Bent A-Arm?

[00-NUKE]

So I've been able to do a few hundred km's this year. I was out fishing the other day, so I was oogling over my 2010 Nytro XTX - I've got about 2600kms on it. I love this thing but I noticed something funny. Looked at one side, then the other, and found myself saying "why does one spindle look more vertical than the other?" So I looked at where the shock is compared to the upper A-Arms and on my left side (when sitting on the machine) it's just slightly forward from being in the centre (maybe about a finger), and on my right side it's less than a finger from the rear and this is the spindle that is much more verticle. So I'm thinking "holy crap!". I've never hit anything with my sled. I rip bumpy trails, but hell, that's why I bought a Nytro. My skid seems to be ok - my Roest skid plate is sitting nice and flat and lined up with the frame rails. It seems a little weird to me. What should I do now? Ride it till it gets worse? Last thing I want is my shock rubbing on the A-Arm when I'm in no mans land.

First thing I would do is make sure that your a-arms aren't loose. The plastic pivot bushings don't last long.

Otherwise I would bump the tip of your skis up to a flat surface and take measurements from the surface to all of your compnents. The Nytro geometry can be VERY deceiving. I had 4 other riders swear that my A-arms were bent just by looking at them when my 2011 started pulling to one side. It was just a bent carbide.
IMAO: If it handles ok, I'd just ride it. If you stare at the geometry long enough, your mind WILL play tricks on you.

 

[BombaPolaYama]

Ya the tips appear even - nothing seems to be out of whack other than the top arm on the one side being more further ahead than the other. Just seems odd that it could be bent forward - or bent period without having an impact from a stationary object. Nothing else that I can see looks to be damaged at all.

The A-arms seem weak and bend too easily by hitting a ditch or dip too fast. I bent one on my VL last season without even knowing it (that is, I didn't stop to check it) but noticed it after the fact. Didn't seem to affect the handling though.

 

[grizztracks]

Thanks for the pic Grizz - helped a lot. Went out and did a little more investigating this morning. My centre gusset (with the hole in it) has one wrinkle in it at about 1-2 o'clock if 12 was the front of the sled. This is also the side that has the more vertical ski spindle.............

You my also have a bent a-arm which can be checked by removing both arms and matching them up but the bottom line is that if the center gusset has buckled diagonally then the frame has been compromised. You can ride it the way it is but because the spindle angle is not right the handling will be affected and the next impact may put the shock into the a-arm. At this point you could bend it back with a pry bar then reinforce it so it doesn't move again.

 

[robo cop]

i replaced it oem the balljoint was egg shaped too comes with it bombing down a hill hit a rock .... try post a pic later

 

[YamaMTX]

Grizz with the pry bar method, you use the top A-Arm to pry against correct? How do you know you are not hurting that upper mount then? I have seen this method in the past and always wondered how it would turn out. Thanks!

 

[Filks]

Yes I was wondering the same thing really. I've seen more posts about the weakness of the top A-Arm vs. the bottom. I wonder if it would be a good idea to try and stabilize the top arm with some straps to something rather than rely 100% on its own strength.

 

[grizztracks]

In most cases the frame bends back easily. After bending my second Nytro frame I was also afraid that I'd bend the upper a-arm with the prybar but it didn't bend and I was able to straighten the frame several times before replacing it. I used a 3' truck tire bar, placed it between the arms with a couple of rags, put my foot on the back of the spindle and pulled with constant pressure. I was surprised how easily it moved back but If yours doesn't want to move don't get carried away with the prybar method. I've repaired several bent frames and found that cutting out the bent center gusset before trying to straighten things helps. I've also made up stronger square tube a-arms to pry against instead of using my good ones.

I've seen frames bent beyond repair. I have one in my garage right now that collapsed the lower frame tubing where the tie rod rubber boot rivets to the frame. After analyzing several bent frames I'm fairly certain I understand why they still bend and how to prevent it from happening. If you have a frame that can't easily be straightened then it's probably better to buy a new frame and reinforce it before reinstalling it. After bending two subframes myself I finally reinforced the third frame and haven't had a problem since.