Bolt Breakage Problem is Back on XTX...

[northerndoc]

I posted this in my review of the new 146" Ripsaw Lite track I just installed, but thought an additional post might be warranted to let others know that the bolt breakage issues that many with the '08 faced is still around in the '09s. The bolt I am referring to holds the lower gear (and reverse gear if your model is equipped) in the chaincase to the driveshaft. This problem was supposed to have been solved by an updated bolt for '09, but obviously the new bolts may have flaws too. When I disassembled my chaincase to install the new track, I found the bolt broken off in the driveshaft. I was able to remove it with an extractor, but not the kind of thing I expected to find in a brand new sled. My dealer is getting me a new bolt, but I just replaced it with a hardened one I found at the hardware store. For those of you out there with XTX's, you may want to proactively open your chaincase to check. You wouldn't know there was a problem because of the design (the bolt head can't get loose in the case), but the wear on the parts could be catastrophic down the road if not caught early. The Nytro FAQ on track change gives a good example of how to do this if someone has never been into the chaincase before. It's a 1 hr job to open it up and put it back together- cheap insurance in my book.

 

[shadow637]

Not sure if this is Yamaha's normal response to this problem but they would not warranty it on my sled...

My sled was at the dealer for a subframe replacement under warranty at the time and the bolt was only a few $$ so I told them to replace it and I would pay for that part of it. Bad thing is I had to pay an extra hour of labor for the mechanic to figure how to get the chaincase cover back on with the reverse fork in the right position... I was way too happy about the new subframe to bitch about the extra labor for the bolt.

 

[skidooboy]

i took both of my 08 mtx with reverse apart this weekend to put new tracks in them, fearful of the bolt breakage issue.

once in both, i found the bolts were still intact. i had an update bolt on hand just in case but niether sled needed it.

so again some sleds have this issue, some do not. it is all case by case basis.

shadow, your's should have been covered under warrantee no problem. i would be calling yamaha customer service on that one. ski

 

[shadow637]

i took both of my 08 mtx with reverse apart this weekend to put new tracks in them, fearful of the bolt breakage issue.

once in both, i found the bolts were still intact. i had an update bolt on hand just in case but niether sled needed it.

so again some sleds have this issue, some do not. it is all case by case basis.

shadow, your's should have been covered under warrantee no problem. i would be calling yamaha customer service on that one. ski

Not a big deal, just happy my subframe was covered. I know it should have been covered but I was not going to argue about a small issue compared to all the stuff they did cover. If it breaks again though, I will be repairing it myself...