gnip134
Expert
Ohh.....another thing...
Seems easy to open up the bearing, inspect it, blow it out with air, put new grease in with a needle. I wonder if we could find just the seal to buy just incase the old one gets screwed up when taking off. I would buy 10. But, I would think they were only available with the full bearing.
Seems easy to open up the bearing, inspect it, blow it out with air, put new grease in with a needle. I wonder if we could find just the seal to buy just incase the old one gets screwed up when taking off. I would buy 10. But, I would think they were only available with the full bearing.
4Fighter
TY 4 Stroke God
towing said:
:shock: That's what we did when we swapped my track out about 1400 miles ago.
sled100
Newbie
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2005
- Messages
- 4
Does anyone know if the RS series have this problem? I was also wondering if one could go to a bearing shop and replace it with a seal bearing. Works on farm equipment.
4Fighter
TY 4 Stroke God
sled100 said:
Not sure, but if I could get a better bearing, I'm all for that
gnip134
Expert
Is the bearing pressed in? Or will it just slide out?
ReX
TY 4 Stroke God
There are two set screws that tighten into the drive shaft. The ID is a sliding fit on the shaft (not press fit).
This bearing is a piece of cake to change. Loosen the track (very loose - or remove the skid), remove the side panel on the sled, back off the two set screws, remove the 4 nuts that hold the bearing to the tunnel, get the new bearing ready near by, push the driveshaft up and forwards to remove the load on the bearing and slide the old bearing off, right away slide on the new bearing (you don't want to let bending loads be applied to the chaincase side bearing), install the nuts and tighten everything up.
While it sounds like a lots of steps, it only takes me about 10-15 minutes max.
The reason these bearings go IMO is these new sleds are running lots of HP and we're riding at high speeds. This heats the bearing up a little causing the air inside to expand and exit through the marginal seals. These heating and cooling cycles pump both the grease out of the bearing and suck water (melting from the heat exchanger) into it.
Being able to grease them with a grease fitting (like Polaris, Cat, etc.) is an obvious solution, but with the speedometer pick up right there it isn't all that easy to implement.
I don't know if it's really worth worrying about finding a solution. Aftermarket bearings only cost about $25 Cdn and to be very confident you won't have any problems with it you only need to install a new one at the beginning of each season or every 4000-5000 kms (2500-3000 miles) whichever comes first (I'm on my 3rd one this season on my 05 RX-1). My second one did seize a little at one point and grooved the drive shaft a little where the set screws sit (minor damage, but annoying).
This bearing needing replacement so often is a little annoying for us coming from other brands though. On my Polaris sleds, I typically used to only change this bearing approximately every 5 years. I used to pump grease into the fitting every 1000 kms or so and the water was pumped out.
This bearing is a piece of cake to change. Loosen the track (very loose - or remove the skid), remove the side panel on the sled, back off the two set screws, remove the 4 nuts that hold the bearing to the tunnel, get the new bearing ready near by, push the driveshaft up and forwards to remove the load on the bearing and slide the old bearing off, right away slide on the new bearing (you don't want to let bending loads be applied to the chaincase side bearing), install the nuts and tighten everything up.
While it sounds like a lots of steps, it only takes me about 10-15 minutes max.
The reason these bearings go IMO is these new sleds are running lots of HP and we're riding at high speeds. This heats the bearing up a little causing the air inside to expand and exit through the marginal seals. These heating and cooling cycles pump both the grease out of the bearing and suck water (melting from the heat exchanger) into it.
Being able to grease them with a grease fitting (like Polaris, Cat, etc.) is an obvious solution, but with the speedometer pick up right there it isn't all that easy to implement.
I don't know if it's really worth worrying about finding a solution. Aftermarket bearings only cost about $25 Cdn and to be very confident you won't have any problems with it you only need to install a new one at the beginning of each season or every 4000-5000 kms (2500-3000 miles) whichever comes first (I'm on my 3rd one this season on my 05 RX-1). My second one did seize a little at one point and grooved the drive shaft a little where the set screws sit (minor damage, but annoying).
