Polaris Snowmobile Autopsy?

This old beauty is a 1996 Polaris Ultra, my sled for several years. Sturdy, stable, low center of gravity, and a ton of horsepower made for a sweet ride. Many a friendly race ended when the other guy lost sight of my tail light.

But, sadly, stuff wears out, and they build newer and better stuff. Black Betty here was the victim of neglect (failure to keep the oil tank full, is the proper term) She suffered a nasty heart seizure 60 miles from anywhere up in Canada and had to be towed. She got rebuilt and a new life, because everyone loved to ride her. But alas, the keeper of the oil was an idiot and failed to learn the first time. Another heart seizure. But everyone missed Betty. She got yet another rebuild, but a poor quality job. She seized up a third time..........

....So the keeper of the oil guy and his friend set out to do yet another rebuild, this time at home (kids, these are trained professionals, do NOT try this at home). From this shot, it looks simple enough (we haven't started yet)......

....Turns out Betty had a lot of shit hooked to the engine.............

....but we wrestled that nasty engine out of there and put it on the workbench.............

....simple. You just pop the heads, find the problem, and fix it...........

....closer and closer.........

....and disaster strikes!! The bearing between the connecting rod and the crankshaft is the problem. So the crank will have to be rebuilt or replaced. That is too much work and expense for this old sled ..........

....here is the offending cylinder's piston, it is shredded on top and the sides are scored or scratched....

....this one is normal, smooth and shiny (the black stuff is just carbon build-up and harmless).....

....So Betty gets to go to that great snowmobile race in the clouds, where she can eat Skidoos for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Or my friend is thinking about parting her out and selling the remains on E-Bay. Any way you look at it. Kinda sad.

Uncle Hans