[hatzie]

I bought an Aluminum Oil Tank to replace the plastic one on my '12 Sportsman 500 HO.

I split the tank scraped the gasket, rinsed it out, burned it out in the oven, shell blasted the carbon off, and powder coated with a color I wanted to try... Columbia Hunter Green TGIC.
New gasket, vent fitting, rubber mounts, and crush washers.
Turned out pretty nice and it'll wash right off with the hose after a muddy ride.

 

[MrQuadman]

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!

 

[hatzie]

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.

 

[hatzie]

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}

 

[jscheel1]

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?

 

[hatzie]

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.


Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[jscheel1]

I bet people would buy these?

 

[hatzie]

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???

 

[MustBeNice]

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???

Some people maybe yes..... me personally no. As I am a tinker'er myself too and love tackling projects like this.... and think I saved a little coin on something I never really needed (at least for "list price" anyway! ). Nice work, it looks very professional!

 

[tt425]

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

 

[5254]

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

 

[hatzie]

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.

 

[hatzie]

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...

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

[DP425]

One on ebay right now.

Polaris Scrambler 500 97 02 Oil Tank 8320 | eBay

 

[hatzie]

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.

 

[defleppardsg]

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?

 

[hatzie]

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.

 

[DP425]

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?

 

[hatzie]

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.

 

[hatzie]

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.