where did you get that badboy, and does it have the fitting in the same place ie. direct fit replacement.if it is i want one especially if it has thoes cooling fins!

 

It's a bolt on except for the oil Intake fitting on the engine. The plastic tank uses a 1/2" ID line. The Aluminum tank uses a 3/8" ID line.
Using the smaller diameter hose and fitting will not be a restriction. The 1/2" fitting has the same ID as the 3/8" fitting. However. Both oil Intake and Return lines will have the same ID so they could be installed in the wrong position.

I'd rather keep the differing diameter hoses to prevent mixups. So I'm using a 14mm Banjo to 1/2" hose barb fitting. 14MM BANJO TO 1/2 BARB - STEEL
With the above Banjo fitting I can shorten the stock oil intake line and clamp it with Fuel Injection Clamps.


Reconditioning parts list;

Q, PART# - Description
1, 5830053 - Polaris GASKET,OIL RESERVOIR
1, 7052163 - Polaris FITTING,OIL RESERVOIR VENT,NYLON
4, 7555896 - Polaris CRUSH WASHER,COPPER, 14MM BANJO
1, 5850135 - Polaris CRUSH WASHER,PLASTIC, OIL DRAIN
1, 2530020 - Polaris FITTING SCREEN-OIL FILTER INTAKE,BANJO
2, 5410828 - Polaris GROMMET,MOUNTING
1, 5410889 - Polaris O-RING,DIPSTICK
1, 7052109 - Polaris TUBE,BANJO,RETURN (If you're not re-conditioning the original and using the stock 3/8" return hose with a Fuel Injection Clamp)


Stock Polaris 2001 & prior oil intake hose parts.
1, 3084842 - Polaris FITTING 3/8",OIL-INTAKE (Use with 7052133 Intake Tube) {Not needed if you use 14mm Banjo to 1/2" barb fitting on tank screen fitting}
1, 7052133 - Polaris TUBE,BANJO,INTAKE (Use with 3084842 fitting) {Not needed if you use 14mm Banjo to 1/2" barb fitting on tank screen fitting}

 

Ebay. $15 to my door. I bought two.
It was raw Aluminum, caked with oily mud, and the shipping box was leaking oil. The postmaster didn't like me after that...
What you see in the pictures is after a thorough cleaning session followed by powder coating and curing in a toaster oven.
I don't have pictures of the goo from inside the bottom of one of the tanks I bought. I would highly recommend cleaning any used tank thoroughly.

I'm re-using the steel banjo fittings after a thorough cleaning with new hose and Fuel Injection hose clamps not Ideal worm drive clamps.

 

That's slick, nice job. Was this done in response to a cracked or broken stock plastic tank? The powder coating is a great idea, keeps it looking nice, almost eliminates any chance of a leak, and adds some abrasion resistance too. Will the tank sink heat like the raw aluminum, after powder coating? Do you have plans to protect your new tank from bottom impacts, maybe a small, sturdy, well placed plate of sorts?

 

TGIC powder will insulate about like epoxy paint. I'm not worried about loosing the small amount of heat sinking. The oil return is over several internal baffles The plastic tank has no fins or baffles.


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I bet people would buy these?

 

The Polaris Re-build parts cost $90. The tank cost $20 filthy. 14mm Banjo to 1/2" Hose Barb $8 shipped.
Stripping down, Thoroughly cleaning, Powder coating, and Re-assembly 10 hours.

I'd need $220 per tank to make it marginally worth my while.
Would folks pay that for a completely rebuilt powder coated (Hunter Green or Blood Red) tank that's ready to bolt on???

 

That looks good.
I have a tank that looks like that off of a 1998 Sportsman 500 4x4. If somebody is interested in it send me a message. Thanks

 

Excellent job!! What brand of powdercoating tools did you use? Eastwood?

 

Columbia Coatings Kool Koat 2.0 with the DPW board and Multi-Coat nozzle.

