Xtx center shock length.

[poor farmer/logger]

Working on my 2015 viper xtx trying to lighten up the front steering yet. I put bill mohrs spring in and tightened it up quite a bit but it still steered quite heavy. I was looking at it trying to figure it out and I found a couple things that I’m questioning a bit. The front shock seems to short. When you lift it up off the ground it’s hanging on the shock piston rod rather then the limiter straps. The top bushing is also a odd ball size. The bushing that’s there is very loose in the shock eyelet. Couple numbers on the shock body but they didn’t mean to much from what I could find on a quick google search. Anyone have theres out or have some measurements on them? Overall length on mine from end to end is about 12 and 11/16”.

 

[Kkurz]

Have you tried reducing preload on ski shocks and rear shock? I dont own an XTX but that's the first thing that comes to mind...
If you bought the sled used(like I do), it could be possible that it is a different shock. I just had issues with my center shock and was pleasantly surprised at the price for new replacements.

 

[poor farmer/logger]

I have the air shocks on the front and less pressure defiinitley helped lighten up the ski pressure. I was adjusting air pressure in the shop last night and put it up to where I thought it should be. 70 Psi. After doing that and increasing the rear to 135 it got very hard to turn on the concrete.

Should there be two bushings in the upper shock eyelet? One that goes on the bolt and one nylon that is pressed into the upper shock eyelet? I just have the one steel bushing that fits very loose in the shock. The bottom has a nylon or similar material. And a nice fitting bushing that goes all the way thru.

 

[Kkurz]

Sounds like there's something not right in the top eyelet. Mine had a bushing between the eyelet and the bolt but it's a nice fit. They look like there's a bronze liner pressed into the eyelet. You should have a shock tech look at it, but like I said, they are cheap to replace. Mine from Cat was $137.95 CAD. That's the shock, not including the spring.

 

[poor farmer/logger]

I can turn one out of Teflon or possibly brass if I have some leftover stock kicking around for the time being but it would sure be nice to sort out the rest of it it too.

19 appears to be the same pin/collar/bushing or what ever you would like to call it that goes over the bolt. They don’t show a separate bushing available for the upper eyelet other then 19. Google search of the part number didn’t show me a picture of it either unfortunatley.

 

[Kkurz]

Not sure if you can buy the bushing alone. You could maybe get away with brass if lubed up good but I wouldn't expect a long life.

 

[footer200]

I have my skid out and shock measures same as yours and 1 thick wall bushing in top eyelet.
Did some relocate the mounting of the the front pivot arm? Couple of pics so you can compare.

 

[poor farmer/logger]

View attachment 144248 View attachment 144249 View attachment 144250
I have my skid out and shock measures same as yours and 1 thick wall bushing in top eyelet.
Did some relocate the mounting of the the front pivot arm? Couple of pics so you can compare.

Awesome thank you for doing that. That bushing is certainly larger then mine. I made and pressed a new bushing into the shock eyelet that takes up the slop. It’s just Teflon shafting but it’s beyter then having it loose.

It looks like mine is mounted in the same location. Only thing I found was a slight bend in the lower shaft. I straightened it out as best as I could and it did seem to get a bit closer to the proper location but it wasn’t enough to put it back in without slack in the limiter straps still.

 

[DTJ]

You could try the front track shock out of a 2016 xtx. It's about 3/4" longer. I made this switch last year trying the same as you to lighten up steering. I run aggressive snowtrackers so I've got a lot of bite. I had switched to the 160# spring and the shock relocate and ended up breaking my front swing arm because of the shock relocate. I then discovered the longer 2016 shock. The nice thing about the longer 2016 shock is it allows you to run limiter straps all the way out without any slack in them. I couldn't do this with 2014 shock. The only downside to this setup is it doesn't like really deep powder which we almost never have in central Minnesota. You'll get more vibration in deep snow when that front shock is fully extended.

 

[cannondale27]

Working on my 2015 viper xtx trying to lighten up the front steering yet. I put bill mohrs spring in and tightened it up quite a bit but it still steered quite heavy. I was looking at it trying to figure it out and I found a couple things that I’m questioning a bit. The front shock seems to short. When you lift it up off the ground it’s hanging on the shock piston rod rather then the limiter straps. The top bushing is also a odd ball size. The bushing that’s there is very loose in the shock eyelet. Couple numbers on the shock body but they didn’t mean to much from what I could find on a quick google search. Anyone have theres out or have some measurements on them? Overall length on mine from end to end is about 12 and 11/16”.

I have run into that also. The number on shock says its for a XTX but the shock is RTX length. I do not know if it was a error on Cats part or just the way it is but you did the right thing ensuring the Limiters do the limiting and not the shock. Shock will be ripped apart if limiters are not doing the limiting. When I informed customer about it he said the sled handled way better and still had plenty of Transfer for OffTrail with limiters pulled tight enough to limit shock travel. I believe he said 3rd hole but dont hold me to this. Maybe they did that for better approach angle? On any sled always put limiter bolts in last and ensure the arm is being slightly compressed when straps are fully extended.

 

[poor farmer/logger]

You could try the front track shock out of a 2016 xtx. It's about 3/4" longer. I made this switch last year trying the same as you to lighten up steering. I run aggressive snowtrackers so I've got a lot of bite. I had switched to the 160# spring and the shock relocate and ended up breaking my front swing arm because of the shock relocate. I then discovered the longer 2016 shock. The nice thing about the longer 2016 shock is it allows you to run limiter straps all the way out without any slack in them. I couldn't do this with 2014 shock. The only downside to this setup is it doesn't like really deep powder which we almost never have in central Minnesota. You'll get more vibration in deep snow when that front shock is fully extended.

That’s really helpful info. Only thing I’m concerned about is getting to much push in the corners if I can get the skid down where it’s supposed to be. I have the mtx skis from a 2016 in it now. I’m hoping it won’t be to bad handling wise on the trail.

For the short term I’ll pull the limiters up as you’ve said cannondale. It is strange to me that they would put a shock with a inch less travel on it then there should be. I might be making mountains out of molehills but this darn thing should turn easy in my mind lol.

 

[cannondale27]

That’s really helpful info. Only thing I’m concerned about is getting to much push in the corners if I can get the skid down where it’s supposed to be. I have the mtx skis from a 2016 in it now. I’m hoping it won’t be to bad handling wise on the trail.

For the short term I’ll pull the limiters up as you’ve said cannondale. It is strange to me that they would put a shock with a inch less travel on it then there should be. I might be making mountains out of molehills but this darn thing should turn easy in my mind lol.

It will. Maybe the straps are just longer. A LTX shock is about 1/4in longer than yours and I have a spare here with stock valving. $50

 

[poor farmer/logger]

It will. Maybe the straps are just longer. A LTX shock is about 1/4in longer than yours and I have a spare here with stock valving. $50

Thanks for the offer cannondale27 that’s reasonable enough compared to new. I might get one from the dealer so I don’t have to wait to long. They’re 135-140 cdn so it’s not a huge cost at least.

There’s also a remote chance my one dealer may have a used one. He should be back on Wed I think. He wrecked a mtx viper this summer but it was in bad shape so I don’t know if he was able to save the center shock or not.

I tightened the limiter straps up tonight so there’s no weight hanging on the shock. On these straps there’s 3 holes on the front spaced a little ways appart and 3 holes spaced closer together on the back. I have it in the second hole on the front and the bottom hole on the back. I tried a few combinations and that’s where I ended up.