YAMAHA, The Problem with your W-ARM

[Bob Miller]

Yamaha, I hope your listening. I recently removed the rear skid from my 04 Warrior to do a complete inspection and preventive maintenance.
I do all my own mechanical work and I've been a Welder, Fabricator for 25 years with 17 certifications.
Upon inspecting the "INFAMOUS W-ARM" I found this: At first I looked it over and said to myself; this looks like a pretty well designed unit and found it hard to believe that they where breaking on so many people!
At first glance it looked to me like there was nothing wrong with mine, but then upon closer inspection I found this: on the cross member which has the loops that the limiter straps go through, on one of the inside corner welds, at the edge of the weld, a crack was starting :shock: Upon inspecting all of the other inside welds I noticed this: They where all UNDERCUT WELDS! What does this mean? Ideally you want your bead (weld) to mound outward, because when a weld is done properly it is stronger than the base metal! But these undercut welds are inverted like a "U" and the edge of the weld on both sides of the weld is gouging into the tubing and the cross member, effectively weakening it, thinning the metal at these points down to as much as 1/32". As you ride your machine the weakest link is now these undercut welds and it is just a matter of time! :?
I personally think that if proper welds where done at these critical points that there would no longer be any problems with these W-ARM's. I Arc Welded mine, now Yamaha it's time to fess up and admit you made a mistake, and make it right for all your loyal customers!

 

[JDKRXW]

I Arc Welded mine,

Did you just weld overtop of the factory welds?
Mig or stick??

 

[Sled Dog]

Thanks Bob for pointing that out. If I read your post correctly is it because they used too much heat when welding that they made the outer parts fo the weld thinner which is now like the witch says on TV "The Weakest Link"!

 

[Sled Dog]

Sent this link to Customer relations also they need to see this stuff.

 

[Bob Miller]

I Arc Welded mine,

Did you just weld overtop of the factory welds?
Mig or stick??

JDKRXW,
Arc welding is stick welding, MIG is wire feed, either will work! I have an ARC welder so I used that and I used a 3/32 diameter 6013 rod, and I put down 3 overlapping beads on each of these undercut welds

 

[Bob Miller]

Sent this link to Customer relations also they need to see this stuff.

Thanks for doing that Dog!

 

[4Fighter]

Sent this link to Customer relations also they need to see this stuff.

Well appreciated Sled Dog Maybe we should give you some pics too?

Thanks for the tip Bob. I have a wire-feed. Do you think the W-arm is strong enough to be welded without reinforcing?

So was it casued by not using enough heat, or too much?

 

[Bob Miller]

Sent this link to Customer relations also they need to see this stuff.

Well appreciated Sled Dog Maybe we should give you some pics too?

Thanks for the tip Bob. I have a wire-feed. Do you think the W-arm is strong enough to be welded without reinforcing?

So was it casued by not using enough heat, or too much?

Yes! I think that if it is properly welded, there should not be a problem, because it is cracking at the UNDERCUT WELDS.

Too much heat welded too fast! Take your time and do it right :shock:

 

[SLEDSTART]

so Bob,
"Too much heat welded too fast!"

Thats the botom line I take it?
I am not a welder but as soon as I get mine out I want to reinforce it so I don't have a serious problem in the future!
Thanks!

 

[nhrxrider]

They should have used a higher wire speed to get more metal into the weld. I noticed the same thing when mine broke, that the welds were burnt too deep into the metal. You can compare it to taking the tubing and putting it in a lathe and turning it down to half the thickness of the metal, then using it...it would break at the point where its turned down. Thats just what the weld did.

Save that arm...if anyone has connections to someone with the proper credentials to be able to look at the welds and put this in writing, maybe something could be done. Just because we know what happened, Yamaha doesn't care...we would need an outside, independent expert to examine several cracked arms. I wish I had kept mine...but I threw it out with the scrap metal. I do have several pics though.

Jim

 

[4Fighter]

I wish I had kept mine...but I threw it out with the scrap metal. Jim

It's getting recycled and sent back to Japan so they can fabricate the '06 parts.