Another victim of Cat Quality!

[ClutchMaster]

I would not have had it done if I had any doubts but like I mentioned before, the cat dealer up the road has fixed many this way over the past few years and zero issues after ,both on 2 strokes and turbo models. The repair in the wrong hands could no doubt cause some issues Im sure but the weld heat is minimal for a surface build up job vs repairing something thats broke or cracked and requires more heat for proper penetration. Dont doubt your repair method, your good to go.

That’s simply not true. Mig or tig is going to melt the base metal at somewhere around 2500f causing the grain structure to reform. Spray welding only heats up the base metal to a maximum of 400f leaving it unaltered. It’s exactly like Turboflash said about motor shafts.
I’ve been tig welding alloy steels for many years and I would never do this knowing what I know and have seen first hand.
You own a 15k machine, just buy a new shaft, not worth taking a chance imo.

 

[justinator]

If a new shaft was the fix then Im sure everyone would have bought one. No doubt spray welding is cooler but heat can be controlled to an extent with conventional welding. Cranking the heat and burning bead after bead is gonna heat the base metal more obviously, this can be minimized. This method may cause issues on certain shafts in certain situations Im sure but I have not found one person who did not have 100% success on these shafts with this method. Its been posted numerous times on facebook groups and I dont know exact number of shafts my dealer repaired this way but I believe it was a dozen+ this year alone. Ill be sure to find out the exact total,but I do know there have been zero breakages or bearings spinning on shaft after the repair was completed. Its cheap , easy and has been successful.

 

[cannondale27]

Both mine are Tig welded with stainless and machined. No issues so far. Know of 2 others done same way no issues. We all know it’s not ideal for sure. Spray weld would be best for sure but it’s working and no broke shafts yet. I bought a new 2020 shaft. Waited all winter and it came in .003in undersized.

 

[ClutchMaster]

If a new shaft was the fix then Im sure everyone would have bought one. No doubt spray welding is cooler but heat can be controlled to an extent with conventional welding. Cranking the heat and burning bead after bead is gonna heat the base metal more obviously, this can be minimized. This method may cause issues on certain shafts in certain situations Im sure but I have not found one person who did not have 100% success on these shafts with this method. Its been posted numerous times on facebook groups and I dont know exact number of shafts my dealer repaired this way but I believe it was a dozen+ this year alone. Ill be sure to find out the exact total,but I do know there have been zero breakages or bearings spinning on shaft after the repair was completed. Its cheap , easy and has been successful.

A new shaft with loctight and the wedge won’t fail if done correctly. I ran just loctight and had no issues but now have the wedge also.

This isn’t a farm tractor that’s moving 5 mph, it’s a snowmobile that goes 120 mph, if the shaft were too fail it more than likely would happen under high stress and speed. If the driveshaft were to break it would happen probably at high speeds seeing it’s not on the driven end of the shaft and there’s no torque there, maybe that’s why your getting away with it, not sure.

I know I wouldn’t do it, just sayin

 

[justinator]

A new shaft with loctight and the wedge won’t fail if done correctly. I ran just loctight and had no issues but now have the wedge also.

This isn’t a farm tractor that’s moving 5 mph, it’s a snowmobile that goes 120 mph, if the shaft were too fail it more than likely would happen under high stress and speed. If the driveshaft were to break it would happen probably at high speeds seeing it’s not on the driven end of the shaft and there’s no torque there, maybe that’s why your getting away with it, not sure.

I know I wouldn’t do it, just sayin

I get what your saying, its not the preferred method but its an option for those who dont have access to a shop that does spray welding.

 

[fatchance]

Ok, so the next logical question is.....anybody know a shop that does spray welding (bench jobs) in the New England area? and umm, if so, do I need to wear a mask?

 

[justinator]

Checked with dealer to make sure I didnt have my facts screwed up and to make sure I wasnt giving bad info for the results.

In my neck of the woods Id say this is a good enough result to label the repair as successful and safe. But by all means do whatever whoever is comfortable with. At the end of the day its your sled and your money. Im simply sharing a simple, inexpensive solution that has proven itself to work well in the event you have the shaft out of the sled for whatever reason. Whatever works successfully is all that matters, so if you happen to find a flavor of juicy fruit bubblegum that works, or a piece of your wifes bra strap or even a pair of shorts you may have have had an incident in the first time you went wide open on your latest tune , as long as it locks that bearing on the shaft please share. Some options are a lot easier and more convenient for one guy then the other.

