My first sled - 2007 Apex GT - questions

[ZapeX2]

If ya run into trouble there is a parts finder on the top of the page to look through...

btw.. Blue Dave... The pictures of your garage again, make us all look bad... lol... Wasn't sure if it was a garage or a hospital...lol... nice...

 

[snowxwi]

Thanks Blue Dave for the extra information. I will just change it out. I am assuming I need to remove the secondary clutch to get at this. My sled is not stored at my house, so I haven't gotten a chance to take a look at where this might be yet. I will figure it out.

Thanks for the number, I may be giving you a call sometime next week. I appreciate all the help!

 

[Blue Dave]

Thanks Blue Dave for the extra information. I will just change it out. I am assuming I need to remove the secondary clutch to get at this. My sled is not stored at my house, so I haven't gotten a chance to take a look at where this might be yet. I will figure it out.

Thanks for the number, I may be giving you a call sometime next week. I appreciate all the help!

You do not have to remove the secondary clutch but it does make the job a little easier if it is out of the way. In any case you should take the secondary off yearly to check the buttons and scotch brite the helix and sheaves.

 

[snowxwi]

I replaced the spark plugs today and other than taking way too long, everything worked out. Old plugs looked dark and worn so I'm glad I took care of them. Started right up with new plugs running on all 4.

I checked the drive shaft bearing and it was rusty and very dried out. There was a lot of black debris in it as well. I was able to loosen the two torx screws and pull the bearing out. It was in bad shape.

I'm picking up a new bearing tomorrow. I did run into a problem: I did not loosen the track tension before I pulled the bearing out. I don't think I will be able to get the new bearing in without loosening the tension as its off center now and hard to move even with two people. I've read the instructions on how to adjust the tension and alignment but have never done this and was hoping for some help to make it a bit easier. I don't think it will need to be loosened a lot as we can almost get it in the right spot with the tension on it.

If anyone can give me "plain and simple" instructions on how to loosen and re-tighen the track making sure it stays aligned I would appreciate it. My biggest worry is tightening it so it's out of alignment.

Thanks for all the great help so far, this site has probably saved me a lot of money already since that bearing was bone dry and rusted pretty badly. Who knows how much longer it would have lasted.

And...if anyone knows the snow fairy, let her know that WI needs a serious helping of snow.

Thanks!

 

[raginyamaha]

its easy to loosen the track up. Just count the number of turns out and go back in the same number when done. And do the same amount on both sides.

 

[Blue Dave]

its easy to loosen the track up. Just count the number of turns out and go back in the same number when done. And do the same amount on both sides.

That method works fine assuming that the track is currently tensioned and aligned properly.

The manual says to pull the center of the track with 22 lbs of force using a spring scale to get 1.18 to 1.38 inches of deflection. I however like to run my track tension more on the loose side. With my sled on a stand my track hangs about that same amount below the slides in the middle under its own weight. If your track "ratchets" in deep snow then it is too loose.

Alignment is simple, spin the track with the sled on a stand and let it roll to a stop, check the distance from the outside edges of the slides to the outside edges of the track on both sides at the rear end of the slide rails. The distance should be the same on both sides. To move the track to one side or the other loosen the tension on the side that you want the track to move towards (or tighten the tension on the opposite side that you want the track to move towards).

 

[snowxwi]

I just picked the sled up from the dealer a few weeks ago and the track alignment was adjusted by them right before I picked it up and it hasn't been moved since then. I will just make sure I count the number of turns when I loosen it and tighten it back up the same number of turns. I will check the alignment to be sure but it shouldn't be too hard.

Blue Dave, do you know how much I will need to loosen the track to get the new bearing in place by any chance? I can almost get the drive shaft back into place without loosening it, so I'm assuming I won't need to loosen it too much.

After I get this thing back together it's all set to go. Just some snow. 1 big storm is all it would take!

 

[Blue Dave]

I just picked the sled up from the dealer a few weeks ago and the track alignment was adjusted by them right before I picked it up and it hasn't been moved since then. I will just make sure I count the number of turns when I loosen it and tighten it back up the same number of turns. I will check the alignment to be sure but it shouldn't be too hard.

Blue Dave, do you know how much I will need to loosen the track to get the new bearing in place by any chance? I can almost get the drive shaft back into place without loosening it, so I'm assuming I won't need to loosen it too much.

