads are.  If you are going to let it sit up for a lengthy period of time in the winter, I would recommend either completly draining out all fuel and storing it as per the owners manual, or adding some stabil to the fuel to keep it from being hard to start next spring.  Gasoline doesn't stay good for very long when left in the gas tank.  Hope that helps a little bit

[Billybob]

Your Sport has a drain on the bottom of the starter. If you drive in water you will want to pull that plug and drain any water from the starter. Otherwise all you're gonna hear from the starter is a click one day. If that happens you can probably get by with just replacing the starter brushes.
Those starters seem to collect water and mud. Guess that's why the drain plug is there.
You'd be better of draining the gas for winter storage if you don't plan on riding during the winter. I myself like to ride in the snow so my quad sees action during the winter months.

[itrap]

thankyou guys!...
i did end up replacing the starter brushes, ect... before it caught fire, and cleaning that all up to.
had it all apart.

just waiting for some worm days now so i can work on it.

thanks to all.......

[itrap]

also was wondering what you guys would use to seal the hole on top of the housing that the wires go through, without harming the wires?

i had to cut my plug out, and recked it in the process.
it was in there pretty tight.

i also need to retape my wires.
is there anything i can cote them with, without them shorting out, ect...?

thanks for any replys!.............

[itrap]

anybodyyyyyyyy.............

[Old Syko]

A liberal amount of clear RTV from an automotive or hardware store will hold up for a year or better and it's cheap.

[Billybob]

My local hardware store sells all sizes of rubber stoppers. You might try fitting one although you might have to trim it. Drill holes for the wiring. Then I'd seal with silicone as Syko suggested.

[Ramrod]

Yes sir, contrary to popular opinion there are three essential tools. Silicone sealant for waterproofing, and WD-40 and duct tape for eveything else!