When the drive shaft bearings are bad does it feel like the track is ratcheting?
Drive shaft bearing.
- Thread starter Schmidty
- Start date
Alright, I will check that hopefully when it warms up. I lack a garage to work in.
HAS THIS BEEN HAPPENING FOR A WHILE NOW? IF IT ONLY DOES IT NOW AND THEN I WOULD LOOK AT THE DRIVERS FIRST AND CHECK FOR ICE BUILD UP, THIS HAS BEEN A PROBLEM WITH THIS SLED AND IT HAS HAPPENED TO ME TWICE NOW. WHEN THEY GET THE ICE BUILD UP IN THEM IT DOES FEEL AND SOUND LIKE TRACK RATCHETING. JUST ANOTHER THING TO LOOK FOR BEFORE YOU GO TEARING INTO THINGS.
How many miles do you have on the sled and did you grease the LEFT side speedo bearing once in a awhile?
The sled has about 4700 miles on it. I just bought the sled this summer and the people i bought it from said they had just greased and oiled up everything.I have only put 150 miles on it because of a crappy winter and didn't think it would need grease so soon. It just started happening on my ride yesterday. It was all of a sudden and its consistent so i don't think its ice build up. Also the drivers look good. It felt like the belt had issues but that checked out. Going to check the bearing, then the chaincase for slack.
With that mileage and not knowing the frequency of greasing the speedo bearing, I would say there's a good possibility it could be a bad bearing.
My D7, has 4500+ miles on it, grease it before EVERY trip, looking to take it apart this week and change out the bearings whether it needs it or not, just due to the mileage.
As a rule, I bring the sleds into a heated garage after each trip to allow for the ice to melt, and the next day I pump grease into them, you can usually see the water come out of the bearing area.
I know you said you don't have a garage, but if you could perhaps get a torpedo heater onto it once in a while?? and re-grease it then
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I have a buddy that lets me pop my sled in any time i need it.
I just took it for a ride because i didn't feel or hear any grinding or anything. It sounded like a click, almost like the belt is peeling apart but the belt is in good condition. I can only hear the clicking at low speeds. Ill try putting some grease in it to see if it muffles the sound at all, if it does ill replace the bearing.
Can you see/replace the bearing by just taking the drive housing cap off? Or do you have to take the drive shaft out?
I just took it for a ride because i didn't feel or hear any grinding or anything. It sounded like a click, almost like the belt is peeling apart but the belt is in good condition. I can only hear the clicking at low speeds. Ill try putting some grease in it to see if it muffles the sound at all, if it does ill replace the bearing.
Can you see/replace the bearing by just taking the drive housing cap off? Or do you have to take the drive shaft out?
I don't know if that clicking sound is the bearing?, Might be something else?
You can see the side of the bearing if you remove the 3 bolts by the speedo, and then it is POSSIBLE to pry off the side seal, or see if there's any grease in there, but at that point you may just want to replace it
I've heard of guys being able to do it with the drive-shaft in place, but here's how I do it
1) Remove the rear suspension (4 bolts)
2) Remove chaincase cover,gears
3) remove speedo side bearing cover (3 bolts)
4) slide the drive-shaft towards the speedo side until it drops down out of the chain-case, then remove from the sled
The speedo side bearing is pressed on, I use a pit-man arm puller to remove it, but a clay type puller should work, or hammer if need be.
Press, or with a suitable size socket, block of wood, press, install the new bearing onto the drive-shaft, remember to have ONE 3-bolt bearing flange on first
While it's apart, I would replace the bearing(s) in the chain-case and seal as well.
The chain-case bearings are a standard #6205, same as the bogie wheel bearings
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I can just pick these bearings up at a napa or Shucks right?
When you said to replace the seal do you mean the seal that is behind the Chain case bearings? or the Chain case cover gasket?
Are all the recommended torques in the owners manual? Or where could i find those?
When you said to replace the seal do you mean the seal that is behind the Chain case bearings? or the Chain case cover gasket?
Are all the recommended torques in the owners manual? Or where could i find those?
The seal is in the lower part of the chain-case, (track side) it's re-use-able if you're careful removing + re-installing the drive-shaft
BEARING kits are sold by "ALL BALLS" enough to do 2 bearings on the drive-shaft, approx $22.00
The chain-case bearing # 6205 is a common bearing get 'em anywhere
The speedo side has a curved (radius-ed) outer race, a little more difficult to find,
Torque specs are in the service manual, (not owner's manual) I can look 'em up later if you need it
Well I was making great progress today, till i have to remove the retaining ring. Do you have any pointers to removing it? I do have the tool, but every time I pull out on the ring when i have it clasped it just snaps off.
Do you mean the snap ring holding the bearing in on the chain-case side?
If so, you can deal with it AFTER the drive-shaft is out, as the drive-shaft SLIDES out of the RIGHT side.
The ONLY bearing pressed onto the drive-shaft is the LEFT side speedo bearing
Hope this helps
Oh alright. Thanks for all your help,this is the first time ive done this. I guess now the only thing that will be a problem now is pulling off the bearings And pressing new ones on.
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Found a puller and got the old ones off. Tapped the new ones on with a socket and rubber mallet. Got the shaft back in, speedo back on, gear and chain on, chain case cover on. Just gotta put the skid back in. For some reason getting the damn springs on the pipe and can was giving me problems so i called it a night and crashed. Hopefully I get it finished before practice today after school.
Edit:
Found a puller and got the old ones off. Tapped the new ones on with a socket and rubber mallet. Got the shaft back in, speedo back on, gear and chain on, chain case cover on. Just gotta put the skid back in. For some reason getting the damn springs on the pipe and can was giving me problems so i called it a night and crashed. Hopefully I get it finished before practice today after school.
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Alright so i replaced the bearings and nothing has changed. The chain was good, right at the perfect tension. I do not believe that this clunking noise is coming from the motor because it doesn't affect the performance at all. Could it be either of the clutches?
Take a look at the belt, see if there's any "cogs" missing on the inside of the belt
It sounds like you have "hourglassed" the drive belt. Try a new one.
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