After I get this thing back together it's all set to go. Just some snow. 1 big storm is all it would take!

Loosen the track as much as possible to make the bearing replacement easier. If you have a helper it is much easier with one person holding the drive axle in place inside the tunnel and the other person installing the bearing.

 

[sleddog66]

Snowxwi, you are aware that you need to loosen the rear axle side bolts first, then you can loosen the adjuster bolts as described above.

 

[snowxwi]

I was not entirely sure, so thanks for that. I know the manual states to loosen the axle bolts first.

I do have someone to help me with this so I'm sure it will go smoothly.

Thanks guys.

 

[snowxwi]

So I got the drive shaft bearing replaced and everything back together.

While I was getting the track back into alignment I was spinning the track. I had to rev up to ~4k rpms to get the track to spin and it would come to an abrupt stop instead of gradually slowing down. It seems like something is restricting it from moving as easy as it should. Could over tightening the axle bolts cause this? I think I may have tightened them up too much.

I was going to take it to the dealer and have them do a quick track alignment to make sure it's correct but I thought it might just be this simple. I don't want to start it up and keep spinning it if over tightening the axle bolts wouldn't cause it to do this.

 

[Blue Dave]

So I got the drive shaft bearing replaced and everything back together.

While I was getting the track back into alignment I was spinning the track. I had to rev up to ~4k rpms to get the track to spin and it would come to an abrupt stop instead of gradually slowing down. It seems like something is restricting it from moving as easy as it should. Could over tightening the axle bolts cause this? I think I may have tightened them up too much.

I was going to take it to the dealer and have them do a quick track alignment to make sure it's correct but I thought it might just be this simple. I don't want to start it up and keep spinning it if over tightening the axle bolts wouldn't cause it to do this.

The spacers between the wheels on the rear axle tighten against the wheel bearings inner (spinning) diameter so overtightening the rear axle nut will not cause the rear axle wheels to bind. More than likely you have the track tension too tight. Another possibility is that you have some bad wheel bearings in your skid.

 

[snowxwi]

The track spun fine before I loosened it and re tightened it. I don't think I could have messed up on installing the new drive shaft bearing, but could an error in the installation cause the track to not move as well as it should.

Do you think having to rev up to 4k and it not spinning down smoothly is abnormal?

 

[Blue Dave]

The track spun fine before I loosened it and re tightened it. I don't think I could have messed up on installing the new drive shaft bearing, but could an error in the installation cause the track to not move as well as it should.

Do you think having to rev up to 4k and it not spinning down smoothly is abnormal?

Did you install the bearing cover plate on the outside of the tunnel before you tightened the two Torx set screws on the bearing collar to allow the bearing to position itself properly on the drive axle? If not perhaps the bearing has a side load on it causing the drive axle to bind? This is unlikely but worth checking. If you have any doubt simply loosen the two Torx set screws on the bearing collar and see if the drive axle slides further into the bearing.

It is most likely related to your track tension. I would loosen the track to see if that helps. Leave the rear axle nut loose and back off on the adjusters a bit and see if it makes a difference. Without seeing how fast the track is stopping after you let off of the throttle I can not say if it is normal or not. It should not come to an abrupt stop but rather it should slow down smoothly.

I run my track loose enough that sometimes it will spin on its own very slowly with the sled on a jack stand and the engine on fast idle. Certainly you should be able to spin it easily by hand with the sled on a jack stand with the engine idling.

 

[snowxwi]

I tightened the torx set screws before putting the cover plate on but I'm sure the bearing was in the right place. The cover fit on without any problems. I don't think the problem is with the bearing.

The thing is that the track does move VERY slowly with the sled just idling while up on the jack. So it seems to be moving pretty freely in that sense. It just seems that the track should start moving as soon as I touch the throttle but does need to be revved up between 3-4k rpms to get it moving, and at that RPM, the speedo says it's going <20 mph. I will play with the track tension and alignment and see if I can get it spinning correctly.

One other things to note. Obviously it's going to sound different on the jack with the track off the groud than it would actually going on snow, but I do hear a weird clicking/clanking noise when running the track. It could just be the noise of the track when it's off the ground but just not sure.

I will work on it over the weekend and let you know how it goes. Half of my Torx bit broke off inside one of the screws, so I will have to get that out somehow before loosening them again.

As always, Thanks!