Check Your Upper A-Arm Bolts ASAP!

[garserio]

I had an adventure this weekend... I flew off the trail and into a 4ft deep ditch. The conditions were very rough with a loose top layer, but my 09 Nytro SE seemed much too unstable even for these conditions...

Well, I found the problem, picture attached. The right side upper A-arm bolt was completely unscrewed. This picture is exactly how I found the bolt on the trail! Luckily, the bolt is so long that it was captured by the front nose fascia panel.

The moral of this story: Check your upper arm bolts ASAP. I did a trailside repair, but when I got home today, I took it all apart, did a full inspection, cleaned all the bolts/threaded holes and reassembled with red Loctite.

Picture of me in the ditch coming soon... My buddy needs to email it to me from his camera phone.

Now for the 1/2-sarcastic, 1/2-serious part...

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Dear Yamaha Design Engineering:

I want to thank you for adding a safety pin on my headlight adjustment bolts. It is reassuring to know that the headlight won't vibrate loose. I'll need this headlight to navigate tricky situations such as when the front end falls apart on a high speed trail run at night and the sled ejects itself into the trees. It is reassuring to know that your dFMEA caught this potential loose headlight issue. However, I recommend that you revisit your analysis and perhaps add a locking feature to the upper A-arm bolts. This would be what we call in the engineering field, a "Preventative Measure".

Sincerely,
Greg Arserio (Still Alive)

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[Daranello]

Those are put in by the factory not the dealer...interesting.

 

[sleddingfarmer]

My top right a-arm bolt fell unscrewed as well. I've read a few other people on this site that had it happen to them as well.

 

[cmallow]

Mine just fell out as well. I think some loctite is in order.

 

[woodydog]

Add mine to the list, luckily I was going slow when I noticed that my suspension was moving outside of the norm. I also did a trailside repair to get it back together. My dealer said all of the one's he's seen were the upper right side bolt. That is dangerous!!
mjd

 

[Easy Rider]

Me too! I made a post about this about a month ago. Top right A-arm, bolt backed out and the rear of the A-arm dropped down on the bottom arm. The top bolt was loose on the left side as well. Red loctite solves the problem....

 

[benny]

Daddy,do you kiss your mother with that mouth? It's just a snowmobile, lighten up. Life's to short.

 

[arteeex]

FYI: It is possible to black-ball yourself from the site. All you need is a little initiative. There's no reason to wait and no forms to fill out. It's just like joining, except in reverse.

 

[FJR1300]

I WAS IN MONTANA LAST WEEK. WENT INTO YELLOWSTONE YAMAHA BECAUSE I HAD A BROKEN LIMITER STRAP (THEY HAVE ZIP FOR PARTS, I DON'T KNOW WHY THEY ARE A DEALER), I NOTICED MY RIGHT FRONT FLEXING. UPPER A-ARM BOLT WAS OUT 3 INCHES.

 

[Kruchy]

I hope everyone tells there dealer to report this problem. I ended up with some damage and lost a bushing. If there was a bulletin on this the rest of us would not learn the hard way. Yes my dealer knows because they are fixing things right now and I hope under warranty.

 

[woodydog]

Kruchy, I had some damage also, lost my bushing and tore up my boot down there as the rear of the a-arm was laying on it. Dropped it off at my dealer on a Sunday and he had it fixed by Tuesday, no questions asked, warrantied no problem. He said they had seen about 4 already back on January 27th and they were all the upper right ones.

So, you should be warrantied no problem.

 

[PS2003]

I had the same side on my 09 xtx come loose but i caught it on a routine inspection which i do whenever i am heading out for a weekend trip I tightened it and checked the other side and it was tight but interestingly I am heading norht this weekend and in my inspection the battery box bolts were found loose as well????? just looks like I will need to stay on top of this thing till I get all the bolts tight?

 

[GP292]

My dealer replaced the sub-frame on my 08 Nytro does that mean he would have tightened the a-arm bolts. In other words do they go into or thru the sub-frame?

 

[Crewchief47]

My dealer replaced the sub-frame on my 08 Nytro does that mean he would have tightened the a-arm bolts. In other words do they go into or thru the sub-frame?

Yes, he would have had to tighten the bolts.

 

[ApexRtxGuy]

add mine to the list top right came out on trail 3 hours from home