needle bearing in chain case

[thor452]

Was down in milwaukee this weekend and finialy got to take a look at my buddies 07 apex gt that was making a clicking noise in the chain case at the last 10 mins of the last ride this past season couldnt have been much more lucky. i didnt snap a pic so ill do the best i can to describe it here. in the chain case there are two small gears one rides on the chain and the other is on the same spindle. they connect to each other and have a little spring between them looks like a ball point pen retractor spring. They both have needle bearings in them. the inner gear (that rides on the chain) the bearing came appart it was in pieces in the botom of the case almost wore thru to the gear caught it just in time if the bearing is replaceable. I have a few questions. have any of you seen this before? is there a cause besides just wear? can we just replace the bearing? the case was still with in range of full on the fresh synthetic gear lube been changed every year so it was gettin the lube it needed. the sled has maybe 7500-8000 miles on it. and we had to replace the chain the season before this one. so the chain had 1.99999 seasons on it when this happened. just making sure im covering all bases on this one i only get a few days to work on it in the off season so want to be ready when i go back down to finnish it up.

 

[srxpert]

If you can get the wear specs and measure the gears and shaft that is best. If you cant look very close at the parts and make sure there is no wear or chatter marks on the parts. Or any type of discoloring. If either is noticed you need to replace the parts. It is very possible that the bearing cage just failed. That is really the weakest point.
On another note how are things in Shawano? I use to live there a couple years ago. I have since moved farther north hoping for better snow. My brother and sister in law own a bar there. Shane

 

[thor452]

same ol same ol in good old shawano would love to move to better snow my self but the wife wants to move south to be nearer to the bigger citys we will see how that plays out. what bar do they own? did you find better snow?

 

[srxpert]

They own the Long Horn over on the west side. Near the high School. I did manage to find decent snow. Last year I had to trailer about 10 miles most times I rode but all things considered that wasn't bad. I got 1634 miles on which is a bad year for me but much better than most people got. I rode from Shawano to near where I live now a few years ago. It was a great ride but really cold on the way home.

 

[thor452]

sweet that is one of the few i go to when i do go out always find my self reading all those funny signs all over the walls still no sure i read them all yet lol. i almost always trailer up to the up or northern wis to ride. but we do get one ride with the family most years where we make our way up ti antigo and such. I got 1000 miles on the old 07 this season before i tradded her in and the put about 900 on the 2012 xtx. a light year for me as well, but with the snow we had i was thankful for everyone of those miles this year. where about is amberg sound familiar

 

[srxpert]

They have some good food there and the signs are freaking funny. Amberg is about an hour and fifteen minutes north of Green Bay or about hour and half from Shawano. The reason I ride the area is because no one else does. Every one goes all the way up to the U.P. And bypass the area. On a 200 miles I normally don't pass more than 50 sleds which is pretty good. They take great care of the trails and normally have pretty good snowfall. Your more than welcome to come and ride with me. I ride fairly hard but don't pretend to be Blaire Morgan. My son rides now but has no problem keeping up with me. Shane

 

[thor452]

anywhere near wabeano?I have a buddy that has a cabin up there they seem to be in a snow belt too always good ridding have rode there a few times from home when we had the snow to do so. thats is north of mountain about anouther 20 mins. always looking for more riding i ride prety hard like to go for hours at a time. most dont ride like i do but with your miliage you may.

 

[sherlock29]

to answer your question i had to replace these bearings before... the large bottom gear has them also. they press in and out.. took about 5 mins to replace. heat was the original culprit in mine... if you look at the chain geometry this little gear will spin much faster than the others due to diameter... chances are at some point it heated up and bearing just failed. for the $100 bucks in bearings it will cost i'd replace all, and run it another 8000+miles.

 

[thor452]

Thank you Sherlock. so they are replaceable thats good to know.

 

[RTX]

i agree once you get that fine ground powder in the case you are looking at other beasings failing.
take it all apart replace them all and clean everything using brake cleaner and compressed air.
its easy to install those roller bearings.
use a propane torch to warm up/heat the gear DO NOT HEAT THE BEARING keep bearing cold. once the gear is heated some the bearing will drop right into it.
i use a cone style heater designed for this type of stuff but you can do it with a torch.

 

[Super Sled]

Hey Robert, is this the sled that crashed into your old '07 Attak? Maybe you ought to adjust his brakes also

 

[thor452]

yes Mike it is the same guy. seeing as i had to remove the brakes to get at the prob we will be sure they are all good lol

 

[thor452]

i agree once you get that fine ground powder in the case you are looking at other beasings failing.
take it all apart replace them all and clean everything using brake cleaner and compressed air.
its easy to install those roller bearings.
use a propane torch to warm up/heat the gear DO NOT HEAT THE BEARING keep bearing cold. once the gear is heated some the bearing will drop right into it.
i use a cone style heater designed for this type of stuff but you can do it with a torch.

thanks for the pointer would have been whacking it with a hammer not realy but may not have thought of it that way.

 

[thor452]

Hey Robert, is this the sled that crashed into your old '07 Attak? Maybe you ought to adjust his brakes also

BTW im not talking to you anymore. wtf is that rmk doing in your garage? bucking bronco have fun climbing back on that bronco if you put it thru it paces. polaris i used to think you were cool

 

[Super Sled]

Lol, that's funny. You are right. But you know my blood will always bleed blue. Yammi just needs to sell a DI 2 stroke sled for a few select off trail sleds.

Think my Attack will be able to keep up with that modified 2012 XTX you have this winter out in the UP?