Just bought a 2005 RS Rage and there are a few issues.....

[NLP_SLED_GUY]

One item that no one seems to have mentioned, which is far more likely to fail than the cam chain tensioner, is the failure of the paper thin oil tank on these sleds. These oil tanks are infamous for cracking at the lower front edge due to vibration and being not allowed to move. This has happened to me personally, and almost ruined a week long tour. I ended up fixing mine with a new tank and rubber wire grommets and improvised bolts. Barn of Parts does sell an oil tank saver kit for this known issue. It would be high on my list of things to fix.

Thanks, I just had the tank off and spent an hour or so with it intimately. I didn't see anything. But while putting it back on it did surprise me how rigid it was mounted. I think it should be pretty easy to come up with a isolation mount for the bolts. I'm looking at the Tank Saver now. I'll probably just order one of these.

I redid the front suspension last night with Oilite bushings. Much better than even new stock plastic bushings.

Exhaust is all back together and repaired. Track, jackshaft and chain case all rebuilt and back in . Brakes in and work. They didn't orignally. The inside caliper was completely full of air. Brake has good feel now.

The the word my center shock rebuild is done. I need to pick it up.

Secondary clutch is rebuilt. Primary clutch would be done if I could find some weight/ramps in stock anyway. Even tried to buy complete clutch kits but that hasn't worked out either.

Also waiting on some ski mounting hardware... bushings and bolts. Already installed Bergstrom's shims and they have Woody's Doolys. More past due hardware are two univerisal heims for the first steering connector coming from the steering column.

I have managed some cleaning and polishing. But limited to what was taken apart. Function and reliability is first and foremost.

One bummer. With the handle bar flopping around I must have banged the kill switch and broke off the top. Ebay to the rescue, $20.

I'll post some pictures in a bit.

 

[NLP_SLED_GUY]

 

[NLP_SLED_GUY]

I ordered the tank saver, belt adjuster and a temp gauge. Found a lot of cool stuff there. I'll go back for a few more things after I get this thing on the trail and make sure it doesn't need anything I might be missing now.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[NLP_SLED_GUY]

Got the sled started today. Sounds great! No leaks. No issues with the engine at this point.

I thought I did have one. A lot of oil blowing under pressure out of the oiling system at where the airbox is. A little research showed this was normal and that the airbox has a separator in it. Oil gets returned and vapors burnt. Just a couple parts away from being able to align it and put the rear suspension back in.

But my real hold up is weights for the primary. Still having a hard time finding the right ones in stock.

Thanks,

Ed

 

[NLP_SLED_GUY]

An update for those following.

Sled is mostly back together. Exhaust fits well and doesn't appear to have any leaks... so far. But it fit pretty good. I don't expect any. But with most exhaust parts I'll run them for a while then double check torque of all of the exhaust fasteners. It sounds pretty good.

Until I put the clutch back on. Tried a few various methods to quiet down the roller bolts. Ended up just using some 3/16 or rings on the nut side of the bolts. That appeared to fix that as the noise changed. It appears I've got the clutch stub shaft play issue. I've read a few "fixes" on here and found some fairly expensive ones as well. If it's not causing any long term damage I may just let it slide for a bit and get the rest of the sled together and tested when snow allows.

Replaced most of the steering joints that I could actually see play in. Still a bit more play than I like. I can't tell 100% but there appears to be a bit of wobble in the front steering mount. I'll might look at it later today. The steering rod under the tank appears to need adjusting after replacing it's joints. I tried to put it back to the same length. Maybe it was off

I did get the track squared up and a 0 deg toe in set. I'm going to shoot for 7mm when I'm ready to finalize the alignment.

I did get the clutches aligned in spec and got the preload in specs. The clutch ramps I did get (unknown rivet weights, but correct ramp) appears to be engaging and holding around 3200 rpm. Not too bad. Sled appears to shift all thru the clutches without issues with the track off the ground.

I did learn a lesson about trying to run the engine with the air filter box off and the oiling system open.

