Replacing Bent , cracked slide rail- LTX - Riveted components

[ontarioyamaha]

I am working on the skid now and as luck would have it the rail was bent fairly bad. I tried to straighten but aluminum does not like to form and as a result I noticed a small crack. I tired for he last few weeks to buy a used one but had no luck. I ordered from the dealer at 350 Cdn.

I drilled out the rivets for bumpers and the front slide but the guides,at the back, that guide the track adjusters and riveted from the factory with 5mm stake rivets.

Has anyone else replaced a rail? What did you do with the guides? Grind them out and replace with small bolts?

 

[steiner]

Drilled out the rivets and replaced mine with SS bolts

 

[ontarioyamaha]

Ok thanks, that is kind of what I figured but I was hoping they came with new ones attached.

did you rivet the bottoming bumpers and forward slider back on or did you also employ the nut bolt method?

Cheers

 

[steiner]

I bolted everything on but the front rail cap.

 

[Vector LTX GT 08]

I am working on the skid now and as luck would have it the rail was bent fairly bad. I tried to straighten but aluminum does not like to form and as a result I noticed a small crack. I tired for he last few weeks to buy a used one but had no luck. I ordered from the dealer at 350 Cdn.

I drilled out the rivets for bumpers and the front slide but the guides,at the back, that guide the track adjusters and riveted from the factory with 5mm stake rivets.

Has anyone else replaced a rail? What did you do with the guides? Grind them out and replace with small bolts?

The rear guide that needs to be Riveted on, I never thought about using bolts when I replaced mine rail last summer. I just took a bench vise, and crimped the rivets provided over. Does not look pretty, but hey, that rear guide is on there, lol. That being said, I did end up loosing my front slide that takes one rivet to hold it on the front of the rail. But luckly it was crusty in the end of the year, and the aluminum rail did not ketch on the track windows, which would have ripped the track ( my cousin had that happen to him, not good at all). I am going to bolt that front slider on the rail this time, using a locknut, lockwasher, (thread locker, not sure on that one yet), and maybe a dab of weld on the nut to the bolt, haha. I do not want to loose that piece when off trail riding, as when you are in deep snow, the snow pushes against that front slider, and if you do not have that part on your sled, bye bye track. Hope this helps ya.