This bearing needing replacement so often is a little annoying for us coming from other brands though. On my Polaris sleds, I typically used to only change this bearing approximately every 5 years. I used to pump grease into the fitting every 1000 kms or so and the water was pumped out.
gnip134
Expert
Damn....how many miles did you put on this year Rex, that you need to do it 3 times????
4Fighter
TY 4 Stroke God
I'm sure once I actually perform the repair, and figure it out - I'll change that bearing more often.
ReX
TY 4 Stroke God
gnip134 said:
10,300 kms
The second one went pretty quickly (4000 kms), but I did a fair number of long wide open stretches in northern Ontario and Quebec that would have given it a few good temperature cycles.
After that the sled sat for close to 3 weeks in a heated shop so the water in the bearing would have corroded it far worse than if sled was parked in the cold or ridden regularly.
If my sled hadn't had so much down time I expect I would have put well over 14,000 kms on it this season.
gnip134
Expert
wow.
Well, my 1400 miles doesn't look so great now...lol
Well, my 1400 miles doesn't look so great now...lol
Ski-Dog
Expert
I changed that bearing on my 04 Warrior at the start of this season to be safe after seeing some 03's fail. The bearing I took out was still in good shape after 6K but I changed it anyway as cheap insurance. For the money and given the failure rate I would change it once a year.
bearing
Unfortunately, a "sealed" bearing isn't immune to getting moisture in it.
I would definately service this bearing at the least every spring prior to letting the sled sit all summer. I have heard Yamaha DOES NOT warranty bearings, so if it seizes up, most likely it's your problem, not theirs.
I am switching from Polaris, who has had grease zerks for as long as I can remember on the drive shaft bearing and for at least the last 8 years they had a zerk on the jackshaft bearing behind the secondary clutch.
Why couldn't Yamaha do this on their sleds?? Something so simple, but overlooked?
Would be nice to adapt a grease zerk to these areas if it were possible.
Unfortunately, a "sealed" bearing isn't immune to getting moisture in it.
I would definately service this bearing at the least every spring prior to letting the sled sit all summer. I have heard Yamaha DOES NOT warranty bearings, so if it seizes up, most likely it's your problem, not theirs.
I am switching from Polaris, who has had grease zerks for as long as I can remember on the drive shaft bearing and for at least the last 8 years they had a zerk on the jackshaft bearing behind the secondary clutch.
Why couldn't Yamaha do this on their sleds?? Something so simple, but overlooked?
Would be nice to adapt a grease zerk to these areas if it were possible.
4Fighter
TY 4 Stroke God
I got my sled back yesterday (broken) but surprisingly enough, it drove as if there was nothing wrong. So when I pulled the side panel off, oh my gosh! :shock: No wonder my speedo quit working. I'll post pics later.
I've also decided to change the chain-case side bearing as well and while I'm in there...23T gear, and brake pads, jack-shaft bearings + welding & reinforcing the W-arm, removing the rear shocks and sending them to Pioneer, replacing all bearings in rear idler wheels, and boggies, installing ball-bearings in the relay rods, removing seat to get stuffed, removing tank cover to re-paint, and throwing a set of Mountain bars and longer cables on it... OH BOY! here we go. If I get all of this done by next season it will be a miracle as once the warm weather hits - as they say
"Out of sight, out of mind."
I've also decided to change the chain-case side bearing as well and while I'm in there...23T gear, and brake pads, jack-shaft bearings + welding & reinforcing the W-arm, removing the rear shocks and sending them to Pioneer, replacing all bearings in rear idler wheels, and boggies, installing ball-bearings in the relay rods, removing seat to get stuffed, removing tank cover to re-paint, and throwing a set of Mountain bars and longer cables on it... OH BOY! here we go. If I get all of this done by next season it will be a miracle as once the warm weather hits - as they say
"Out of sight, out of mind."
Best of luck with the repairs/mods. She should be all fresh for next season. 
