Why is my pto driveshaft bearing always dry

[YammieMan]

It should be quick as long as the bearing is not seized to the shaft!

-remove secondary(14mm socket. Pay attention to all thrust washers and their positioning)
-remove bearing cover plate(4x 12mm socket)
- IMPORTANT this bearing has a locking collar. You must reach up under to the backside and loosen the set screws. Sometimes these are torx but on my apex they were metric Allan keys.
- at this point I was able to slide the bearing out off of the shaft. I carefully pried against the track and on the bearing collar and mine slid off easily.

If you cannot get it off then yes.... This turns into a much bigger job.

Hope this helps.

FYI, on my 2013 the presumable Yamaha bearing had a steel outer seal. Therefore, you cannot remove the seal to add grease without destroying it. My bearing seemed fine but for a $20 NTN I will replace it often.

Sorry I was meaning the drive shaft bearing not the jackshaft bearing.

 

[hereismylife]

Installed

 

[YammieMan]

This bearing needs a zerk fitting badly! I've blown 2. One had 300 miles on it before i put it away for summer so i didn't touch it. I change it EVERY year no matter what! Only takes me 10 minutes to change. First of all, even new it comes with very little grease. Secondly, it heats up then gets splashed with ice cold snow on one side at 10,000 rpm's. I think that seal just expands & shrinks just enough to loose grease. Every year i look at that bearing & it doesn't feel "happy". I now put extra grease in new bearing & it seems to do the trick, although i still change it EVERY year...

Please share how you change the drivshaft bearing in 10 min. Don't you have to drop the track, open the chaicase etc?

 

[stevewithOCD]

OK, maybe 15.

1. Lift back of sled
2. Loosen track
3. Remove belt & Secondary Clutch
4. Remove 4 nuts on speedo bearing
5. Loosen 2 Torx screws on bearing inside tunnel
6. Pull out bearing & reverse process

NOTES:
1. Re-Loctite Torx screws. I usually buy 2 new ones with bearing. DON't trust the OEM LocTite! It's dry crap!
2. Tighten Torx screws AFTER nuts are tight
3. If it's rusted on, shove the bolt bracket onto drive axle to give yourself room to crawl under & tap it off
4. If it's REALLY rusted on................stop listening to people who say NOT to put NevaSeize on the shaft
5. Put NevaSeize on shaft. The screws hold the race from spinning. Wish my Sidewinder had this!!!!!!!!!

 

[YammieMan]

OK, maybe 15.

1. Lift back of sled
2. Loosen track
3. Remove belt & Secondary Clutch
4. Remove 4 nuts on speedo bearing
5. Loosen 2 Torx screws on bearing inside tunnel
6. Pull out bearing & reverse process

NOTES:
1. Re-Loctite Torx screws. I usually buy 2 new ones with bearing. DON't trust the OEM LocTite! It's dry crap!
2. Tighten Torx screws AFTER nuts are tight
3. If it's rusted on, shove the bolt bracket onto drive axle to give yourself room to crawl under & tap it off
4. If it's REALLY rusted on................stop listening to people who say NOT to put NevaSeize on the shaft
5. Put NevaSeize on shaft. The screws hold the race from spinning. Wish my Sidewinder had this!!!!!!!!!

Great instructions! Thanks.. sounds easy. But is that bearing not pressed in ? The only thing holding that bearing in is the torx screws? Sorry if I asked stupid questions, just never done this before

 

[RobX-1]

Please share how you change the drivshaft bearing in 10 min. Don't you have to drop the track, open the chaicase etc?

Sorry I was meaning the drive shaft bearing not the jackshaft bearing.

YammieMan, what Steve just provided is the same information Chris189 and I had provided which were steps on how to remove the "drive axle" bearing; not the jackshaft bearing. It can be done without having to drop track/suspension and open chain case but maybe don't take too much stock in the amount of time others have listed as it could take you longer but definitely less time than to drop track and open chain case.

And no, the bearing is not pressed on; the torx screws on the bearing collar hold the bearing in place.

 

[Teamblue4]

Great instructions! Thanks.. sounds easy. But is that bearing not pressed in ? The only thing holding that bearing in is the torx screws? Sorry if I asked stupid questions, just never done this before

Your first time might take a hour to do it, but the second time will be less.

 

[YammieMan]

YammieMan, what Steve just provided is the same information Chris189 and I had provided which were steps on how to remove the "drive axle" bearing; not the jackshaft bearing. It can be done without having to drop track/suspension and open chain case but maybe don't take too much stock in the amount of time others have listed as it could take you longer but definitely less time than to drop track and open chain case.