Also set the base spring setting on the rear suspension spring. Otherwise all spring preloads are just a bit over minimum. Or several turns past loose. All rear shock settings are also "soft". I have an extremely bad back and like a soft ride. I'll add preload as needed to prevent bottoming.

Limiter straps are set "stock" length. But the big question is the center shock. It also has minimal tension at the moment. I expect to add some preload to this but it appears that it might be very hard to set with the skid in. I think the manual says it can't be adjusted with the shock installed. Is this so? It looks pretty tight in there. Skid have to come out? Or can the shock itself have to come out with the skid in? Or can it be simply adjusted like it is with patience? Hard to image not being able to make an adjustment without major effort. I am learning that some things are just a bit different with these sleds.

That's enough for now. Our new puppy is demanding attention!

Thanks,

Ed

 

[yamadoo]

Great work and reporting. THese 3 cyl. Yamaha’s have been known to go huge miles as in 10s of thousands, a former poster Hondo I believe set the record at over 50k might have been 100k not sure but it was huge. I have this motor in Vector, Viper and Venture packages and LOVE it. Not the top end or throttle response of my Apex but then few sleds have that throttle response .

 

[maim]

Limiter straps are set "stock" length. But the big question is the center shock. It also has minimal tension at the moment. I expect to add some preload to this but it appears that it might be very hard to set with the skid in. I think the manual says it can't be adjusted with the shock installed. Is this so? It looks pretty tight in there. Skid have to come out? Or can the shock itself have to come out with the skid in? Or can it be simply adjusted like it is with patience? Hard to image not being able to make an adjustment without major effort. I am learning that some things are just a bit different with these sleds.

i adjust it in place with the sled on its side or with the rear of the sled hanging off of the ground. usually use a big screwdriver and hammer to un lock and lock the jam nut. usually just turn the nut against the spring by turning the spring.

that is the same suspension as i had in my rx war and i set it the way mrsled showed me to set a proaction. got it to ride pretty well with some personalized comfort tweaks. brother still runs it with it set for his weight.

 

[NLP_SLED_GUY]

Thank you. I'll search for threads by mrsled.

I do have the Yamaha ProAction video. But I think the manual would be much more help as it appears to have the actual specs. But I also suspect that the video is older than 2005.

Found more sloppy steering parts. Both ends of the forward relay rod are moving all over. That thing isn't exactly cheap either. At least for what it is. Anyway, I'll get one of those ordered. Added about 3mm a side of toe out. But this was at before where the front of the ski tapers. So it will end up being a bit more. I did find the inside right front lock nut a monster to tighten. I had to remove the relay rod and the main piviots. Figured I got that far so I might as well replace that relay rod. I think that should do most of the fixing. Then for a few upgrades.

Thank again all,

Ed

 

[maim]

the treads would be in the tec section. the transfer rod gap with you on the sled is what is critical to get right so that it rides correctly.

lol mrsled physically showed me and helped me set it on the 1st ty ride i went to a few years ago

 

[RobX-1]

I believe the forward relay rod that you are referring to is the same relay rod I found a majority of play in my 08 Apex. The ends are just a bear to get seated as they are pressed in. I ended up using c-clamps as well as some deep throat c-clamps to get them in as I didn't go a complete tear down. Once my bushings and collars for the pivot arms arrive (backordered until 11/9, was suppose to be here 10/8) and tear everything down, I will check this relay rod to ensure both ends are fully seated.

 

[NLP_SLED_GUY]

I believe the forward relay rod that you are referring to is the same relay rod I found a majority of play in my 08 Apex. The ends are just a bear to get seated as they are pressed in. I ended up using c-clamps as well as some deep throat c-clamps to get them in as I didn't go a complete tear down. Once my bushings and collars for the pivot arms arrive (backordered until 11/9, was suppose to be here 10/8) and tear everything down, I will check this relay rod to ensure both ends are fully seated.

Thanks for the heads up on the joints. I took the entire assembly out today to clean it up and inspect it. On the bench that relay bar didn't have quite as much play as it felt in the sled. Maybe some ratio changes are making it more noticeable. But otherwise all of the parts looked good and cleaned up well.

