2009-2011 Diamond Drive Bearing Failure

[killerrf]

4203 double row bearing has dimensions 17x40x16 mm. Could that solve cover fitting problems? If 6203 with spacer is 15,91 mm wide, 4203 is pretty close.

I haven't open my dd yet, 1100 miles behind and i'm second owner.
Big surprise waiting, or after reading this thread it's not surprise anymore

yeah that could work...

 

[silverram323]

Ive put on another 350 miles since my problems and every thing is good. Took the DD out to change the track since I'm going out west next week. Fluid looked good.

 

[rpbj22]

5203

Is this suppose to be a sealed or not sealed bearing. I have a 2010 M8 with 500 miles on it and am worried about this bearing.

 

[bgreen776]

Most of us are buying 5203 2RS (two rubber seals) and leaving both seals in. I did, but my father did not on either of his sleds, so we should find out soon enough. They will be just fine if you leave the seals in, they may fail if you take them out.

 

[newtrout]

2010 DD bearings

I spent a little time going through the diamond drive on my 2010 M8. I left the diamond drive in the sled. At 700 miles, my 6203 (stock) bearing was getting rough. No visible damage to the cages, but you could feel the roughness spinning it by hand.

First I pressed on the 5203 bearing (17.5 mm wide double roller). As others have said, it's about 1.5 mm wider than the 6203 (stock) and spacer. The first thing I noticed is that I could only get the cover on by pulling it into place with the cover bolts. What I discovered is that the 5203 bearing kept that gearset much more rigid. With the 6203, the whole gear set could wobble, and that helped let the open bearings align in the covers so everything could slide into place. With the 5203, the gearset was so rigid that I couldn't get the bearings to align well enough to slide it in by hand. I have no idea how tight the bearing and gearset was pressed between the cases. There may have been some side load, but not much.

As others have said, the 4203 bearing looks like a great option. It would allow a double row bearing to be in the exact same end position as the stock setup. Unfortunately, they are nearly impossible to find. There doesn't seem to be a US source for these.

Anyone know much about self-aligning bearings? There is a double row 2203 self-aligning bearing that is 17X40X16. This has a much lower static load rating, but I'm not sure how that translates to this application. There is also a wide single row 62203 with the same dimensions.

I'm confident that the 16mm wide bearing would be a directly replacement for the bearing and spacer on the 2010s. None of this applies to the 2009 and prior, as they seem to have used a wider spacer that accommodates the 5203 just fine.

Would anyone be interested if I can get a bulk order of the 4203s-2rs (rubber-sealed)?

 

[Rprecision]

I have reached the limits of a free membership. While some of you can read this..........

It dosent matter to the rest

 

[CRJPilot]

Was worried about my bearing before heading out west, Brought my 2010 xf800 gear and bearing to jeff at Black Diamond -Extreme (original makers of the diamond drive). He pulled my PEER 6203 bearing and spacer and replaced it with a PEER 5203 (double row-wider, both made in China BTW). Cover will go back on just fine if the gearcase is out of the sled, if still in the sled, just loosen the 16mm bolt inside the track driveshaft a little bit, and cover will go back one just fine, then re tighten 16mm bolt.
Cost was $16, great guy to deal with, very knowledgabe. BTW, dont remove the seals, this bearings needs the seals to stay lubricated properly, centrifugal force will shed the oil from center of the bearing while rotating and kill it quick!

 

[newtrout]

Was worried about my bearing before heading out west, Brought my 2010 xf800 gear and bearing to jeff at Black Diamond -Extreme (original makers of the diamond drive). He pulled my PEER 6203 bearing and spacer and replaced it with a PEER 5203 (double row-wider, both made in China BTW). Cover will go back on just fine if the gearcase is out of the sled, if still in the sled, just loosen the 16mm bolt inside the track driveshaft a little bit, and cover will go back one just fine, then re tighten 16mm bolt.
Cost was $16, great guy to deal with, very knowledgabe. BTW, dont remove the seals, this bearings needs the seals to stay lubricated properly, centrifugal force will shed the oil from center of the bearing while rotating and kill it quick!

I'm curious to hear the explanation for why BDX trimmed the driveshaft for silverram, who posted the pictures above on this page, but the wider bearing was acceptable in your case without modification?

