W Arm

[mikeb]

Was replacing wheel bearings and noticed my W arem inner supports (under the straps) are cracked. Also, all of the nylon bushing are basically gone. Kinda pissed that my skid need this much repair after 6K miles.

Anyway, recomendations on repair to the W arm?

 

[Honk]

Mike, Just reweld all areas that they welded. The factory did a poor job, and since redoing their work, my w has held up! When mine first broke I called Pioneer about a new one, and was told the same thing would happen again, and that I would be farther ahead by rewelding the original. Good luck!! Honk

 

[LazyBastard]

That is the MOST COMMON part to break on an 04 or earlier. It is actually NOT because of a poor weld job, but because the material isn't thick enough. It broke from the bottom where the strap crosses. Reweld it and REINFORCE it.

One of the things that you'll notice when you look at other skids is that the strap drops straight down rather than following the w-arm and crossing close to the pivot. This design puts a LOT more stress on the W-arm and on the strap.

 

[terret725]

wow u got 6k on it befor it broke ive welded 3 of them between my brothers and mine with less then 10,000 combined.

 

[dexter]

I had to weld mine at 7,000 miles.... looks good and I just hope it will hold!

 

[mikeb]

Break is up from the weld through the tub. I'm going to weld and do a little bracing.

 

[dexter]

sounds like you should be all set.... I threw a fresh coat of paint on it while I had it out to prevent rust etc. good luck

 

[mikeb]

Going back together with the skid. Is there a procedure to setup the shocks and straps to help stop the cracking?

Laid it out on a CAD and it looks like the hard impact on the rubber bumpers when the front of the skid is bottomed maybe the problem. I'm not sure how much tension to set on the front shock.

 

[LazyBastard]

Its not the impact down, its the impact UP. The crack starts at the BOTTOM and works UP. This is a result of having excessive tension on the STRAPS during high traction hard acceleration. When you are under high traction and hard acceleration, the front of the skid is forced forward and down, so it tries to bend the W-arm.

 

[LazyBastard]

If you want to make the w-arm last better, what you want to do is loosen the front spring, tighten the straps, and set the transfer LOW.

Better to just reinforce it though.