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paulharris
Well-known member
is that pic a failed shaft on your sled? any big shock load or did it just break riding on the trail?
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broken drive shaft
- Thread starter NM
- Start date
It looks like there was some working of the joint, prior to fracture. The alumimum appears to be no thicker than the steel. Which is another big mistake. Aluminum should have been 3 x the steel thickness, since it is 1/3rd the strength. Once the glue line broke, the joint likely worked briefly before grenading. This joint looks like something the night shift cooked up, and then failed to obtain approval from research. I am betting that Polaris does not have a mechanical engineer on the payroll.
Duplicate post
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Aftermarket shaft fixes / replacement
It would be easy for the aftermarket to make a new splined end that had longer engagement on the perimeter as well as slots so that you can glue to the internal gussets also. I would think the minimum engagement should at least be equal to the inside dimension between the flats. Likely 1 1/2 times to ensure positive engagement and a lifetime bond. In between the slots for the gussets material should be removed for weight reduction. The piece could be milled from billet steel or forged depending on demand and price point desired.
Another even better option would be to get an extrusion die made that retains either the '12 and earlier other driveshaft profile or the '13 hex and has gussets similar to the '13 with the center being a female 1" 15T spline. That way you glue in an approximately 6" long 1"15T steel shaft that has a lightening counterbore where it is in glued into the outer aluminum shaft. The opposite side is the same but with a non-splined bearing end. Of course there would need to be weather caps on the ends to keep water and ice out eliminating any potential resulting imbalance. This should be as light or lighter than the '13 shaft and not be a concern even if the glue failed, the splined engagement will get you home. I've run aluminum sprockets on my full mods for years with more than 200HP and never had a sprocket strip out and that is with less than 1" of spline engagement.
It would be easy for the aftermarket to make a new splined end that had longer engagement on the perimeter as well as slots so that you can glue to the internal gussets also. I would think the minimum engagement should at least be equal to the inside dimension between the flats. Likely 1 1/2 times to ensure positive engagement and a lifetime bond. In between the slots for the gussets material should be removed for weight reduction. The piece could be milled from billet steel or forged depending on demand and price point desired.
Another even better option would be to get an extrusion die made that retains either the '12 and earlier other driveshaft profile or the '13 hex and has gussets similar to the '13 with the center being a female 1" 15T spline. That way you glue in an approximately 6" long 1"15T steel shaft that has a lightening counterbore where it is in glued into the outer aluminum shaft. The opposite side is the same but with a non-splined bearing end. Of course there would need to be weather caps on the ends to keep water and ice out eliminating any potential resulting imbalance. This should be as light or lighter than the '13 shaft and not be a concern even if the glue failed, the splined engagement will get you home. I've run aluminum sprockets on my full mods for years with more than 200HP and never had a sprocket strip out and that is with less than 1" of spline engagement.
I dont see any glue in that one. Does anyone know if any of the failed shafts have had glue in them? i can see glue coming out of mine in one of the holes. I have 25 miles on mine in low to no snow and no signs of any damage and lots of short wide open bursts. Just wondering if maybe the machine at the factory did not glue the shafts on the ones that have had failures.
Funny that you say this, i am doing the same thing only mine as 3600 miles, lots of time and money in it. Hope this is not a problem with all, but sure i'm taking a back up to cooke with me the first trip, 500 miles one way to only get a few miles on a sled possibly..The ol M7 never fails me.
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spider
Well-known member
The new 'lightweight extruded driveshaft' is mentioned in the big color brochure I got last spring when I was snowchecking. Ironically it is under the heading "2013 Durability Improvements" .
As far as all the aftermarket and home-engineered fixes I'm reading about on here... holy sh!t. I just dropped 13 grand on a sled and there is no way I'm gonna spend one penny of my own money toward a fix. If I need a '12 driveshaft that's fine, but it will be supplied and installed by my dealer... free.
I'm really hoping that it comes out that there was no glue applied to a run of driveshafts... I have excess coming out of the inspection hole on mine
There have been over 600 viewers watching this forum the last few evenings, Polaris should take note that this is effecting their sales.
As far as all the aftermarket and home-engineered fixes I'm reading about on here... holy sh!t. I just dropped 13 grand on a sled and there is no way I'm gonna spend one penny of my own money toward a fix. If I need a '12 driveshaft that's fine, but it will be supplied and installed by my dealer... free.
I'm really hoping that it comes out that there was no glue applied to a run of driveshafts... I have excess coming out of the inspection hole on mine
There have been over 600 viewers watching this forum the last few evenings, Polaris should take note that this is effecting their sales.
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snowmobiler
Well-known member
first year bugs.happens all the time.sit and wait or fix it.
Somebody else already mentioned this earlier in the tread, but I went ahead and bought a Buddy Tow (www.buddytow.com) just in case. Most likely just keep it in the trailer for the unlikely chance of needing it. A simple roll up plastic sled you can buy at Walmart would do the trick too. A couple of years ago we stopped to help a guy on an XP with a locked up track and his buddies towed him out ok with the track locked up, but I’m sure it was a bit hard on the towing sled. I’m actually concerned about the Buddy Tow being too good and wondering how you’re supposed to slow down or stop with it (watch out carbon fiber bumper
).
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snowmobiler
Well-known member
warning.take tow buddy off before going down a steep hills.LOL
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knifedge
Well-known member
--How much more would it have cost Polaris to extend the endcaps at least 1 1/2 - 2 inches into the driveshaft, not to mention a few more mil thickness of the shaft itself?
--Think about it, the end caps cannot be pressed fitted onto the driveshaft because they have to allow slight clearance for the glue or it would be all scraped off. Beside a press fit would probably deform and stress the thin aluminum driveshaft. It is no wonder these things are spinning out.
--An optional temporary fix may be to machine new end caps that not only fit the inside of the driveshaft, but also fit tightly over the driveshaft. You may only need to glue the inside.
--Another temp fix could be a machined aluminum collar about 2 inches wide to help transfer power and tighened down by maybe 3 allen bolts, similar to the one shown in the link.
http://www.thunderproducts.com/911%20Clutch%20Cover.htm
--Regardless of how much contact surface area there is, it would seem the next weakest point would be the endpoint of the drive endcap and the driveshaft itself, due to thin wall thickness.
--This sled is built like a toy, however, it can still be made strong and light it just takes a few more beans and a little more brains.
--Think about it, the end caps cannot be pressed fitted onto the driveshaft because they have to allow slight clearance for the glue or it would be all scraped off. Beside a press fit would probably deform and stress the thin aluminum driveshaft. It is no wonder these things are spinning out.
--An optional temporary fix may be to machine new end caps that not only fit the inside of the driveshaft, but also fit tightly over the driveshaft. You may only need to glue the inside.
--Another temp fix could be a machined aluminum collar about 2 inches wide to help transfer power and tighened down by maybe 3 allen bolts, similar to the one shown in the link.
http://www.thunderproducts.com/911%20Clutch%20Cover.htm
--Regardless of how much contact surface area there is, it would seem the next weakest point would be the endpoint of the drive endcap and the driveshaft itself, due to thin wall thickness.
--This sled is built like a toy, however, it can still be made strong and light it just takes a few more beans and a little more brains.
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paulharris
Well-known member
depends on whether you want to spend your time riding or lose 2 months of the season while your sled sits at the dealer waiting for a fix, backordered parts, etc. personally i would rather fix it myself now and be able to actually enjoy riding the sled without constant paranoia that the driveshaft could snap at any moment
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