 

As installed. Almost a drop-in. Just cut back the 3/8" return and 1/2" feedline to fit the new tank. Everything else plugged in and bolted up. The drain plug is from my 22 hour plastic tank.

I filled with the required 2 qts and marked the dipstick with a saw file for my bikes' initial fill level. After running the oem marks are right...

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One on ebay right now.

Polaris Scrambler 500 97 02 Oil Tank 8320 | eBay

 

Always several on ebay. Be aware of the fitting locations. The top banjo on that tank is recessed but it will work. I've seen different vent and return fitting locations. There seem to be at least two return and two vent locations. The tanks I've bougt seem to usually have un-drilled bosses for the optional locations but not always.
BTW I've done business with that vendor, Powersports Nation, and they seem like pretty decent folks.

Thoroughly clean em before use. Your oil pump will thank you. I have yet to buy one without flakes of old motor in the sludge at the bottom.
If you can get one with the return banjo hose it'll be cheaper to get ready for install... that steel banjo pipe was close to $30 from Polaris. You can remove the rubber hose and clean the steel tube pretty easy.

I've kitted a couple for some buddies in bare AL cleaned and still disassembled with all the neccesary assembly and install parts in bags.

I only powder coat for myself and family or very very very very close friends. AL castings can sometimes develop adhesion issues even when properly cleaned and I'm not a commercial venture. My cousin's tank front half had to be stripped and recoated.

My last parts kit without the top banjo hose cost just under $70.00 including the new 1/2" lower banjo fitting. It costs right at $20.00 to get the tank halves baked and shell blasted and the tank itself can run anywhere from $12-$25.

From orbit on my Android.

 

Always several on ebay. Be aware of the fitting locations. The top banjo on that tank is recessed but it will work. I've seen different vent and return fitting locations. There seem to be at least two return and two vent locations. The tanks I've bougt seem to usually have have un-drilled bosses for the optional locations but not always.
BTW I've done business with that vendor, Powersports Nation, and they seem like pretty decent folks.

Thoroughly clean em before use. Your oil pump will thank you. I have yet to buy one without flakes of old motor in the sludge at the bottom.
If you can get one with the return banjo hose it'll be cheaper to get ready for install... that steel banjo pipe was close to $30 from Polaris. You can remove the rubber hose and clean the steel tube pretty easy.

I've kitted a couple for some buddies in bare AL cleaned and still disassembled with all the neccesary assembly and install parts in bags.

I only powder coat for myself and family or very very very very close friends. AL castings can sometimes develop adhesion issues even when properly cleaned and I'm not a commercial venture. My cousin's tank front half had to be stripped and recoated.

My last parts kit without the top banjo hose cost just under $70.00 including the new 1/2" lower banjo fitting. It costs right at $20.00 to get the tank halves baked and shell blasted and the tank itself can run anywhere from $12-$25.

From orbit on my Android.

Any reason you couldn't just use a high quality two part paint after sandblasting or some gentle wire-wheel action?

 

This is a cool option. My oil tank was cracked open when a small log got jammed up between the tank and the suspension. I was surprised that there's no skid plate available for it, since it's so vulnerable. People told me to look into a metal tank. It looks like you can only get them used though? Off of older sportsmans? Or are these aftermarket that aren't produced anymore?

 

Used only just like the recoil heads.

1995? To 2001 four stroke 3xx, 4xx, & 500... Look out for which banjo and breather fittings are machined. The odd breather and return line positions could make an install more difficult.
All of the tanks I've bought have untouched casting bosses for the other positions but not all tanks in the pictures I've seen do...

From orbit on my Android.

 

None that I can think of. TGIC Powder is tougher but epoxy works well too. Depends on what application tools you own and your skill set.

From orbit on my Android.

 

The tank is diecast light metal of unknown pedigree. We call it alumiuum but it's likely a Zn Al Mg etc alloy. I don't sandblast or glass bead blast aluminum alloy castings like valve covers oil pans etc. The more aggressive abrasive can lightly embed in the soft metal and come loose later with obviously bad results.

