Starter Drive Gear Polaris Virage I 2002

[fbsmith]

Well I finally got some time pulled the flywheel and got the bendix out (it wasnt as bad of a job as i thought - but they could have left a little more room). The bendix is missing one tooth and and the two teeth on on each side of the missing one are worn badly. I cleaned the whole area of debris and took the bendix to the local parts store to get a new one. Of course none in stock so I still cant ski at the moment. However the parts guy told me they rarley see a bendix with the tooth missing (missing where starter connects) unless it has been water locked. Not sure what that means but i can tell you the ski has never had water in the engine and has never been flipped. Is there something else internally that would casue this to happen or am I lucky to just get an inferior part. I can say that the ski is hard to start and requires a lot of pushes on the starter button to get it going. I have read on hear this could be from the idle position sensor would this be a correct assesment or is there something else that would make the starting of the ski better. once running everything is fine it is just a starting issue.

[fbsmith]

Thanks everyone for your help the ski is now back in the lake

[K447]

Thanks everyone for your help the ski is now back in the lake

Don't be stranger, come visit often.

[johnnyboy]

so....just finished the flywheel and stator repair and i cant remember for sure regarding the spring and washer via the bendix bushing...where before the stator repair the starter was sounding and acting fine as expected. now i have a clunking sound when i release the start switch, to make things worse i can not 100% recall replacing the spring. i did a magnetic sweep and hand sweep as far as i could reach and no spring.

before i take the cover back off again, is this the suspect noise of the bendix grinding its self to the teeth without the return spring? or is this coincidence that the starter is failing and needs to be replaced?

also where can i source this spring if it is not installed and cannot be found in hull?

[johnnyboy]

got one off ebay so i am pulling it off for piece of mind. looks to me that if this spring is indeed off thats my issue as no "return" is applied to bendix and this clunk grinding sound is the bendix trying to return to its seat.

[TX10]

hi,

just jumping on this thread because it is closet to what's going on with mine.
little history
i have 2 2002 polaris virage I. they are direct injection. they weren't running so basically got them free. i am new to all of this to include the messaging form and such. so forgive me if i posted wrong or if it's a double post. i have researched at least 100 different post on the website looking for help and what not.

so back to skis. i have never worked on skis before but i am mechanically inclined and have worked on atv's and trucks most of my life. most of it is common sense but when it comes to fuel injected stuff i struggle LOL i can tune and rebuild carbs as good as the next guy but these are not carbureted skis.

so i went by ya'lls postings on everything to check and change out to include cleaning and stuff. . fuel lines , plugs , plug wires, batteries etc... i got them running YEAH! they ran really good last weekend but when i took them out this weekend one of them wouldn't start. it tried to star for a couple of seconds then i just heard the starter spin then i heard a loud clanging noise. so i took it home pulled down the exhaust and the starter and this is what i found.


i spun the gear with my hand and it is missing teeth in several spots. i have read on how to get it off and my question is where do i get all the gaskets and gear i need to replace anything.

also if anyone could explain( in stupid level to me) how to omh out the stator to be sure it's good while i have it off, would be great.

[casey67]

The part you are after is called a starter "bendix". You will need to remove the flywheel but not the stator.

I think you should remove the spark plugs and turn the engine by hand to see if it spins smoothly, nothing is locking up.

I'm pretty sure the bendix is the same for all domestic engines. E-bay will probably be your only option.
You can look up parts here: https://parts.polarisind.com/Browse/Browse.asp
Also verify a certain model has same part

[martincom]

You can find gaskets on Ebay and SBT. You can find info on checking stator continuity here.

When I've encountered teeth off the starter drive, it usually means the flywheel ring gear also has chipped teeth. This is from attempting to start it when it has backfired. Backfiring is almost always due to an internal EMM failure. Unfortunately, the damage doesn't stop there. The chipped off teeth are drawn to the face of the flywheel magnets. The clearance between the flywheels and the stator laminations is very close. To the point the chipped off teeth are greater in size than the clearance. In turn, the flywheel magnets are chewed up as well as the stator laminations. Here are some photos of just this type of damage:





If you were lucky and didn't experience this damage or were not, you'll want to thoroughly blow out the flywheel housing with compressed air to clear any tooth chips.

When pulling the flywheel, do not utilize excessively long bolts to mount the puller. If you do, they will contact the stator and damage it. It takes a pretty stout puller to remove the flywheel.

Direct injection engines start instantly. If they don't start within 10 seconds of cranking--quit. There is a problem.

Did you reinforce the fuel pressure regulators?