And no, the bearing is not pressed on; the torx screws on the bearing collar hold the bearing in place.

Ok thanks for clearing that up.. appreciate the help! You guys are awesome.. in regards to greasing them, have you guys done that? Also the forums im reading guys are doing it and bearings are lasting a long time.. so my question is do guys just grease one side ? Is that sufficient? Thanks

 

[Stubbs]

For the $20 the bearings costs I change mine every pre-season. In the extremely low chance it fails mid winter I know it won’t be seized to the shaft.

 

[gitrdun]

Ok thanks for clearing that up.. appreciate the help! You guys are awesome.. in regards to greasing them, have you guys done that? Also the forums im reading guys are doing it and bearings are lasting a long time.. so my question is do guys just grease one side ? Is that sufficient? Thanks

You can probably find quite a bit of more detailed info in the Search... but a lot of guys do the regrease and the bearings last a long time. The one thing you have to check is if you have the regreasable bearing. Some bearings sold by the Canadian Yamaha dealers were not regreasable, meaning you can't get the seal off. But if yours are regreasable, then after you remove whatever is in front of the bearing, get under the lip of the rubber seal with a dental pick or small screwdriver, gently massage it up and loose so you don't bend the bejesus out of it. If you have air, I use about 50 psi while holding a rag over to catch the grease, and blow the old grease and moisture out. Then I apply any good bearing grease with a needle, pointy, or regular tip grease gun, doesn't matter because you have to push the grease in with your thumb anyway to get it to the back, and it will get back there if you press it in, because I've checked by doing it on the bench. So yes, one side is good enough. Ideally do it at the end of each season.

 

[RobX-1]

I too re-grease mine like gitrdun and have had success with the bearing lasting. However, I remove mine to clean/regrease so it does get removed yearly so as to prevent seizure to the drive axle shaft. I used to brake cleaner to clean grease out of bearing and then blow dry with air compressor. I've since purchased a bench top parts cleaner and now cleaning bearings is a breeze but brake cleaner works just as well. Just always hated having to deal with the leftover you spray into pan to catch it. That's also why I remove the bearing as opposed to leaving it on the axle but I've read others doing just that; clean/regrease in place. Because I remove the bearings, I also remove both seals to be able to remove old grease and clean better. I also repack both sides but I don't get carried away as too much grease is not good. I use a grease needle tip like this to grease the bearings and then spin the bearing to work in the grease. Flip over and repeat. Again, if/when doing both sides, do not over pack or it will just get pushed out or worse yet, blow off the seal.

 

[TrueBlue]

I too re-grease mine like gitrdun and have had success with the bearing lasting. However, I remove mine to clean/regrease so it does get removed yearly so as to prevent seizure to the drive axle shaft. I used to brake cleaner to clean grease out of bearing and then blow dry with air compressor. I've since purchased a bench top parts cleaner and now cleaning bearings is a breeze but brake cleaner works just as well. Just always hated having to deal with the leftover you spray into pan to catch it. That's also why I remove the bearing as opposed to leaving it on the axle but I've read others doing just that; clean/regrease in place. Because I remove the bearings, I also remove both seals to be able to remove old grease and clean better. I also repack both sides but I don't get carried away as too much grease is not good. I use a grease needle tip like this to grease the bearings and then spin the bearing to work in the grease. Flip over and repeat. Again, if/when doing both sides, do not over pack or it will just get pushed out or worse yet, blow off the seal.

View attachment 158997

I take mine out every year. I remove both seals & put the bearing in a plastic container with gas in it. While the bearing is soaking in the gas container I spin the bearing with a doll rod & wash out the old grease. Then I remove the bearing & put it in another plastic container with clean gas & spin the bearing again to make sure it is clean. Then I blow out the bearing with compressed air making sure the bearing doesn't spin. I then put the bearing in a bearing packer & use my grease gun. Been doing this is long as I can remember.

 

[maim]

got 11000 mi repacking the speedo bearing on the 2011 xtx before it cut the race in 1/2 like the guys have said. with the tin seals, i replace every season or 2 on the sleds that are ridden a lot.

 

[stevewithOCD]

OK, first time 1 hour.
Second time 36.5 minutes.
Third time 20 minutes if you drink 2 beers & need to pee.
Point is it's $25 in less then an hour for SUPER CONFIDENCE that it won't ruin your trip.
Ask me how i know!

 

[Stubbs]

OK, first time 1 hour.
Second time 36.5 minutes.
Third time 20 minutes if you drink 2 beers & need to pee.
Point is it's $25 in less then an hour for SUPER CONFIDENCE that it won't ruin your trip.
Ask me how i know!

This guy gets it!!!