The Rockmeister Express

[Rockmeister]

Whew! It's almost 4am, and I am beat!
Fabricated aluminum pieces for hyfax mounts on the extensions.
Met up with a friend and he welded them on for me.
This guy is incredible!
He welds under a microscope!
Welded the edge of a razor blade for me one time.
Pretty impressive. Thanks Mike!

Measured out for the Doo skid.
Depends on how tomorrow goes, I may just throw the old skid back in if I don't have enough time to finish the Doo skid for riding this weekend, but would rather try out the new skid.

Cleaned the areas I am working on, on the sled.
Cleaned all parts as needed.
Installed the shafts and the new track in the chassis.

Removed old ones and installed all new bearings in the chaincase.
They really weren't needed, this is a great oil bath design, much better than any other I have seen!
Used 2RS bearings and poked holes in the seals to let oil in, but not debris from the chaincase.
Replaced all O-rings in collars and on jackshaft.

The 68 chain looks much better than the 70 link, even have adjustment left! lol

Re-assembled the chaincase.

Am soooo happy to be in "Back Together" mode!

Used Blue loctite on all fasteners.
Found it in a GEL form!
This is too cool, you rotate the end and it pushes out like deodorant.
No mess! Very handy. Highly recommend.

Some things went really well today, others were...
Ummmmmmm... "Fun"
Like the damper spring between the reverse idler gears.
It fell out tonight as I was assembling the case, and I missed where it went.
Started hunting close by, then in an ever enlarging circle.
Found it 30 feet away!
That took 1/2 hour or so for one stupid little spring.

WOOOOHOOOO!!!
My parts are painted! I have a GLOSSY hood!
Mark & Steve worked their buns off tonight to get them done. THANKS!!!
:rules
Thanks TY guys, you can put your Voodoo dolls away now.
It's a 5 hour round trip to get my painted parts tomorrow.
Have another friend picking them up so I can work on my sled.

Current state of the sled, hoping it is ready or almost ready to ride 24 hours from now!

Heading to bed to die... lol

 

[04rxw10]

you got done just as I was called into work to sand roads.

looking good but keep going and you will rideing this weekend

 

[sobfrogg]

Rock,

Looks like you are on the home strech LOL

You may be done in time for the TY ride in Jan

OH, I have extra reverse springs if needed. Been there done that

 

[kinger]

Now that is some work and progress, great job!

I am waiting on a fricken nitrous tap that is special (1/16" NPT) for my NX nozzles that I busted off when I slipped ona wrench and broke it!

Arg its supposed to be here Friday and I HOPE it is otherwise no riding for me. Just need to tap the nitrous block and assemble the carbs and I'm off!

Take some picts riding this weekend!

 

[Rockmeister]

I'm alive! Kinda...
*Throws Snowball at frogg* lol
Hits him in the back as he slithers away! Yeah!

I'd rather be working on my sled Jake!

That sux kinger!
I usually order 2 from 2 different places if my riding depends on it!
That's how Jake got a great deal on his roller secondary! Laffin

Can you seal it temp to ride this weekend?
You don't HAVE to have nitrous...

Gettin ready and heading out to the shop.

 

[Rockmeister]

Came in to eat, figured I would update.

Installed clutch side bearings.
Before I could install the jackshaft clutch side bearing, had to make a tool to install it.
Makes no sense to require you to make/purchase a special tool to install a bearing...
(Wouldn't want to be a dealer and have to buy countless special tools like this.)

This is the bearing install tool I made.

Is 1" galvanized pipe, cut with a 1/16" grinding wheel.

It fit well and worked perfect.

You can see the holes I drilled in the rubber seal of each bearing for re-greasing with a grease needle.

This hole is positioned so I can get to it without taking the hose guard off to re-grease it.

Drilling a hole and re-greasing made the last ones last over 9000 miles, and would have gone alot more!

Just figured since I had it apart, good time to replace the bearings.

On all the other sleds I have ever owned the drive bearings RARELY lasted much over 4000 miles.
I like this!

Clutch side finished!

Tightened down chaincase cover.
You can't tighten the chaincase cover until the jackshaft clutch side bearing is installed, otherwise you risk putting the jackshaft in a bind/bend, making it risk failing.
This is due to the double bearing in the chaincase(Total of 3 bearings on the shaft) on the jackshaft.
By tightening the cover last, the bearings self align.


Painted Ugly Yellow Doo wheels with Krylon for plastics.
Will work for now, until I decide what wheels I want.

Measured and fabricated stiffener and mounting brackets for new Doo skid & the skid mounts.

Top Left: Stiffener brackets for skid extensions.
2-1/2 x 8 x 3/16" 6061 Aluminum

Bottom Left: Inside tunnel stiffeners for front skid mount.
6 x 4 x 1/8" 6061 Aluminum

Right Side: Rear Mount Drop Brackets.
6(top) x 4(bottom) x 10" Long with 1" drop cut angle on the tunnel (6") end to match the tunnel angle.
1/4" thick 6061 Aluminum.

This pic is after I rounded all the corners and rounded all the edges.