Aluminum and zinc alloy castings have some surface porosity that fills with oil. Any leftover oil will cause poor adhesion.
The only way I've seen to get em clean enough to get good adhesion is a bake followed by blasting with less aggressive abrasives like walnut shell or plastic beads. With diecast of unknown pedigree you have to be careful of the bake temp. Diecast alloys can have a fairly low melting point. Zamak melts around 700F and you need at least 500F to bake out oil. That's why I farm it out.

From orbit on my Android.

 

Protip to powder alum or other cast metals: Bake it out at 500+ for 45 or so min at PMT. Blast with alum oxide. Bake again. Blast. Coat. Always handle bare substrate with clean gloves. Disposable nitril gloves are your friend.

This will help to relieve any gases/contam trapped in the substrate. You can more than likely skip the second blast and go to coat.

Thanks for the post on the alum oil tank, I will have to look into this.

 

That's how it gets done only I use shell media. Because the inside isn't coated.

From orbit on my Android.

 

I figured I'd add a couple "Before" pictures of tanks I cleaned up for some buddies.

These are typical used tanks as received.

Note the barb fitting on the Right Hand tank and the missing plastic vent barb on the Left Hand tank. The vent fitting is Plastic and quite brittle after 13+ years in service.
I replaced both fittings with new parts that were correct for my application and not ready to shatter.

The cad plated steel sleeves are still in most of the vibration grommets. Save those JIC you loose one from your plastic tank. The rubber grommets themselves are pretty crunchy.

The tanks you want are the ones like the one on the Left that were oil soaked on the outside. The dry Right hand tank got a shot of PB-Blaster on all 9 perimeter bolts and several sharp whacks with a punch on top and bottom (they're threaded thru) of the bolts. I still snapped one off after it turned several revs. The corroded aluminum fins are a little pitted too so it won't pretty up like my green tank. I always use Never Seize on these bolts for re-assembly. I might want to take it apart again someday.

The tab you see just above the bottom mount and one other is what I tapped gently with a tack hammer to separate the tank halves. Don't dig between them with a screwdriver for obvious reasons.

The drain plug, perimeter bolts, and banjo bolts are re-useable. I put them in a plastic Skippy jar and fill it 3/4 with diesel. Then Shakey Shakey for 30 seconds. They come out pretty clean. Stubborn crud got a toothbrush.

When you get the tanks separated you'll find a baffle plate, at the top of the tank, right behind the vent fitting hole. Remove it but don't loose it or the tiny little Phillips screws.

The rest of the images are after I separated the tank halves. Note the filth and grit.
The 1/2" of sludge was rinsed out by the eBay seller or these weren't as nasty as the green tank above. They are still not really useable till they are thoroughly cleaned. The baffles make places for crud to hang up so it's safer to split the tank for cleaning than rinse it out and pray.

 

Replace the drain bolt too.

The drain plug...are re-useable.

Maybe the drain bolts still fit but they sure don't have the magnetic properties they once did, take it from me, I've compared my 98 to 10 sporty's magnetic drain bolts strength, night and day, so I replaced the 98s with an OEM off of ebay for $10. I obviously have one of each tank and see no difference in performance but the fins do look "cool". Nice job, Luck! :banana:

 

Thanks for the pics, I always wondered what those looked like on the inside. I'll prob wait until my plastic tank starts to leak, the yellow dip stick goes with nothing on my quad. I remember years back those smaller dip sticks harder to open on lawn mowers and the like, any issues on yours?

 

The dipsticks are about the same diameter as the dipsticks on the plastic tank.
Maybe 1 1/4" dia external instead of internal threads with longer measuring shafts.

From orbit on my Android.

 

I just realized my buddy did this mod and his wheeler is in my garage, I am going to go oogle his lol.

 

After a lot of trouble with a leaking drain plug,did this swap.The insert in the plastic tank wasn't the problem either.Tried all kinds of sealing washers.Including new oem,still leaked.As of tonight problem solved!

