Barn of Parts Driveshaft Saver....Bearing Lock

[Turboflash]

OK, here's a good story to go with this "Bearing "issue".
I put "Bearing Issue" in quotes because some people still insist it's cuz we're tuned, or studded, or we ride too hard or not EVERYONE has this issue.

I went to the local Cat dealer down the street a few weeks ago. I'm friends with owner & getting to know the mechanics. This is their 2nd year in business selling Cats so they are just starting to see the issues.
I inquired about the problems WE have that last year he said they don't have.
Then he said he does have a bearing that went bad on a ProCross that was sloppy, blaming the bearing.
I went out back with him & it's the SAME problem we are facing here. He thought it was an isolated issue, but i had him look at all the others up on stands.
We found 3 more with loose bearings.
There were only 3 more sleds up on stands!

The owner came out & was puzzled what to do. I showed him the BOP McWedgy tool & he may purchase a batch from him to put on all his sleds.

That sled had less then 3000 miles & is driven by a 70 year old man that fouls plugs because he rides so slow.
This shows that this is not just us Yamaha guys BITCHIN'!
It's NOT because we ride like animals or run big tunes or whatever else the NAYSAYERS say because they are the same ignorant people that say they don't have top gear issues either.

P.S: If I'm going to be an Animal i'd like to think i'd be compared to a Cheetah although most compare me to a HUMMINGBIRD on CRACK

Ditto experience about 3 weeks ago at a Cat dealer who said same thing - never heard of the problem and said it must be due to bad bearings. HA!
He had a 2019 TCat and a 2018 TCat in his service department for engine problems (owner inflicted). I asked if I could go with him into the shop and look at the track shaft and bearings. Not hard to guess what - BOTH sleds (one with only 755 miles on it and the other with 1300) the track shaft is spinning in bearings!! Not hard for all of us to believe but why are the dealers so unaware or naive on something this obvious??!!! From the looks of things, both those TCats will need new shafts and bearings. The one with 1300 was pretty bad already.
The owner just looked at me and said something like "something must have been assembled wrong with these 2 sleds." REALLY??! I just laughed and said it was time for me to go.

 

[Turboflash]

It doesn’t seem like they are moving fast enough, or not at all. The guys with extended warranties seem to get things covered. But for the guys with 1 yr warranties the likely hood of getting this caught and dealt with by Yamaha is slim. My Yamaha dealer and a cat dealer nearby both had a garbage can full of expired drive shafts. These are not isolated problems but more of an epidemic. The only guy who has a fix is travis at BOP, the oems are silent.

MS

Well said - it's an epidemic is right! Every Procross chassis has this problem. OEMs are in denial, or silent, or naive, or SOMETHING. Just don't know how Cat seems to deny there is a catastrophic problem!

 

[newtayami]

Has anyone installed one on an BDX aftermarket LW shaft?

 

[Q. Arrius]

I got my wedge in....but the rotor had no float even before I installed it. I took it to 50 lb, all the way in, minus a hair gap to be able to get a screwdriver in to hold it.

Any concerns about the grease melting and covering the rotor?

Wouldn't the rotor heat the drive shaft and warm the shaft slightly? I would imagine the spinning could then shoot grease out onto the rotor? Am I overthinking this?

I sealed the end with a bit of clear silicone, easily removable, hopefully.

Q. Arrius

 

[hellflyer]

50lbs is a lot! I though 35lbs was a lot! I used antisieze brushed on lightly on all surfaced just for that reason

 

[Sevey]

I got my wedge in....but the rotor had no float even before I installed it. I took it to 50 lb, all the way in, minus a hair gap to be able to get a screwdriver in to hold it.

Any concerns about the grease melting and covering the rotor?

Wouldn't the rotor heat the drive shaft and warm the shaft slightly? I would imagine the spinning could then shoot grease out onto the rotor? Am I overthinking this?

I sealed the end with a bit of clear silicone, easily removable, hopefully.