I'll be able to get the inner joint of the relay bar before I put it back in. But the final joint will have to be in the sled obviously. My first attempt will to be to put a little heat in the large steering rod end then see if I can use an impact swivel on the nut. It works great in my head.

I did get most of the rear half of the sled put back together today. Once I have the sled where I want it mechanically I'll address more of it's appearance.

Thanks again and good luck with your work!

Ed

 

[yamadoo]

Great work cant wait to see the pics and hear the ride reports

 

[NLP_SLED_GUY]

Great work cant wait to see the pics and hear the ride reports

Thanks.

An small update. I yanked the rear back out. Completely went thru everything again, but with much more detail this time. Put new bushings in the W-arm pivot. These bushings appeared to be the same exact size as the A arm bushings, of which I had extra. They were almost totally gone. cleaned and re-greased everything. Put new red slides on. Reset all adjustments back to stock. Did a basic setup of the rear spring preload and the control rods. Left the front shocks with just barely preloaded. Just enough adjustment to ensure the sled was level across the front. It appears the right side of the sled is much heavier than the left. Not good for a snowmobile but a minor spring adjustment can help a bit.

Got all of the new front end parts in the mail and installed. Final alignment done. Added a secondary preload adjuster, nothing really in install. Installed a water temp gauge and installed it. Installed the oil tank saver. Cleaned and painted battery bracket and reinstalled all of that gear once the alignment was done.

While installing the water temp gauge I wanted to take the cowling/headlight assy/gauge panel to clean and make a path to install, connect and hide the wires for the water temp gauge. This turned out to be a can of worms. All of the hardware was rusted, frozen and stripped. There will have to be a few repairs to panels to get them to fit correct and secure.

Clutching.... One of the final remaining mystery's to solve.

Secondary spring was broken. It was unmarked. I have obtained a new Yamaha pink and a used Yamaha white secondary spring. Disassembled and cleaned both clutches. Installed new slide buttons on the secondary. Cap/Helix was an 8BVFA, which is incorrect. Found a serviceable 8BV31. So the secondary should be all stock with a new pink spring and a 43 deg helix. Helix is clocked 3/3. It is also now correctly aligned.

Primary.... Weights were very bad. Clutch completely goo'ed up with fabric debris and oily belt goo. Took almost completely apart and cleaned. Once cleaned most everything was fine except for the weights. I had a hard time getting a set of good 8ES weights, but I did find some. By visual inspection the rivets are different. Maybe the same but swapped position. The larger looking weight is at the outward position. Installed some 3/16 rubber grommets on the Roller bolts. That helped, but now all I can hear is that nasty stub spline knocking. ugh.

The primary spring is also just black with no identifiable markings. So today I decided to test the spring to see if I could identify it. From what I found stock should have been Y-G-Y. 2.5 kg/mm, 123 kg total at 33 mm. And a free length of 89.4 mm.

It's 96 mm tall. Compressed to 33 mm it measures 261 pounds or 118.38 kg. That's only about 1.88 pounds per millimeter... if I did that correctly.
Looking at the spring charts I don't see anything close enough to determine a match. Aftermarket? Looks like a new spring is in my future. It turns about the Schmidt Bros. is about 20 minutes away from me. I plan on getting them to help sort or the primary weight/spring combo. Even if I buy a stock spring, I still haven't weighed the weights/ramps. I guess I could just order the correct rivets as well. But I'd like the lower engagment. Currently the clutch engages about 3100-3200 rpm.

I've really learned a lot about these sleds in a fairly short amount of time. Mainly due to this site as well as the owners and maintenance manuals. And I've yet to actually ride one besides putting this broken one on the trailer.

I have a few pictures but nothing special. Just pictures of it slowly getting put back together. I'm beat, I'll post a few in the AM.

Thanks again for the views and replies.

Ed

 

[maim]

sounding like a po did some clutching on it at some point. there was some guys that did their kits with oe components back in the day but i cannot remeber who they where.

glad you are gettting excited to ride it.

 

[TinMule]

1st. the clutch puller is about $30.00 canadian

Hi maim, where would you point us to purchase one?
(09 RS Venture, 07 venture lite)