2008 REV XP 154 Yep my driver shaft broke too :(

skippyh2o · Jan 3, 2008

REV XP 154 Broken driver shaft W/PICS

Finally was getting the clutching set up when my driver shaft broke. OMG it exploded! It looks like a peeled banana.

I was up on the Pemberton Glacier, 25 miles out. The tow wasnt too bad, thanks to two Canadian friends from the north, to help get it up a large hill. There was another XP sitting at the bottom of a hill. Must have had the same issue. They just left it.

Pickedup from dealer today, 1-16-08, heading to Cascade Idaho to break more parts.
Now keep in mind I towed my sled out 25 miles. If you can haul your sled out, it may be welded depending on how bad it breaks.

Brake side

WhistlerCowboy · Jan 3, 2008

That sucks i hope you had some good days out the first.

skippyh2o · Jan 3, 2008

WhistlerCowboy said:
That sucks i hope you had some good days out the first.

Ya. Sunday we went to Brandywine.... LAME! Then to the Rutherford Bridge entrance to Pemberton... Was good once we got past the cabin.

SilverGriz · Jan 3, 2008

Interesting info on the driveshafts. Is this isolated to any particular track length?? Seems like everyone having trouble so far is a 154".

chazzer · Jan 3, 2008

Silvergriz.

I have the same sled as you and have had no problems, but the more i read the more I see people have these catastrophic falures.

You having any problems???

I was just at the dealer today and they only have had 1 guy blowing belts, but he's pretty hard core and has a ton of miles already.

Other then that, nothing!

I don' get it........

Chaz

JohnBud · Jan 3, 2008

Examine the shaft closely, most likely you will find the shaft was never welded at the factory. Result the shaft comes apart under heavy load.

Those who have new Rev’s - recommend you guys inspect the shaft and verify its welded. Put the sled on its side and shine a light on the shaft where it goes into the chain case. There should be a weld on the drive shaft about 1/8’’ before the shaft enters the chain case. I am pulling my drive shaft and welding it before the thing fails in the back country.

Right now ski-doo won’t replace the shaft unless it fails, seems like a pretty serious recall to me.

skippyh2o · Jan 16, 2008

We will see if the new one holds.

grizking · Jan 16, 2008

Can you weld the shaftwithout taken it out of the sled?

fredw · Jan 16, 2008

here is a little info on how i fixed mine... did it with the track on the sled

http://www.dootalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=194508

skippyh2o · Jan 16, 2008

Weld may not be close enough....

fredw said:
here is a little info on how i fixed mine... did it with the track on the sled

http://www.dootalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=194508

I dont think you guys are getting close enough to the splined portion. Here is a coupler and the depth is really short.

JLeosnow · Jan 16, 2008

By the look of those pics it appears that some of the driveshaft is still attached to the end piece that gets pressed into the driveshaft and that failure was not the pressed in end spinning but actually the driveshaft itself letting go from torque/twisting....almost like the bond between the pressed in end & the actual driveshaft was so strong that the failure moved inward toward the driver wheel. Can you confirm if this is indeed the case skippyh2o? If this is the case, I don't think that spot welding these units is going to be a sufficent remedy for this type of failure.....

Thanks,
-John

redneckj · Jan 16, 2008

driver shaft in action

http://youtube.com/watch?v=u1Vfg5GD9Nc

PJ-Hunter · Jan 17, 2008

I am sending this thread to my dealer

geno · Jan 17, 2008

redneckj said:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=u1Vfg5GD9Nc

lmao!!

Sheriff · Jan 17, 2008

SilverGriz said:
Interesting info on the driveshafts. Is this isolated to any particular track length?? Seems like everyone having trouble so far is a 154".

I have seen a couple of the 163's with shaft problems as well. It probably is not specific to track length. My dealer has them on order but he tells me that they are backordered with no eta.

skippyh2o · Jan 17, 2008

Welds VS pressed fit.

JLeosnow said:
By the look of those pics it appears that some of the driveshaft is still attached to the end piece that gets pressed into the driveshaft and that failure was not the pressed in end spinning but actually the driveshaft itself letting go from torque/twisting....almost like the bond between the pressed in end & the actual driveshaft was so strong that the failure moved inward toward the driver wheel. Can you confirm if this is indeed the case skippyh2o? If this is the case, I don't think that spot welding these units is going to be a sufficent remedy for this type of failure.....

Thanks,
-John

If you look closely, you can see it is the weld that is left on the splined coupler. the weld did not penetrate enough to secure the coupler.
Someone made mention to the fact that the shaft was "turned" down for looks and that is what caused the welds to break... I dont know, but my new shaft looks the same as my broken one. I will post pics when that one breaks also.

idaspud · Jan 17, 2008

broken shafts

Question, if you try to get the spot welds close to the splined shaft, will you burn the seal?? Looks to me like its safer to take it appart to work on it or be causing another problem.

Woof · Jan 17, 2008

My understanding is that the shafts are not welded using a conventional welding method but actually spun on the shaft at high speeds, correct me if I am wrong.....

mark · Jan 18, 2008

Why would Ski Doo use a hollw drive shaft in the first place (save weight)??????? How can they improve on that design unless they put a solid shaft in?

Steeltech · Jan 18, 2008

idaspud said:
Question, if you try to get the spot welds close to the splined shaft, will you burn the seal?? Looks to me like its safer to take it appart to work on it or be causing another problem.

this guy is correct, unless you wait about 10 to 15 minutes between spot welds with a mig welder

2008 REV XP 154 Yep my driver shaft broke too :(

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