My painted parts are lost somewhere in SE Michigan...
Hmmmm... 5 Hour tour...
Left at 1pm... Now 7pm...
Still lost...
Thinking Gilligans Island here...
LMAO


Heading out to install mounts!!! YES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SO THERE Scott! lol

 

[Rockmeister]

Finalized mounting locations for SC-10 III Doo Rear Suspension.
Double-checked squareness of mount locations to frame from multiple locations.

Double-checked all measurements and drilled one rivet hole for front mount.
Installed rivet.
Repeated for the other side.

Went and picked up Munchkin from school.
Back in an hour. lol

Double-checked all measurements and squareness to frame again.
After everything checked out drilled for and installed balance of mounting rivets.
Drilled skid mounting hole.
Repeated procedure for rear mounts.

Left Front skid mount bracket.

You can see the old front mount near the track in the pic.

Right Front skid mount bracket.

Left Rear skid mount bracket.

Right Rear skid mount bracket.

Right Rear mount outside.

Left Rear mount outside.

Re-used factory mounting bolts and the factory bracket, had originally planned to make another bracket, but this one worked.

Left Rear inside showing locking flange nuts on bolt throughs.

May want to add a thin (1/32") stainless steel stiffener to the inside of this.

Left Front mount outside by foot well.

You can see where the rivets are into the extra plating towards the front of the sled making for a stronger mount.

Overall the mount install went very well!
Smooth, just time consuming, with making sure everything was correct.

Will add an additional 3 x 3 x 1/8" stiffener plate to the outside of the front mounts tomorrow.

Found multiple loose rivets, drilled them out and replaced.

Need to finish the extension modifications to the rails.
Need to layout and drill mounting holes, etc.
Some modifications need to be done to the hyfax mounts yet.
Will go through all bearings in skid, and most likely replace them all if I have the time.

WoooHooo! My hood made it home and its SHINY!!!
In this case, the pic doesn't do it justice!
Thanks Mark!!!
Guessing I should wait for him at stop signs now...
Being that he DID paint my hood and all...

The hood will be the last thing to be done tomorrow besides loading the sled, to let the paint harden.

Cleaned up multiple parts.
Clean roller secondary ready to be installed.

I sooo can't wait to RIDE!!!

 

[04rxw10]

WoooHooo! My hood made it home and its SHINY!!!
In this case, the pic doesn't do it justice!
Thanks Mark!!!
Guessing I should wait for him at stop signs now...
Being that he DID paint my hood and all...

The hood will be the last thing to be done tomorrow besides loading the sled, to let the paint harden.

So is my Harley and my GTP, they match...
Laffin

What not PURPLE I still say you lost your man card.

Well im off to bed 34 hours in a 36 hour time period drains you.

Plus the inch of ice we got here yesterday power lines down and trees across the roads what a mess at least I still have power dont matter anyways I have a generator.


and its looking good rock im hoping you can ride this weekend unlike myself no snow here just that 1 inch of ice

 

[Rockmeister]

Thanks man!
Now goto bed!
*points* lol

Been a major long day, heading to bed myself, will post tomorrow.
Anyone have a Ski-doo front arm shaft by chance?

The guy I got the skid from had broken a bolt off in it... was sooo nice of him to tell me... NOT!

 

[04rxw10]

Anyone have a Ski-doo front arm shaft by chance?

The guy I got the skid from had broken a bolt off in it... was sooo nice of him to tell me... NOT!

I have one its on my ski-doo in my back yard

But that dose suck.

 

[Rockmeister]

I have one its on my ski-doo in my back yard

Hhahhaha! Do you deliver?

Yesterday:
Fabricated stiffener plates for out side of tunnel at front skid mount.

They are 3x3x1/8" 6061 Aluminum

Right side front mount stiffener plate.

Left side front mount stiffener plate.

You can see the old front mount to the left.
Will remove the old steel plates later, been working like crazy just to get riding!


Clutches:
Installed secondary clutch.
This awesome clutch alignment tool is made by Ulmer racing.
Talk about a WELL thought out tool!
It is super simple, tough, and can be used with no hands!
The tool is so well thought out that it self-stores the alignment bolt for the output shaft on the tool.
Again, Thanks Alan!

Looks like the engine has shifted back a bit on the clutch end.
You can see a bit more clearance at the back end of the secondary, compared to the front of the secondary.
Didn't pull the primary yet, but bet the center to center on the clutches is also a bit too close.
Not enough to worry about this trip, but will take care of in the next week.

Using a Sharpe marker to help see what the clutch is doing in operation.

Painted the hood screens front and back.

This is gonna look soooo sweet!!!

I will tend to work on multiple things at once, do part, like paint the screens, go do something else, then come back & apply a second coat, etc.

On to skid rebuild...

 

[Rockmeister]

Rebuilding and assembly of skid.

Removed the old hyfax and cleaned up rails and other parts.

Can see how the custom rail extensions interlock for strength.

Also after I cut out about 2" of the hyfax mount at the rear of the Doo rail.
This is to allow the hyfax to easily make the bend at the rear tip-up, and to make hyfax replacement easier!

