Front end damage, now what?

[Northbound]

Well, unfortunately my season is over after hitting a snow covered rock last night in the ditch. Fortunately, I walked away uninjured, the sled is a different story. Just based on my initial observations, It appears the Phazer will need a new A-arms on the right side, a new Fox Float, along with a new front frame suspension mount (the bolts from the A arm were ripped from the front frame). It appears the ski and steering knuckle are salvageable. My question is what else should I be looking at to see if this sled is worth repairing? Does anyone know how challenging it would be to replace the front end? The steering is off, which I am assuming can be adjusted back when I tear it apart. The sled has approx. 4k miles on it and it doesn't appear there was any damage to the engine or any internal parts. Finally, is the sled even worth repairing at this point? At what point do you throw the towel in and part it out? Thanks in advance.

 

[THKSNOW]

What, no insurance?

 

[Mooseman]

I've rebuilt a similarly damaged Phazer and it's a job and a half. Take the whole front end apart and check the sub frame for squareness. If it's tweaked, you'll have to replace it. Mine was a hit on a tree on the A-arms. Bolt holes were elongated but the frame was straight. To fix the holes, I welded the nuts to the frame, even those that were fine. Makes the removal of the arms sooooo much easier. Then had the frame powder coated.

Really check the spindles by laying them on a flat surface, like a pane of glass, as it can twist.

Check the mounting points of the sub-frame to the side plates for cracks.

I did this rebuilt about 6 years ago when Phazers still commanded high dollars and it was the only way I could afford it and I also had a parts Phazer I bought for cheap at the time. Today, you could probably find a good Phazer at a reasonable price and part out this one. The engine alone can fetch over $2k. Heck, I sold a dead engine with no compression for $500. Today, I wouldn't redo a rebuild like that again.

 

[ATV PRO #11]

Glad to hear your ok!!
Take to insurance, see what they have to say.
Either they’ll fix or write off. Can probably find one and buy back your old one for what insurance will give ya.

 

[maim]

glad you are ok.

the front frame is not too bad to replace if you have removed it before to replace the oil filter. used subframes and arms can be found here on the site for way cheaper than new cost. the subframe for the 09 was $300.00 ish shipped to my door. odds are you could get the parts for $700.00 or less and could repair it yourself if you want.

 

[Northbound]

Well, after scouring craigslist and ebay for the past several months, I was able to get to the parts needed to fix it. It was a lot easier then I expected, thanks largely to carbondale's thread on pulling apart the front end for oil changes. I ended up having to replace the front frame, the right a arms and the tie rod steering arms. I ended up changing out the a arms on both sides since the previous ones were rusting. I was able to do it all for $325. Well worth it for something that I didn't think was going to be worth fixing after the crash. Already looking forward to next winter as I missed some of the best riding conditions in years around me!

 

[Peter Rabbit]

ya front clip is easy to come off. I have had it off a few times.