Rusty Rear Suspension Arms Update!!!

[Iceman57]

For those of you who think that the rust is coming from flexing of the Arms at the welds are way wrong. My dealer ordered new arms to replace the existing arms due to leaking grease fittings. The Arms came in today and before the Arms got installed I wanted to see if the new Arms had the grease fittings welded all the way around the fitting because if not I'm sure the new ones will leak just like the old ones. As I was checking the fittings I noticed rust on the welds in several different areas on both of the Arms that were ordered. Upon further inspection I could also see small cracks in the paint. These suspension parts are brand new wrapped in foam and sealed in plastic. My conclusion is that the rust on the welds is a result of improper prepping of the welds prior to painting. Welds when done properly are harder then the material they are welded to. So if the Arms are flexing they would not only flex at the welds but around the welds as well. From what I can see on my sled the paint is pealing off the welds, and only on one of the Arms. The other Arm has almost no rust on it and the little it has is slight surface rust. If flexing was the cause of the rusting, both arms would be experiencing the same problem, take a close look at the pic’s. I’m sure that a good sandblasting job, proper prepping of the welds and Powder Coating or Ceramic coating of these parts will solve most of the rusting issues. IMO

And by the way the grease fittings on the new Arms are only welded in one small spot like the old ones.

 

[blown apex]

so are the new arm zerks welded all the way around

 

[Iceman57]

No, just like the old ones.

 

[actionjack]

Strange, my sled as been outside at least half of the season and has 900 miles on the odometer and over 4000 miles on an open trailer and I have zero rust in my skid. I do spray everything with WD40 before and after I trailer tho. BUT my Dzus fasteners are rusting.

 

[ReX]

My 06 pivot arms and all of my buddies pivot arms looked 100% perfect when new. There wasn't any paint flaking anywhere.

After a few 1000 miles paint was flaking of at certain welded joints and by 3000-5000 miles small cracks were visible in the locations that first started to flake off.

The rear arm cracked on my sled and one Apex, but the front pivot arms cracked on my sled as well as on 2 out of the 3 Apex I ride with.

I should mention that the Apex with cracked front and rear arms was missing the front bump stops for the first few 1000 miles - this very likely put much higher loads on the arms when bottoming out. My sled had firmer than stock shock valving which also would put much higher loads on the arms. The 3rd Apex with the cracked front pivot arm had high miles on it before small cracks started on the front arm only. We were also all running the heavy spring.

It sounds like your new pivot arms weren't prepped properly, but on ours the paint only flaked off at the higher stress joints. The lower stress joints (95% on the rear arm) don't have any paint flaking or corrosion at all.

Actually we all had minimal corrosion (even on the cracked arms) because our sleds are trailered in enclosed trailers and our suspensions are sprayed down with WD40 and greased regularly.

 

[vice108]

I reported at the begining of the season that my control rod had rust on it when they took my RTX out of the box in September. I also know of others who ordered mono shock pivot arms and found rust on the welds right when they were unpacked. I know some people have had cracking, but I think most of the rusting is from crappy prep work.

 

[RX1-er-2005]

For the leaking of zerts...I broke off the originals drills out and retapped and used new zerts 1/4" fine thread and shimed them w/washers so that they end up flush inside of the tube...and voila no more leaking and you can replace any faulty ones anytime you want.

 

[xcsp]

Poor paint prep-why?

I looked at the rear skid in my Apex and noticed areas of flaking paint/rust on/near the welds.

What happened at Yamaha, have a new guy prepping the skids prior to paint?

I am dissappointed in seeing this issue, the leaking zerks, and the bearings in the idler wheels only making 1,400 miles (rest of wheel is), and the track-shock rub.

I've never had issues like this with other sleds with 3 times the mileage!

Best part is when you mention any of this to the dealer or Yamaha reps/customer service, they seem to not give a damn-maybe I should have just gave the sled back instead of paying off the sled in March!!

 

[SledFreak]

Re: Poor paint prep-why?

I looked at the rear skid in my Apex and noticed areas of flaking paint/rust on/near the welds.

What happened at Yamaha, have a new guy prepping the skids prior to paint?

I am dissappointed in seeing this issue, the leaking zerks, and the bearings in the idler wheels only making 1,400 miles (rest of wheel is), and the track-shock rub.

I've never had issues like this with other sleds with 3 times the mileage!

Best part is when you mention any of this to the dealer or Yamaha reps/customer service, they seem to not give a damn-maybe I should have just gave the sled back instead of paying off the sled in March!!

It's a good thing they have a good motor, because I'm starting to believe they have the same problems as all the other manufacture.

 

[xcsp]

Poor paint prep-why?

It's a good thing they have a good motor, because I'm starting to believe they have the same problems as all the other manufacture

Not sure what "other" manufacturers you refer to, but the Polaris sleds I had previously never had a problem with the paint flaking off on the skid, the track didn't rub on any parts of the skid frame, and I never had to replace an idler wheel! Maybe just lucky?

Just seems that for what these sleds cost, we shouldn't have to deal with these problem, as small as they may seem. I've got better thing to do than prep & repaint stuff that should easily have lasted more than it has.

Don't get me wrong, I do like the sled, just frustrating to have to deal with this stuff that shouldn't be happening. If I abused it that would be one thing, but that is definately not the case!

 

[xcsp]

Refinishing the suspension framework?

What should a person expect to pay to have the rear suspension parts powdercoated?

 

[vice108]

Is anyone going to do anything about their rust? I think I will try applying some type of chemical rust eater to the spots and then paint them with touch-up paint. Any other ideas?

 

[**sj**]

dont do it...
for the coin you laid down you should expect zero issues as to rusting of suspension parts
(unless you trailered on an open trailer with no protection and the salt hit it)
I guarantee if you b*tch loud enough it will be warrantied...

 

[dirkdiggler]

dont do it...
for the coin you laid down you should expect zero issues as to rusting of suspension parts
(unless you trailered on an open trailer with no protection and the salt hit it)
I guarantee if you b*tch loud enough it will be warrantied...

They are not going to Warranty the rusty skids . the reason the skids are rusting is they where not properly prepped prior to being painted.

The only way to fix this even if you got new Arms from Yamaha is to strip the pain and have them powder coated again.

 

[jimmie d]

While Yamaha sleds are generally reliable they are the worst of the four manufacturers at addressing problems and in most cases you have to pay to get them corrected.

Their customer service and field sales are also deplorable in the way they handle problems/complaints. Wonder if anyone, other than a few, have ever ridden a sled?

Jim