Polaris Side-by-Side Top End Rebuild Tips

The best tips for doing a top end rebuild largely depend on the make and model of the vehicle. However, keeping things clean and organized can be applied to any engine rebuild.

Partzilla’s Polaris UTV expert John Talley livestreams Q&A sessions on our YouTube channel every Friday at 3pm Eastern. In this session, John was asked for his advice on what to do when rebuilding the top end of a 2011 Polaris Ranger 800 side-by-side.

Polaris side-by-side top end rebuild tips

Polaris Ranger 800 UTV Top End Rebuild Tips Q&A

I’m fixing to do a top end rebuild on our 2011 Polaris Ranger 800 XP. Any tips before I dive into it ?

John Talley: That one is really not that tough. I mean, it’s been a while since I’ve done one of the 800s, but it’s nothing to be afraid of at all. Get it cleaned up really well, because you don’t want anything or any dirt that’s hanging around on the harness or part of the body panels to fall in while you’ve got its heart opened up, so to speak. Just clean it up really well, and then lay out everything that you’re doing on a table as you go through it. Take lots of pictures, especially so you can get the harness and everything back where it started, back in the same place where it should be. And you may not have that many nuts and bolts, but it’s always easier to organize those very effectively as you take them apart. I usually do them by sections, and I put them in individual zip lock bags, and just write on them what it is. “Valve cover bolts” and then “head bolts” and whatever else. It just makes it simpler. Otherwise, you could find yourself a week or two later wondering where something goes while putting it together. So that and as I mentioned before, take lots of pictures.