Another slide thread, should I replace?

[brmurph]

2012 APEX XTX. I bought this sled in March of last year so I have only put about 300 miles on it. I bought Dupont slides and was about to put them on when I noticed the old ones are already Dupont and are really only wearing in one spot right where the rear (small) idler wheels are. They measure 13 mm where it is wearing, everything else is 18 mm or above. Seems to me I have read that some times they wear down to a point and then stop (some talk about a line but I don't see any line). Anyway should I go ahead and replace these since I have the skid out ( I would hate for the new ones to wear down quick to 13 mm ? or do you think there is a good chance they will last for a while before needing replacement?

I know there are a lot of low snow options but at this point I don't know that I have a problem although willing to listen to thoughts. Also if anyone has suggestions on how to tell when to replace bearings on the wheels let me know, some seem to have a little play but none are completely destroyed (again would rather replace them while I have the skid out but don't feel like replacing all of them . I may repack some as well if I think I can get away with it.

Thanks.

 

[biffdotorg]

It all depends on your average rides. If you have a long trip planned at the beginning of the season ( which most dont) change them. Otherwise, just be prepared to monitor them and swap them when they wear down. You may find that they will hold for quite some time yet.

The issue I understand is it's best to do this with the skid out. Pulling them out while the track is on is a serious pain. Heck, I even cut windows in my track thinking I was going to avoid pulling my skid, and I just could not get them to start moving. So I ended up pulling the skid anyway.

I would say run them, and monitor the wear. Good luck either way.

 

[brmurph]

Good point and since I work on the sled in TX and then ride in MN (no real place to work on it up there) I think I will go ahead and replace the slides.

Now my next issue, how do you get the front inside idler wheels out (next to the front shock) ? I see the allen head set screws, do they have to come out before the bolts? I have tried to remove them but they don't seem to budge with an allen wrench and I am afraid to strip them, do I have to heat them up and if so is there something better then just a regular propane torch to heat them ?

Thanks.

 

[maim]

mine came out with the allen wrench. they can come out after the bolts but is easyer with the shaft bolted in.

 

[Smokum]

Is there inserts where the slides are wearing that much? I burned through a set in that spot as the part number for the XTX dupont's is also the same for a 121, so the insert end where the rail tips, which is the biggest wear spot. The dupont's you should get are for the MTX sleds. You will have to trim them but then the inserts go all the way back a few inches from the rear axle. Port Yamaha set new up with mine.

Biff- I have changed 2 sets with the skid in on my sled and both times it was the biggest PITA ever. I dont know if it's due to the tipped rails or skid length but it was a major fight both times. If anyone has any tricks I am all ears....but hopefully it will be a long time before I have to do them again.

 

[brmurph]

Smokum what do you mean by inserts? The wear is happening about 13 inches from the end of the slides (in the rear).

 

[Yamajon1]

When you look at the face of the DuPont slide that contacts the track clips you will see the DuPont inserts that run diagonal across it. The inserts are embedded in regular hyfax material and do not go all the way to the end of the slide. If you get the longer MTX DuPont's the inserts go further back so if you cut them down to fit a shorter length rail you will have inserts going the entire length of your rail instead of them ending short.

 

[brmurph]

I see. I would say that most of the wear is past the inserts, that being said the last two inserts are worn away and is part of the 13mm (thin area) that I mentioned, seems to be worse on one side (last two inserts look to be wiped out).

 

[Smokum]

I see. I would say that most of the wear is past the inserts, that being said the last two inserts are worn away and is part of the 13mm (thin area) that I mentioned, seems to be worse on one side (last two inserts look to be wiped out).

Yamajon1 nailed it. That was the same for me, except I was in some thin snow conditions and smoked mine so bad they wore right through in that area where there are no inserts. The rest of the slide was just fine. So that's when I searched out the MTX slides, and also went to the taller Excell wheels in that pinch spot. Both have helped greatly. I may go to all Excell wheels at some point, but didn't see a need to spend the money yet as the rest of the wheels are in good shape and aren't causing issue.

If your duponts on the sled now are still in good shape, they could be sold used, especially to a short track guy. At least you could re-coupe some money.

 

[brmurph]

Since I have no idea how many miles are on these slides I think I will replace with the XTX slides this time (and the fact that I already have the new ones) but thanks for the suggestion on using the MTX slides next time, I'll keep an eye on them this winter and see how fast they wear down. Interesting idea of using the old slides on a short track, I have one so may have to try that .

I have heard of breaking in the new slides, is this something that is important to do and if so anyone have the procedure handy?

Thanks again!

 

[Smokum]

Since I have no idea how many miles are on these slides I think I will replace with the XTX slides this time (and the fact that I already have the new ones) but thanks for the suggestion on using the MTX slides next time, I'll keep an eye on them this winter and see how fast they wear down. Interesting idea of using the old slides on a short track, I have one so may have to try that .

I have heard of breaking in the new slides, is this something that is important to do and if so anyone have the procedure handy?

Thanks again!

I would definitely run your used ones on the short track - many guys get well over 5K miles on duponts, so don't throw them away.

Get them hot, then stop and cover with snow and let them cool (10-15 minutes is what I do), and that will harden or temper the plastic. Not sure if it works, but if you have the time to do it, it cant hurt. Not sure if it matters with the duponts - I did it just because that's what I have always done. If you are running the XTX slides, I would do it to try and help that back area without inserts.

 

[thor452]

definitely replace your wheels with X wheels it will solve your problem. with X wheels you can run stock slides for thousands of miles. add cable style ice scratchers and it will prolong them even more and you can just leave them down all the time. my first set of slides didn't last 500 miles then I bought duponts and got 1500 miles out of them. then I put X wheels on and graphite slides 19.99 a piece. the sled now has 7200 miles on it and I am not changing them this year either. that's 5200 miles on graphite slides and 2000 miles it had a supercharger on it. I have a new set of Duponts to put on and have had them for years I just don't see any reason to change them when they are still good. if you are going through the work or getting those center wheels out replace them with X wheels money well spent. Talk to Travis at BOP he normally has used ones for a great price. just do all 6 you wont be disappointed.

 

[RobX-1]

Actually, you don't have to go the X wheels route as Kimpex makes a black idler wheel that is very similar to stock in appearance but is a 135mm wheel as compared to the stock 130mm wheel. I run these along with MTX duponts on my '18 Apex X-TX and the duponts look practically new with around 2500 miles on them.

 

[thor452]

Actually, you don't have to go the X wheels route as Kimpex makes a black idler wheel that is very similar to stock in appearance but is a 135mm wheel as compared to the stock 130mm wheel. I run these along with MTX duponts on my '18 Apex X-TX and the duponts look practically new with around 2500 miles on them.

Correct any oversized wheel would do the same thing X wheel is like saying Q-tip instead of cotton swab in this example. I do run the X wheel because it is a high quality part never had one fail yet and cheap as stock wheels from Travis.

 

[RobX-1]

Trust me I'm a repeat offender when it comes to buying from BOP but when it comes to idler wheels, I like to opt for new wheels with new replaceable bearings like the ones I mentioned and like you, haven't had any issues with them or the versions I run on my 08 Apex. Plus they look like stock and only cost $25.