Track shaft bearings - chain case side

[Turboflash]

Maybe I missed it but has anyone had any instances of the track shaft spinning inside the bearing on the chain case side?
We all know about the brake caliper side but what about the chain case side? What keeps the shaft from spinning inside that bearing? I know first hand from having mine apart, the track shaft slips in and out of that bearing too. It's not pressed into that bearing. Why doesn't the shaft spin inside that one?

 

[iceback]

Good question, my thoughts , constant side load from chain and or track other side mainly track .

 

[stevewithOCD]

Mine was tight.
I had to give it a little slap with the Luv hammer

 

[iceback]

Those are handy, come in many sizes.

 

[stevewithOCD]

The Luv hammer is a dead blow or rubber mallet.
I didn't want people to think i use a sledge hammer to remove my bearings.
Although i did beat my my upper suspension wheels with a 3 lb. hammer this weekend to remove..............relieved some anger issues

Oh Ya, i need new wheels in my rear suspension

 

[ROCKERDAN]

IMO....the oil is thin, basically no resistance. Grease in sealed bearing gets thick when cold.

My chain side was mint looking, never spun from what I saw.

Dan

 

[KnappAttack]

It probably does spin in there a little bit, but does no harm because its bathed in oil.
The brake side has no oil lubrication and wears the shaft out as it spins a bit on the shaft. Metal on metal wear and the race is harder than the shaft.

Oil provides a boundary layer on the chain case side and shows zero wear. Just like rod and main bearings don't wear on the crank shaft. A very thin boundary layer of oil provides the protection needed.

 

[iceback]

Agree Knap , chain case Side bearing is loaded by chain pull and track force , brake side is support only and with drive shaft lever factor, shaft can float in inner race and bearing stall ( until load is resumed ) also spins more when grease is cold and shaft floats in race .

 

[Turboflash]

Thanks guys. Helps me understand. Your explanations are probably a good reason to use thin (official chain case lube) in the chain case as if you use 75W-90 when case is cold it's pretty thick and may not want to flow between shaft and bottom gear. IDK

 

[Turboflash]

Working on 2017 TCat today. Track shaft has been spinning some inside chain case side bearing. Not allot but easy to see. When I re-assembled drive, I loctited both sides. This has got to stop!!

 

[jonlafon1]

Working on 2017 TCat today. Track shaft has been spinning some inside chain case side bearing. Not allot but easy to see. When I re-assembled drive, I loctited both sides. This has got to stop!!

Damn that’s not good. Is this T cat stock? I’m betting not. Not saying it’s just the extra boost but guessing it attributes to some of these things we’re seeing. By no means are these sleds perfect. We just have to remember the amount of power we are putting down.

 

[Hammer70]

Working on 2017 TCat today. Track shaft has been spinning some inside chain case side bearing. Not allot but easy to see. When I re-assembled drive, I loctited both sides. This has got to stop!!

I just pulled mine all apart both sides spun on shaft aft .025” under break side and .002” on chain side. Just serviced last season to not impresse.

 

[SPM]

Agree Knap , chain case Side bearing is loaded by chain pull and track force , brake side is support only and with drive shaft lever factor, shaft can float in inner race and bearing stall ( until load is resumed ) also spins more when grease is cold and shaft floats in race .

I totally agree with iceback. I think these shafts are designed to have slip fit into both bearings for assembly/disassembly purposes.
I think most of the damage is done in the first few miles of the day when everything is the coldest. Chaincase side bearing runs in chaincase oil that is preheated by engine oil temp.
The leftside bearing runs with grease that has a lot of drag when cold causing it to spin on the shaft. I could hear strange noises from left footwell for the first few miles every ride and the colder it was the longer it took to go away.

 

[Turboflash]

Damn that’s not good. Is this T cat stock? I’m betting not. Not saying it’s just the extra boost but guessing it attributes to some of these things we’re seeing. By no means are these sleds perfect. We just have to remember the amount of power we are putting down.

280 tune.

 

[KnappAttack]

Amount of power doesn't contribute a thing to the bearing spinning on the shaft. Does not matter if its a 100 HP or 1000 HP, the bearing needs locked to the shaft plain and simple. It's clearly a case or poor engineering, lack of testing and a blatant disregard to improve the poor design over 8 years of production. This whole Cat driveline is a disaster!

Imagine what it has cost them for warranty! No wonder Cat and now Textron/Yamaha is teetering on the edge and dead last in sales. If they can't be build them better than this in 2020 they deserve to go under.