 

[killerrf]

Was worried about my bearing before heading out west, Brought my 2010 xf800 gear and bearing to jeff at Black Diamond -Extreme (original makers of the diamond drive). He pulled my PEER 6203 bearing and spacer and replaced it with a PEER 5203 (double row-wider, both made in China BTW). Cover will go back on just fine if the gearcase is out of the sled, if still in the sled, just loosen the 16mm bolt inside the track driveshaft a little bit, and cover will go back one just fine, then re tighten 16mm bolt.
Cost was $16, great guy to deal with, very knowledgabe. BTW, dont remove the seals, this bearings needs the seals to stay lubricated properly, centrifugal force will shed the oil from center of the bearing while rotating and kill it quick!

ah... you better take your drive shaft out and trim it... BDX told silverram to do the same thing about loosening the driveshaft bolt... there is still side pressure on that new wide bearing you put in. its going to fail... read more about silverram's posts and the aftermath of what happened with just tightening up bolt. i say if it dont fit in the sled without loosening anything somethings up. not enough space in there. some frames are a c hair wider or narrower, hence why some fit without loosening and others need machining.

 

[Coldfinger]

2010 M8 w/500 miles. No known problems yet but I haven't pulled the cover to check into it.

Great thread, getting too long though and it seems like we should have separate threads to address the various models since there appears to have been some design changes and/or manufacturer source changes over the years.

 

[rpbj22]

2010 M8

I have a 2010 M8 with reverse. Do I need to be concerned about this bearing? Robert

 

[bgreen776]

Not that my opinion matters, but this thread shouldn't split. Maybe change the title to say "09 and Newer diamond drive bearing failure" or something like that. People shouldn't have to dig through thousands of search results and read 10 different threads to find all the information that could be contained in one thread.

 

[bgreen776]

I have a 2010 M8 with reverse. Do I need to be concerned about this bearing? Robert

Yes, absolutely. From what I can tell, this specific problem (tunnel too narrow or angular missalignment causing excessive loading on the 6203 bearing) is only an issue on '09 and '10 sleds. 2011 is yet to be seen, but unless ACAT changes something, it will be an issue for them as well.

 

[silverram323]

I put on 300 miles out in the the Big Horns this week. I will be pulling the 2.25 PC track and splitting the case and I will report back. I think all will be good.

 

[CRJPilot]

I'm curious to hear the explanation for why BDX trimmed the driveshaft for silverram, who posted the pictures above on this page, but the wider bearing was acceptable in your case without modification?

I had 550 miles on my original 6203 bearing, and it looked great. I replaced as a precaution, and my cover went back on just fine and seated 100% without the bolts (the drive was out of the sled).

I re-torqued the cover bolts down and installed the oil.

After going back and reading some 300+ posts, especially silvermans, I am worried however....I am starting to wonder about when I installed the drive back in the sled. I did have to beat the drive back in to get it flush with bulkhead (beat on the end of a piece of wood). I just figured it was hanging up on rubber torque stop and track shaft seal? But maybe it was cuz of clearance issues too...mmmmmmmmmmm? Anyone else have to tap the drive back in?

I know some chassis have enough tolerance that all is good, but I'm second guessing now.

I also did my buddys 09 as well

I think I will pull the cover off with the drive installed in the sled, and if i cant get it back on, I know I'm gonna have problems.

Anyone know if I can open case w/o draining oil (like tipping sled on its side)?

 

[silverram323]

Yes tip it on the right side and pull the cover. put a floor jack under your handle bar to hold the sled where you want it.

 

[mhanson]

2010 m8 at 400 miles my bearing went out wrecking a planetary also. got new parts, the 5203 double bearing, fit perfect in dd on bench. tried to bolt back into chassis, and it was tight as s..t! my tunnel must be one of the narrow built versions!!!. i took the thickest 3/8 washers i could find and put them behind the brake caliper instead of cutting the trackshaft. Fit wonderful and the sled got rid of all the funny noises it had since new. have put another 400 miles on since and still working great. i'm guessing the washers i used were almost 1/8" thick. put a little silicone around the caliper since i have a gap now and its been fine.

 

[Sergeant HCR]

i took the thickest 3/8 washers i could find and put them behind the brake caliper instead of cutting the trackshaft. Fit wonderful and the sled got rid of all the funny noises it had since new.

So the driveshaft has been drawn 1/8" to the brake side? I guess 1/8" is not a big deal when it comes to where the track meets up with the drivers....assuming I am thinking about this right.

Good idea nonetheless

 

[mhanson]

yes my track/drivers were a little tight to the dd side anyways...and had alot of room on the brake side. it was the quickest easiest fix since i was doing this the day before a trip outwest. probably going to make a "gasket" to go inside the brake assembly this summer. thinking about 1/8 thick aluminum cut out in the same pattern as the brake assembly then it would be a little bit of a "cleaner" fix and a little more permanent.

but if your in a hurry this is a very easy fix to make some free room for everything to rotate correctly.

 

[silverram323]

Well i have about 500 miles on since the new bearings and gears and machining the track shaft. I took it apart to swap tracks out and the inside looks great. I would say 500 miles and the fluid should be changed. It was a little dirty but every thing looked good. I think Im done with bearing problems.....