08' M1 broke....

[indy28]

Over the weekend my buddy on his M1000 noticed some extra slop in his steering post. We pull over and lift the hood...at the bottom of the steering post where it mounts to what looks like the bulkhead (correct if I am wrong) is cracked nearly all the way across, very jagged and an irregular crack. Turn it on it side look up in front of the track and what looks like the tunnel and heat exchanger area there is another crack!??! This one is about 3 inches long... Anybody have something like this happen??? About 5k miles on, and obviously not the easiest miles....has the two year warranty, jury is still out if AC will cover it....

 

[WyoBoy1000]

Ausm7499 had this happen, talk to him.

 

[indy28]

okay thanks!

 

[shadow conspiracy]

just had this happen to my 07 last weekend. Happened to my bro last year as well. If covered under warranty the bulkhead would need replaced. Kinda a stupid design. Needs the be beefed up a bit. What i did to fix it since i have no warranty i bolted in a 1/4" piece of aluminum across the top of the tunnel where the post bolts in. You'll need to take the gas tank off to do this. Seems to work good. No flex at all.

 

[indy28]

sounds like warranty is gonna be a no go which we sorta figured. That fix would work on the tunnel, but don't think there is any way to really fix the bulkhead without....replacing the whole thing. Thankfully this happened in March and not December.

 

[Ausm7499]

As mentioned above I had the same problem earlier in the year. I ended up fixing it myself instead of replacing the bulk head and tunnel. I bet it looks something like this

I ended up buying some aluminum that was the same thickness as the bulkhead material that broke cutt it to the shape I needed and took it down and had it welded. I lapped this piece over the tunnel a lot more then AC did like 5 inches more. I am hard on chit so I realy beefed it up, I then ground the weld down flush and layed another sheet of aluminum on top of the one that was welded to the bulkhead and made one end flush with the front of the bulkhead and the other end flush with the other end of the plate below. Since my tunnel was cracked as well just like your buddies I proceded to take another sheet of aluminum same thickness and put it on the bottom side of the tunnel. Its hell for stought now and I can imagine it ever breaking again.

This was not a super hard project but takes some time. You have to stip the tank, steering post, and electrical crap that is bolted to the top of the tunnel. You then have to take out all of the rivets that will interfer with putting the plates in. Once you get the first sheet welded in you will have to drill from the bottom up to make all of your holes and then proceed to do this for the next plate on top and drill down for the last plate on the bottom. I bought new bolts for the electronics and used rivets in other areas like the corner of the plates where I felt I needed them. the bolt on the steering post will be long enought to do this. The brass looking piece with that the steering post bolts through that has the stops on it I used rouned fillup bolts that ened up sticking up a little to high so I had to grind the down a bit so the steering post would not rub on them.

I wish I had more pics but I don't think I took a lot, I will check. If your buddy has any questions I would be more then happy to help him out.

 

[catunder]

Rumor has it that Arctic Cat knows that this is a weak design and they know there are a lot cracking. Happened on my '07, '08 and '09. We don't jump anything but trail bumps but what seems to be causing my problems is using the handle bars to roll the sleds on there sides. Every one should check theirs for safety purposes. I fixed my own because the AC dealer is about 100miles away but I have heard from a dealer that he has replaced one under warranty on an '09.

 

[Ausm7499]

The problem with having it fixed is that it will just happend again. I know that if I buy another m-series that I will be beefing it up before I break it again. I think that its a piss pour design and the fact that everybody hads 3-5 inch bar risers is just that much more leverage creating even more of a moment about a weak point. I would say that they should have weaker steering post to compensate for the weak mounting point but I have bent my post several times already so I dont' think they can get any weaker with out folding them up on a daily basis. My fix cost me about 50 bucks and 4 hours.

 

[Killerk]

Sorry to hijack your thread, just a quick ?
I assume I have to drill the rivets to remove the steering stem?
My stem is bent, I didn't see any cracks in the bulkhead but I will look closer tonight.

It seems that this is a safety issue and that cat should have a recall.
Unfortunately it would not be a cheap fix for them.

 

[Ausm7499]

To remove the steering post you have to pull just one nut off of the bolt from the bottom of the tunnel (you can do this without removing the skid and track) and pull the tank and it will come right out.

 

[indy28]

If I didn't know better I would say that was his sled....only his actually is a little more jagged. He doesn't get on here near as much as I do, but I will get him too. Sorta freaked now cause I have a 09 M8 and pretty much do the same things he does... Looked at mine when his happened and the design obviously was unchanged from 08-09. We are both pretty handy with stuff and with the timing (end of year) will most likely try the fix soon. Any fears with that area so "beefed" up its gonna stress a different area? Did you weld the crack in the tunnel before putting that plate on? Same with the bulkhead area? Assuming you also pulled the motor? Thanks so much for the help!!!

 

[Ausm7499]

If I didn't know better I would say that was his sled....only his actually is a little more jagged. He doesn't get on here near as much as I do, but I will get him too. Sorta freaked now cause I have a 09 M8 and pretty much do the same things he does... Looked at mine when his happened and the design obviously was unchanged from 08-09. We are both pretty handy with stuff and with the timing (end of year) will most likely try the fix soon. Any fears with that area so "beefed" up its gonna stress a different area? Did you weld the crack in the tunnel before putting that plate on? Same with the bulkhead area? Assuming you also pulled the motor? Thanks so much for the help!!!

I dont think you would have to worry about breaking any other area because by putting larger heavier plates in the stress is being distributed over a much larger area then before. I did not weld the tunnel because its so damn flimsy it would be like try to weld a pop can back together. By putting plates on both side of the tunnel there is no way or reason for the crack to spread. I only welded one plate on and that was welded to the bulkhead most of the weld was right at the top of the heat exchanger and a little bit where the bulkhead did not break. You will not have to pull the motor, by pulling the tank, skid, track, and drive shaft you will have all the room you need.

 

[Killerk]

To remove the steering post you have to pull just one nut off of the bolt from the bottom of the tunnel (you can do this without removing the skid and track) and pull the tank and it will come right out.

Thanks
I planned on climbing under the sled to look, but figured someone on this thread would know.

 

[KMMAC]

Just curious, But could the steering stem be shortened a little on the bottom and socket built to fit the stem in? That way the crack could be welded up and more material added to the base of the new socket. If it's a side to side flex making it crack out fish plate in that direction and maybe if there's room wrap it down in front of the tunnel just a thought I haven't looked under the hood of one of these but from the pic. looks like there is room for a big plate.

 

[Ausm7499]

I don't know if I follow what your saying. If I do understand you correctly I guess you could do that but it seem like a lot more work for a design that would not work as well as AC's. The only problem with AC's design is they fastened it to two pieced of really flimsy aluminum. I am really suprised more people aren't having issues.