Yet another 08 Nytro front end question...

so the OEM ski bushing/pin is hardened? is the bushings inside the spindle that wear? i am on a new sled this yr so everything should be tight, is it worth taking them out and putting oilite ones in?
 
2008FxNytro said:
so the OEM ski bushing/pin is hardened? is the bushings inside the spindle that wear? i am on a new sled this yr so everything should be tight, is it worth taking them out and putting oilite ones in?
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In my opinion, no. I think there's an argument for leaving a little play in the front end. Some movement will let the skis seek their own line to a degree and not transmit that amount motion to the sled. Probably slicing reason a little thin here, but that's what I do.

It is my recollection that the OEM pin is hardened. I can pull one of my stainless pins out of a ski a see how it has held up thru two seasons.
 
Sorry to keep this going on and on but are you saying the bolt that goes through the spindle wears out or the bushing INSIDE the spindle wears?

As mentioned, I've got a lot of play but I don't know which part is worn out (or both?).
Thanks again.
 
thesnowgod said:
I've been reading on and off for nearly a year now about solving my darting problems. I think I'm understanding some things but since I've got the skis off mine, some things are just now starting to light the lightbulb in my head so please bear with me!


When I jacked the front end up, I noticed a lot of play in the front skis. The ball joints and things seem pretty decent (not perfect but acceptable for me). By FAR the largest area of play was where I'm pointing in the picture.



Is this the "bushing" that everyone seems to speak of when they mention theirs is worn out?? Before I put everything back together, I've GOT to try and get rid of the play in this area. If I grab the ski tips, I can move them all over the place so I can't imagine an alignment will be all the effective with them this loose.

What is the recommended procedure for fixing this? This machine darts all over worse than ANY machine I've ever ridden. On groomed trails, I prefer my old 97 Formula Z to this. It's really a white knuckle ride and not something I'm simply exaggerating about. No one else I ride with will even TRY this sled more than once so I know it's not just me.

One more question: I "thought" I recalled reading where someone took the spacers that are on both sides of this bushing and placed them both on the outside of the spindle to increase the center to center ski width. Is this advisable? It seems like it might put a little extra stress on one side of the ski to spindle bolt.

Right now the skis (USI Triple Threat X2) are off because I'm adding Stud Boy dual runners with 6" of carbide to them hoping this will help too.

Thanks everyone.
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Did you ever ride your sled with stock skis. I had USI X2s on my 09 XTX and the sled hunted and darted terribly. I ran stock skis for a while with Berstrom tripple points and the darting and hunting was gone. But I didn't like the stock skis becaused they pushed bad in the corners and were terrible in deep snow. I currently am running 6.9 pilot skis. They work great for steering effort, darting, and deep snow. The Studd boy dual runners should help for your darting.
 
No. When I starting riding it, it already had the X2s on there. Heard LOTS of opinions on them (like I said, been doing tons of reading) so instead of investing in new skis, I thought I'd try these dual runners first.

then I saw how much play was in the suspension just from where the spindle meets the ski and I got more concerned so until I figure this out, it sits on jackstands with no skis at all! :)
 
thesnowgod said:
Sorry to keep this going on and on but are you saying the bolt that goes through the spindle wears out or the bushing INSIDE the spindle wears?

As mentioned, I've got a lot of play but I don't know which part is worn out (or both?).
Thanks again.
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Where the bushing goes through the spindle. there is actually another bushing in there. and that is probably what is worn out.
 
it isn't necessarily the slop in the front suspension that is causing all the horrible darting. I've ridden and owned sleds that have horrible slop in the steering...like you can turn the handlebars almost 6 inches before there is contact. My buddies F6 with 8000 miles is like that...but it still tracks down the trail fine. my 02 mxz was quite sloppy but tracked perfectly straight with C&A pro skis.

Does this 2008 nytro still have the stock 2008 alignment and all that good stuff or has it been upgraded or turned into a 2009 front end or whatever it is everybody was doing to the 2008s?

Its kind hard to check the alignment with tons of slop but that could be a problem too.
 
What most people call bushings are actually known as plain bearings in mechanical systems.

In the spindle bore where the ski bolt passes are two plain bearings. These run on what was referred to above as a pin - which is actually a bushing. This bushing and the ski bolt don't move relative to each other so there is no wear. The bushing and plain bearings do move relative to each other so they will wear and may also deform with load.

There will be a quiz on Monday.
 
I replaced the spindle bushing over the summer. They can be tough to get out but I removed them with a small punch that I modified. I ground the punch so one side was angled much like a chisel but left the opposite side rounded. The bushing have a slit down them. Find the slit and place the rounded side of the punch against the spindle. Drive it in along the slit and the bushing will peel away.

I replaced mine with OEM bushings expecting them to really tighten up things but they didn't. They did help some but not as much as I would have expected which makes me wonder how tight they were when the sled was new.

I think you will be happy with the Stud Boy deuce bars. They really help reduce darting.
 

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Has anyone used a larger inner sleeve to take up the slop? Not sure what terminology to use but it appears that a hollow sleeve goes into the spindles (the bolt passes through this sleeve) and its that sleeve that has play. Perhaps using a slightly larger one work?

Also wondered if anyone has tried putting both of those spacers on one side to widen the front end.

Perhaps I'll just slap it back together as is since everyone seems to complain more about the a-arms loosening up and mine seem fine.
 
The thin metal bushings in the spindle are actually bi-metal I believe. Yamaha used them a ton on the old pogo sled steering systems. If they aren't the same metal, they serve the same purpose.

http://www.portyamaha.com/fiche_section ... fveh=13043

Item numbers 20 and 22 are the thin metal 'bearings'. 13 is the 'pin'. Bolt goes through the pin. Bi-metal bushings wear out, collar is hardened to some degree though rust will get it.

Hope that helps.
 
thesnowgod said:
Has anyone used a larger inner sleeve to take up the slop? Not sure what terminology to use but it appears that a hollow sleeve goes into the spindles (the bolt passes through this sleeve) and its that sleeve that has play. Perhaps using a slightly larger one work?
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The correct terminology according to the microfiche is "collar" but I would simply call it "ski axle". Since I am using non-OEM skis that require different length "ski axles", I have been forced to make my own "ski axles". I made them from a shock absorber piston rod. The diameter is spot on 16 mm resulting in less free play (the OEM axles are couple of hundreds smaller). Also, I kept the outer surface of the piston rod which is hardened, chromed as well as polished. They still look like brand new after two seasons of use, zero rust and zero scratches.
 
Nice idea. Thanks everyone for giving me the correct terminology too. Pins, bushings, etc... I've got it now! Im going to see if I can find a machine shop that can make me a set with a tighter tolerance.
 
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