Y.E.S. or SOL?

[alexm2816]

Rough weekend to be my sled.

Had been letting my wife ride the sled and 70 miles from home she told me it sounded 'like a tank'.

Sure as hell, the bolt holding the back of the skid to the tunnel on the right side had broken broken off and had lobed out and ripped metal the track to rub The opposite side was pretty jacked but the bolt was still present. (See photo 1 and 2). My solution was to limp it into town, find a replacement bolt, got the old shank out with a channel locks and a nail set, and with a jack and some 2x4s and a ratchet strap I mounted the skid in the lower holes of the gusset on each side (photo 2). That was Friday morning and we rode another 200 miles on it or so.

It seemed to ride fine. My first question is is this setup going to hurt anything? It might be in my head but things feel a little less responsive. I'd like to find snow one more time this year but not if I'm going to rip the rear end apart. Parts don't look too bad to get this replaced but I doubt I can pull it off before white turns to green.

Second. Will this be something that the yamaha warranty will cover? I read all the horror stories and wonder if the warranty i bought is good for much of anything. I'm sure they'll say that the massive force of my 5'2"; 110# soaking wet wife who hits 50 once in a blue moon is what broke that off... Any tips or pointers on how to approach or am I on my lonesome?

Third, is there any way to strengthen that joint? It looks like a mighty weak setup and I am curious if the aftermarket has any stiffener for the rear suspension gusset or anyone has done any diy work. A quick search didn't pop anything up so forgive me if I'm missing something obvious.

Happy Sunday.

 

[Mike P]

Rough weekend to be my sled.

Had been letting my wife ride the sled and 70 miles from home she told me it sounded 'like a tank'.

Sure as hell, the bolt holding the back of the skid to the tunnel on the right side had broken broken off and had lobed out and ripped metal the track to rub The opposite side was pretty jacked but the bolt was still present. (See photo 1 and 2). My solution was to limp it into town, find a replacement bolt, got the old shank out with a channel locks and a nail set, and with a jack and some 2x4s and a ratchet strap I mounted the skid in the lower holes of the gusset on each side (photo 2). That was Friday morning and we rode another 200 miles on it or so.

It seemed to ride fine. My first question is is this setup going to hurt anything? It might be in my head but things feel a little less responsive. I'd like to find snow one more time this year but not if I'm going to rip the rear end apart. Parts don't look too bad to get this replaced but I doubt I can pull it off before white turns to green.

Second. Will this be something that the yamaha warranty will cover? I read all the horror stories and wonder if the warranty i bought is good for much of anything. I'm sure they'll say that the massive force of my 5'2"; 110# soaking wet wife who hits 50 once in a blue moon is what broke that off... Any tips or pointers on how to approach or am I on my lonesome?

Third, is there any way to strengthen that joint? It looks like a mighty weak setup and I am curious if the aftermarket has any stiffener for the rear suspension gusset or anyone has done any diy work. A quick search didn't pop anything up so forgive me if I'm missing something obvious.

Happy Sunday.

I think you are very lucky your wife was not hurt. Wish I had some information to help you out. Hopefully your dealer will step-in and help with your efforts to have it fixed under warranty.

 

[TD Max]

I see the warranty thing as a bit of a toss-up. The first question would be how old is a sled and how many miles? Second would be was the skid recently removed and by whom? If it is new and only a couple rides it could be a mfr assembly or dealer setup error.

The correct answer and you're probably not going to like it is that this is a maintenance issue. You pretty much need to go over the bolts in the skid on a regular basis. Particularly the cross shafts. While the bolts are put together with threadlocker they still can come loose. In your case I would bet that the bolt was loose for a while before shearing off hence the egging of the hole. It's like when you lose a wheel and all the studs are gone.

 

[alexm2816]

I see the warranty thing as a bit of a toss-up. The first question would be how old is a sled and how many miles? Second would be was the skid recently removed and by whom?

The correct answer and you're probably not going to like it is that this is a maintenance issue. You pretty much need to go over the bolts in the skid on a regular basis. Particularly the cross shafts. While the bolts are put together with threadlocker they still can come loose. In your case I would bet that the bolt was loose for a while before shearing off hence the egging of the hole. It's like when you lose a wheel and all the studs are gone.

Snugging up the bolts that hold things together is on the list of regular activities along with greasing, slide checks, and bearing checks. Haven't dropped the skid in the 3 years and 3300 miles I've owned it but obviously that will change...

I didn't really think the dealer would be able to do anything because how do they know anything about the sled if I do my own maintenance? It's scary to think that in the 3 weekends and 700 miles since I know I tightened up all shock tower bolts and skid bolts I could find with my torque wrench the thing egged out and ripped like that but I guess you count the safety of loved ones and the fact the parts are <$200 as your blessing. Mostly just confirming my suspicion that this would NOT be a clear and easy warranty issue for a broken bolt and that I should get the parts ordered lol. Thanks for chiming in.

 

[alexm2816]

I think you are very lucky your wife was not hurt. Wish I had some information to help you out. Hopefully your dealer will step-in and help with your efforts to have it fixed under warranty.

Agreed. I think with a smaller rider the fact the thing didn't just lose all hold and hit bottom was a lifesaver. From the way that I see warranty claims go I'm just going to get the parts and replace the gussets and use hardened hardware the next time.

I can't see how the bolt would snap like that if tight but there was still a good handful of turns of engagement on the leftover section I had to pound out. Scary to know that was snugged up not 3 weeks back. Guess I need more loctite on the buggers.

 

[TD Max]

FWIW threadlocker once set negates the use of a TQ wrench. Liberal use of blue loctite and torque down then just check periodically to make sure they are snug. I had cross shafts come loose on mine so I went through and resecured. I was the last one working on it prior so I now make good and darn sure that I use loctite.

 

[cannondale27]

Like said clean the bolt and the holes with a good Brake Clean and use Loctite. Then Torque. I then use a paint pen from bolt to skid or tunnel etc. I do not ever snug a Loctited bolt since that ruins the Loctite job. Watch the paint marks and ever season or in my case every half season remove and redo the above again. The egged out hole came loose and caused the other side to snap off. It will not be a warranty job unless your dealer has it done as a goodwill gesture. Dont feel bad loose bolts have caught the best by surprise including me.

 

[alexm2816]

Like said clean the bolt and the holes with a good Brake Clean and use Loctite. Then Torque. I then use a paint pen from bolt to skid or tunnel etc. I do not ever snug a Loctited bolt since that ruins the Loctite job. Watch the paint marks and ever season or in my case every half season remove and redo the above again. The egged out hole came loose and caused the other side to snap off. It will not be a warranty job unless your dealer has it done as a goodwill gesture. Dont feel bad loose bolts have caught the best by surprise including me.

Thanks Steve. Good call on the pen. Easy indication on what is moving.

In re-assessing after a year down it looks like the rear shock might be ready for a ride to Manitowoc so I'm sure you'll be hearing from me on getting the whole lot of shocks done this spring.

I hadn't even put 2 and 2 together on the loctite. I always envisioned it kind of like plumbers tape but now that I think I feel pretty dumb haha.

 

[cannondale27]

You know I will take care of you. Sorry for the crummy luck there.