Water in the frame

[jasonrbitt]

Hey guys

   For those of you who go through fairly deep water with your 450s: make sure you pull a couple bolts out of the skid plate when your done.   Seems there is nowhere for the water to escape but obviously it gets in through a couple holes in the frame.  Might even drill some small holes to let it out.  I happened to notice the water run out when I took the skid off to route wires for my winch.   Ran for a good period.

[CROSSBOLT]

That is VERY GOOD information! Thank you!

Karl

[airshot]

   Yessir...great info, myself along with many others have not thought of that. I am very tempted to remove my skid plates and try to find the lowest point on the frame and add a few drain holes.

[randyo]

   Yessir...great info, myself along with many others have not thought of that. I am very tempted to remove my skid plates and try to find the lowest point on the frame and add a few drain holes.

personally, I wouldn't drill any new holes that may weaken the frame, and low spot likely depends on how level it is where you park

I am concerned about this water issue on 2 fronts, #1 that it will introduce frame rust from the inside out and #2 that it might get filled with water in freezing weather and split the frame, I already had an issue with my drive belt getting frozen into a block of ice

I would lean toward using existing holes and an air hose

[jasonrbitt]

Honestly I don't know if drilling a couple small holes in the frame will hurt integrity.  It's pretty beefy for the weight of the Kymco.  I think I will drill a couple to make sure water is out.  I take my 2 year old down to a creek to play multiple times a week. The road down has 2 creek crossings. 

[CROSSBOLT]

Personally, I think it wpuld make more sense to use ONE bolt hole to fill the tubing with preservative ( or phosphatizer) and then drain it out. Put the bolt back in with some sealant and seal up the rest of the pan bolts.

Karl

[airshot]

     Lots of good points have been brought up here, to drill or not to drill?  The more I think about it, I have not had any water inside the frame just yet. I did have to drill a couple holes thru the frame for my plow mount and have driven thru some water (not overly deep, floor boards only) and have not had any noticible water inside the frame. Hmmm.....not going to rush thru this but will be on the lookout for any sign of frame retaining water!!