Skid during rebuild and mods.

Outside Right rail after drilling of mounting holes with bolts in place.

The "Right" designation on the extension was very deceptive as we shall soon see...

Inside Right rail with inside stiffener plate.

This shows the way the rail extension and the stiffener plate "sandwich" the factory rail at the rear.

I don't plan on taking it easy on this assembly and want it to last! lol

This is the center wheel bearing on the rear shaft of the skid.
I soaked it with PB Blaster for a week prior to this point.
Was very ugly and frozen on the shaft.
Bearing would have made a few more trips... but...

No better time to fix it than now!
Heated and pressed the bearing off the shaft.
Cleaned up the shaft and emery clothed all high points until it was smooth and shiny.

Lightly greased the shaft and installed wheel with new bearing.
Use 100% synthetic waterproof grease, it works great and helps prevent corrosion in the future.

Bag of 6502 bearings for idler replacements.

I can buy these locally for about $5 each in quantities of 10 or more.
Not bad...
Cleaned up all wheels and replaced all idler bearings.

Time for some adult refreshment...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
I needed that.


Remember I said something about the "right" label on the rail extension?
Glad I had that drink...
It wasn't until I started tightening all the fasteners on the skid, that I found out that the rear outer wheels would rub on the skid rails...
Evan after multiple test fits, didn't notice that Lance had had a "dyslexic moment"...
Left meant Right and Right meant Left... Hmmmm...
He did a great job on making me a custom rail extension and just have to rib him a bit!

Had to dis-assemble rear of rails again and swap parts from one side to the other.

Had another drink for Lance... lol
Re-assemble rails again...

Had another drink...
Skid nearing completion, is looking great!

Shows re-in-forcing plate, extension, and tip-up at the rear of rail.

Will probably add 2 more idler wheels inside the frame on a central shaft at the tip-up point, to increase hyfax life and stiffen/strengthen the assembly at that point.
Also another set in the existing mounting holes just to the left of the patent sticker.

Am all for dropping weight, however properly located idler wheels make a HUGE difference in hyfax life and am willing to add them!

Finished skid just before install after Hyfax installation.
"Ain't she puuuurty?" lol

In moving this skid around, it is amazing how light it is!!!
Can lift it with one arm!!!
Have heard that it is 30 pounds lighter than stock, I have NO doubt!

Tried to lift the old skid with one arm, NOT gonna happen!!!
This is the lightest skid I have ever worked on!

Installed skid in sled, went in pretty easy, much easier than the factory skid, in part because it is so much lighter and easier to move around, and because there are only two mounting shafts, there is less to catch on the track as it goes in.

Everything went very well, until...
(Glad I had those drinks earlier...)

Got the two rear mounts bolts in easy.
Put the fronts into the threads a few turns.
So far, so good.

Start snugging the bolts, get to the last one, right front bolt.
it just turns.
Move skid all over while laying on concrete, to make sure it is aligned.
This is always "fun", at least it's warm! lol
Yep, aligned...

Start wondering if i has a bolt snapped off in it or something...
Stick a screwdriver in to check depth of hole.
Son-of-a-

Lower front of skid go to loosen left front bolt, the bolt and shaft just turns...
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
I don't use an impact for much because they can do alot of damage fast and you don't get the "feel" of your work.
But have found then to be very handy for some stuff.
Put the impact on the just turning left front bolt and it just spun right on out. Awesome!
Pull front shaft.

This is with the shaft wrapped in a rag sitting in the vise.

The shaft had a bolt snapped off about 3 threads deep.
Had checked the holes with a bolt prior, but didn't take the bolt in far enough...
The liquid is PB Blaster to help loosen the broken bolt.

Will have to do a posting on how to avoid thieves on E-bay.
Have had GREAT luck on E-bay until I ran into the guy I bought the skid from...

By now it's well after midnight, I'm beat, pissed, frustrated and done drinking...
Guess it's time to head to bed... lol

Get up and call all the Doo dealers with-in a hours drive, no-one has the shaft.
Call Metals Supermarket, they have roll stock to make a shaft.
(There is NO way I'm NOT gonna ride due to this stupid thing!)
Head to Metals Supermarket to pick up material before they close at noon.

Didn't know if I would be able to get broken bolt out of existing shaft, or not.

As I'm eating and posting this, a good friend MattZilla stops by.
This guy is great!
Awesome to work with, he is incredibly smart with mechanical things.
And this is an understatement!

We use heat, soaking all night, drilling, and an easy out.
Him and I get the broken bolt out!!!! YEAH!!!!
Thanks Dude!

Heading out to finish the skid and start on the Hood!!!

 

[04rxw10]

I have one its on my ski-doo in my back yard

Hhahhaha! Do you deliver?

I might in Feb to the TY ride but the cost will have to cover all my expences out and back

 

[pro116]

Looking good.You have some nice fabricating skills.

 

[04rxw10]

I called Rock today and hes taking it out for a ride

Hope all is well after all the work he has put into it