Q. Arrius

I have had my drive shaft saver in and out a few times now. I have greased the threads and the 3 fingers to it will torque on smoothly. I don’t think any grease will get from inside the shaft and affect the rotar in any way. With the tool tapped in nearly flush there is little room for it to escape.
MS

 

[SAB1]

50 lbs seems a lot. At what point does the pressure impact the bearing.....

 

[Turboflash]

Good question. If it's a stock bearing, they are specified with a C3 fit which is loose internal clearance. I don't remember the exact specs anymore but they could stand a bit more press fit (which enlarges the ID to use up some internal clearance) or in this case, pressure from the BOP wedge. But the question remains, how much torque is too much (uses up all internal clearance and now the bearing is radially preloaded which will cause failure pretty quickly)? Some engineer some place needs to do a scientific study to tell us.

 

[jonlafon1]

The thing is we really don’t know yet if 50 is to much OR not enough. After this season it will be interesting to see who is using fix and at what torque. And of coarse if the shaft is worn from bearing spinning. Personally I think 50 is upper limit. Just my 2 cents.

 

[RAMSOMAIR]

Good question. If it's a stock bearing, they are specified with a C3 fit which is loose internal clearance. I don't remember the exact specs anymore but they could stand a bit more press fit (which enlarges the ID to use up some internal clearance) or in this case, pressure from the BOP wedge. But the question remains, how much torque is too much (uses up all internal clearance and now the bearing is radially preloaded which will cause failure pretty quickly)? Some engineer some place needs to do a scientific study to tell us.

Some engineer needs to make a bearing with a lock collar on the inner race like the Apex. Problem solved, crisis averted!

 

[Sledroll]

The thing is we really don’t know yet if 50 is to much OR not enough. After this season it will be interesting to see who is using fix and at what torque. And of coarse if the shaft is worn from bearing spinning. Personally I think 50 is upper limit. Just my 2 cents.

Is it possible that the torque readings fluctuate by device, and this isn't comparing apples to apples ?
Similar to a previous thread/post about an inaccurate weigh scale, or variations of fish scale track tightness , or even differences of hp results on different dynos .

 

[DTR 82-27]

Travis posted a great installation video back on post #224. That worked perfectly for me. Grease the 3 sides of the wedge where they meet the fingers, the bolt threads and under the bolt head (don’t use too much if your worried about it getting on the brake rotor). By doing this, there will not be too much friction causing an inaccurate torque reading. Then, just torque the bolt enough so the shaft grips the inner race. Mine started to grab around 30 ft lbs so I went another 5 for a total of 35 ft lbs. The torque value may differ from sled to sled depending on shaft wear, tolerances, etc. The video spells everything really well so why not follow the instructions from the guy that invented?

 

[jonlafon1]

Is it possible that the torque readings fluctuate by device, and this isn't comparing apples to apples ?
Similar to a previous thread/post about an inaccurate weigh scale, or variations of fish scale track tightness , or even differences of hp results on different dynos .

For sure! But it should give a general idea. Hell we don’t even know if this fix works?

 

[Birdmansrx]

I bought a drive shaft saver for my new SRX but gave it to a friend with a 2017 thinking he needs it more.
I thought that next fall I would pull my drive shaft out and drill and tap a set screw into the shaft, wouldn't that be the best solution ?

 

[KnappAttack]

I bought a drive shaft saver for my new SRX but gave it to a friend with a 2017 thinking he needs it more.
I thought that next fall I would pull my drive shaft out and drill and tap a set screw into the shaft, wouldn't that be the best solution ?

No it isn't, I replaced my shaft at 2300 miles because it was shot and put a set screw in last season on the new shaft and bearing along with loctite. It was tight with only .001 slip fit. Took it apart this year and bearing was spinning on shaft again and loctite was gone. Put 1700 miles on and just caught it in time.

Only chance you have to hold it is a BOP wedge.