[gtsum2]

Has anyone else experienced issues with water getting into the air box on their 450? It seems to happen all the time and I don’t know where or how it’s getting in? The throat of the air intake (on the air box cover) is dry as a bone...I can’t see any indication of the air box leaking at the gasket, yet there is standing water in the air box?? This has happened several times before. This is from general trail riding in wet, sloppy conditions and in the rain and snow.

I have never seen anything like it...I’ve owned Honda, polaris, can am l, kawasaki, and Yamaha atv’s...I’ve owned polaris and canam sxs’s...I have never seen this before. Is this a known defect that I just wasn’t aware of (and can’t seem to find info on)?


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[TRW]

It does not take much light fluffy snow to get tossed up and make the inside of your box very wet. So a good guess is that somehow that is happening.

 

[Rob-c]

Have you tried sealing off you’re intake and spraying the filter box to see if you can see where it’s coming from ? How about checking the clamps if loose ? Is you’re drain sock clogged on the bottom of the air box not letting the water out ?

 

[gtsum2]

Good thoughts. I checked for a drain hole/valve/tube and there isn’t one on a 2020 450eps. That’s odd as I have a service manual for 2018-2019 450 eps and it says they have one??

I closed it all up and took a hose and blasted the air box from the front as I had a suspicion the seal wasn’t great between the top half of the box and the bottom...sure enough water seeped in from the hose in the front right corner of the air box. It’s almost like it doesn’t clamp all the way shut or maybe the box is warped. I’ve cleaned the gasket and made sure it’s good. Will cover with gorilla tape snd see if that does it. Seems Yamaha has had issues on grizzlies and kodiak s in the past with air boxes.


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[gtsum2]

It wasn’t fluffy snow. It was wet snow and freezing rain. But 30-40 miles of that (the boy was riding it not me) and splashing through flooded trails and creek crossings would of done it. If the tape blocks it then I at least am halfway there I think.


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[Rob-c]

I have a 01 kodiak 400 and the factory gasket for the filter box was toast. I had some rubber gasket for screen in screen doors and pressed it into the grooves and has worked great for a few years now. It does make a thicker gasket .

Phifer 0.160 in. x 100 ft. Black Spline-3033398 - The Home Depot

Get the Black Spline 5/32 in. x 100 ft. 3007708, For most window screens is used for replacing screen in windows and doors. Bulk spline is great for small or large jobs from The Home Depot

www.homedepot.com

 

[gtsum2]

I have a 01 kodiak 400 and the factory gasket for the filter box was toast. I had some rubber gasket for screen in screen doors and pressed it into the grooves and has worked great for a few years now. It does make a thicker gasket .

Phifer 0.160 in. x 100 ft. Black Spline-3033398 - The Home Depot

Get the Black Spline 5/32 in. x 100 ft. 3007708, For most window screens is used for replacing screen in windows and doors. Bulk spline is great for small or large jobs from The Home Depot

www.homedepot.com

Nice find. Thanks for the info. I might try and use this to make the gasket thicker. Thanks!


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[gtsum2]

Well the tape didn’t work and the gasket seems fine (visually anyways). The boy took it for a 15 minute rip in the woods (the trails are very wet) and he came back and we opened the air box and this is what we see

Standing water in the air box. It wasn’t sunk or buried. This is from riding on trails and splashing through big puddles. I can’t understand where it’s coming from. Going to pull the entire air box out tomorrow and see if it’s maybe warped or?? I’ve had 8 different machines the past 8 years between my son and me and over 5000 miles of hard trail riding in West Virginia and I’ve never seen this before. I would think if it’s a defect that others would experience this too? I know the grizzlys have air box issues with dirt but I haven’t seen water issues before


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[JimP]

Get a old pair of your wife's nylons and stretch them across the air intake and go for a ride.

Also make sure that there isn't a hole in the intake tube

With that much water in the box that is where it has to be coming from.

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[gtsum2]

Get a old pair of your wife's nylons and stretch them across the air intake and go for a ride.

Also make sure that there isn't a hole in the intake tube

With that much water in the box that is where it has to be coming from.

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The intake tube...I thought maybe it was coming from there but the intake tube is held onto the air box (over the external flange) by a hose clamp. The intake tube goes down into the throttle body...(right??)...I don’t see how water can come into that since it’s completely enclosed? Or maybe I’m just not looking at it correctly? I took the entire intake tube off down to the throttle body and examined it and cleaned it snd I don’t see any cracks or breaks on it

I have a feeling the air box isn’t sealing in the front and the water is coming up into the chassis, under the fuel tank and hitting the airbox...there is a flexible plastic piece under the fuel tank and the fuel tank sits on it with a sponge pad...that sponge pad and the plastic “tarp” terminate exactly at the front of the air box right where the 2 halves of the air box meet...seems like it’s a runway for water to hit that air box seem perfectly....maybe bottom and top air box, new clamps, new gasket and give it a go?? What about rtv sealant...what kind could I use on the airbox gasket that would help seal it yet allow me to remove the top of the air box to clean the filter??


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[JimP]

I just looked at a service manual for the 450 and it was no help as far as how the air system runs.

I would take enough plastic off to see what is going on and even start to inspect every inch of the tube that supplies the air to the filter.

As far what to seal things up with, an general purpose silicone sealant should work but it may be a bear to get off if you decided to take things apart. But a heavy grease like wheel bearing grease on the mating surface of the gaskets should also work. It isn't like things are under pressure, you just want things to seal up.

 

[gtsum2]

I just looked at a service manual for the 450 and it was no help as far as how the air system runs.

I would take enough plastic off to see what is going on and even start to inspect every inch of the tube that supplies the air to the filter.

As far what to seal things up with, an general purpose silicone sealant should work but it may be a bear to get off if you decided to take things apart. But a heavy grease like wheel bearing grease on the mating surface of the gaskets should also work. It isn't like things are under pressure, you just want things to seal up.

Heavy grease makes sense...I’m going to order new lower box, upper box and gasket and the intake tube. I will use grease on the gasket and see what happens. Thanks!


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[Kokopelli]

I wold remove the entire air box and go with a K&N type filter with a pre-filter...

 

[CanadianKodiak700]

I wold remove the entire air box and go with a K&N type filter with a pre-filter...

A k&n filter isn't going to stop water Fern getting in his airbox, if anything, as pores as a k&n filter is, he would then have an issue of water getting in down in the engine. Also, you don't remove the airbox when adding a k&n, it just goes in place of the oem gause filter.

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