 

[justinator]

Ok, so the next logical question is.....anybody know a shop that does spray welding (bench jobs) in the New England area? and umm, if so, do I need to wear a mask?

I personally havent heard of anyone that does it but Im sure there is and yes you will likely need a mask lol

 

[ClutchMaster]

Checked with dealer to make sure I didnt have my facts screwed up and to make sure I wasnt giving bad info for the results.
View attachment 155531
In my neck of the woods Id say this is a good enough result to label the repair as successful and safe. But by all means do whatever whoever is comfortable with. At the end of the day its your sled and your money. Im simply sharing a simple, inexpensive solution that has proven itself to work well in the event you have the shaft out of the sled for whatever reason. Whatever works successfully is all that matters, so if you happen to find a flavor of juicy fruit bubblegum that works, or a piece of your wifes bra strap or even a pair of shorts you may have have had an incident in the first time you went wide open on your latest tune , as long as it locks that bearing on the shaft please share. Some options are a lot easier and more convenient for one guy then the other.

Until someone has a failure at high speed and is severely injured. I wouldn’t recommend it and especially wouldn’t perform it if I were a business.

Stress related failures usually take some time too rear their head, food for thought.

Your driveshaft is spinning close to 6000 rpm, remember that.

 

[Sevey]

If the shaft was grooved to accept a snap ring wouldn’t that help lock the inner race to the shaft.

The space currently doesn’t exist to do this as the rotar would have to be paired down
Food for thought
Ms

 

[cannondale27]

Until someone has a failure at high speed and is severely injured. I wouldn’t recommend it and especially wouldn’t perform it if I were a business.

Stress related failures usually take some time too rear their head, food for thought.

Your driveshaft is spinning close to 6000 rpm, remember that.

I agree but I also believe the danger of shaft failure from the wear of the bearing on the shaft is a greater danger. Some of these have seen A groove wore awful deep before being caught. Gotta say it’s amazing there hasn’t been a broke one I have heard of yet from the wear.

 

[Turboflash]

Not sure what I don't understand about what Sevey said about a snap ring? There is a ring on the track shaft just inside the brake-side bearing. I don't understand how a snap ring would help fix the bearing ID to the shaft.

 

[ClutchMaster]

I agree but I also believe the danger of shaft failure from the wear of the bearing on the shaft is a greater danger. Some of these have seen A groove wore awful deep before being caught. Gotta say it’s amazing there hasn’t been a broke one I have heard of yet from the wear.

Naw I would probably disagree. Even with a groove worn into the shaft it will cause a stress riser but it won’t make the material brittle.

A good test would be too weld one up and put it in a vise, take a fairly large hammer and hit the shaft, as if trying to snap it off. I would bet you could get it too snap off. Do the same with a shaft that’s grooved/ not welded.

I’ve seen it with older outboard motor shafts that are repaired in the same fashion from water pump wear......they snap right off at the edge of the weld.

I would keep your fingers crossed and make sure you get to church on Sunday with that repair. M2C

 

[Mainway Solutions]

I had great luck with drilling 4 divets where the bearing sits and using loctite 638 (slip fit) bearing retainer!!
I needed heat and a puller to remove the bearing
Here is a pic of the diameter of my shaft as long as your close to that diameter it should work.

Maybe you can loctite it along with the wedge?

The last pic is of the burnt retaining compound
On the shaft after removing bearing

Looks like the 638 did its job. Did you drill the divots on a new axle shaft, or was that your preventative repair?
That axle looks like it's in good shape.

 

[yamamarc]

Looks like the 638 did its job. Did you drill the divots on a new axle shaft, or was that your preventative repair?
That axle looks like it's in good shape.

That is my original shaft I drilled it as a preventive repair to give the compound something to grip too!
The 638 is a thicker compound works well imo!
I make sure both inner race and shaft was cleaned with alcohol , then coated the shaft , seated the bearing and left it alone till the next day to make sure it fully cured