 

I been looking at the tanks on ebay..I think i am going to retro fit on to my machine..I like how hatzie did his..I may not powder coat it just get it anodized black...I can get that done free...

great Job hatzie...

 

Thanks!! :veryhappy:

I'd definintely anodize it. It's an excellent white metal primer. Far better than zinc rich Aluminum etching primer for this application. You might want to paint over the anodizing though. Water and mud will hold onto the micro pores in the anodized surface and promote corrosion faster than if you apply a top-coat of good paint. But not as fast as bare metal. Just like leaving a primed car out in the weather.

The hobby engineering guys at the practicalmachinist boards have this to say about anodizing...
"Anodizing is the best possible surface for paint adhesion. No special primers or anything like what's normally associated with painting aluminum are required. Bare aluminum is highly reactive with air. It doesn't matter what you do to get the surface bare, chemically or mechanically, because it immediately begins to reform oxide to protect itself. An anodized surface is reasonably non-reactive, or almost inert, in atmospheric exposure. That's why its appearance stays substantially the same over time. Because it is inert there's no need to apply any chemical or primer whose purpose is to convert the surface from reactive to inert. Also, the method of "growth" of the anodized surface leaves it somewhat porous on a microscopic basis, so it has ideal properties for letting the paint "grip" the surface. As an example of how well anodized aluminum holds paint, all pre-painted architectural sheet aluminum is first anodized and then painted with no primer of any kind between the surface and the topcoat. You can typically take a piece of this painted sheet, bend it in a brake, and fold it flat on itself like a hemmed edge, and the paint will remain intact.

Try a piece of architectural sheet and see for yourself. The same paint that will almost peel off bare aluminum in sheets will have to be blasted or sanded off an anodized surface."

 

I wouldn't pay 220. But I would pay you to maintain May ATMs (2012 sportsman 850 touring HO and 2012 sportsman 550 x2).

What are your recommendations in maintains them. Follow the Polaris manual or ?

 

I too don't worry about a giant $60 magnet to catch metal, if you've got that much metal, its doesn't matter whether you catch it or not, the engine is Toast. Overall nice, but not for me, I like original looks, aluminum doesn't rust in Texas so no worries. I'll spend my time riding instead, woohoo! :banana:

 

The corroded tank came off a bike in the Northeast. We definitely need some kind of coating. Aluminum seems to rust faster than steel here.
The semi-desert is nice for metal parts but things like seats and plastics must take a beating from the sun.

 

The Alloy tanks used 3/8" hoses on both oil lines to the tank. The plastic tanks use 1/2" hose on the suction fitting and 3/8" on the return. I didn't want to change the hoses. The newer plastic tank bikes used different size hoses so they can't get mixed up. Not sure what the engineer was thinking when they designed the earlier bikes.

The plastic tank suction fitting doesn't fit the Alloy tank.
I installed the aftermarket 14mm banjo to 1/2" hose barb fitting on the 2530020 tank suction screen fitting with a 14mm banjo bolt and two copper crush washers. The new fitting mates with the existing 1/2" suction hose on the engine. Only one gotcha... If the Alloy tank comes with a barb fitting rather than a banjo you will need one more 14mm banjo bolt for your new suction fittings.

The 1/2" 2012 suction hose had to be shortened to mate with the new banjo.
The 3/8" 2012 return hose fit directly onto the new steel return line on the Alloy tank... I've forgotten whether I shortened the return line.
You can see the hoses installed in pic #2 in post #13. The aftermarket banjo suction fitting is near the bottom of the tank.

Be sure to use new 14mm copper crush washers on both banjo fittings. You can get em from any auto parts store cheap if you didn't order em from Polaris.

DO NOT loose the steel sleeves, bolts, washers, etc from the mounting grommets on your plastic tank they fit the new grommets you'll be installing on the alloy tank.

 

I found a parts book with this tank. You can find the most up to date part numbers on the parts sites but here's one you can print that shows the whole assembly.
It's worth noting that the top mounting bolt and grommet parts are not shown. They are the same as the bottom ones and can be found almost behind the fill spout...