Driveshaft thoughts..

[AKSNOWRIDER]

Eric, polaris has at least 100 on hand(thats all i tryed ordering to see what stock was)..
Just so everyone knows...I am not advocating changing out the stock shaft..I ride some nasty country..a long long ways from the parking lot..I have no fear running the stock shaft, will some fail..sure, both from a manufacturing defect(lack of glue, bad assembly, defective material) and more likely...from hitting stuff(yes even the steel shafts will fail if you tag a rock/stump just right), I offered this fix as a way for those so parenoid that they wont ride as a way to aleviate there fears, to have confidence in their new sled.....if the shaft comes unglued..nothing..nothing is going to keep it togeather and working(just not enough overlap)

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

Thanks, that gives me a tiny fragment of hope that they can last at least a thousand miles. However, when I look at the design and see a 3/8" flange of metal glued together, I just don't ever see that as being a part capable of handling the contant torque of 140hp mile after mile. If they had at least made the metal flange 2-3 inches it would have been so much more stable and more surface to adhere.

Nuggetau, a welded joint normally has even less overlap, the glue is technically stronger then a weld..your concerns are understood..but as long as the joint was glued properly..the shaft material should fail long before the joint /glue will...

 

[nuggetau]

Nuggetau, a welded joint normally has even less overlap, the glue is technically stronger then a weld..your concerns are understood..but as long as the joint was glued properly..the shaft material should fail long before the joint /glue will...

There in lies the problem (in my opinion), if one side of the flange didn't get enough glue it allows a small wiggle/wobble that quickly breaks the bond elsewhere until it fails. A much longer flange (overlap) would prevent wiggle/wobble that causes the bonding failure.

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

very true..but..if its questionable on the joint at all..it will fail in very very short order...you could have the same failure with a weld ..(steel or aluminum)..simple enough to do a road ride/trail ride for the fiirst 10 miles or so..if it hasnt failed by then..its doubtful it ever will...think about it, the demos last year held fine, at least 1 new sled on here has 200+ miles on it...no issue..also..many of the new driveshafts in trucks are glued as well...and they dont run much if any thicker of materials either...yet hold up to the abuse of a much heavier/ more powerful drivetrain...are some going to fail? sure..but is it going to be an epidemic? no, will there be a recall? I highly doubt it,..polaris didnt recall the injectors in 11. and they were a safety risk due to raw fuel catching fire....by january..I would bet there is less then 100 failed shafts(from manufacturing defects) vrs what 10-20-30000 13 sleds sold?

 

[Hawkster]

As long as the glue is applied properly which is called a weld in some cases because it bonds into the material but if for some reason it wasn't prepared or applied correctly it will eventually give either at that point of application or on the outskirt of the weld or glue what ever it may be called . Some glues work so well that if any wasted material isn't removed it will weaken the joint .

 

[nuggetau]

very true..but..if its questionable on the joint at all..it will fail in very very short order...you could have the same failure with a weld ..(steel or aluminum)..simple enough to do a road ride/trail ride for the fiirst 10 miles or so..if it hasnt failed by then..its doubtful it ever will...think about it, the demos last year held fine, at least 1 new sled on here has 200+ miles on it...no issue..also..many of the new driveshafts in trucks are glued as well...and they dont run much if any thicker of materials either...yet hold up to the abuse of a much heavier/ more powerful drivetrain...are some going to fail? sure..but is it going to be an epidemic? no, will there be a recall? I highly doubt it,..polaris didnt recall the injectors in 11. and they were a safety risk due to raw fuel catching fire....by january..I would bet there is less then 100 failed shafts(from manufacturing defects) vrs what 10-20-30000 13 sleds sold?

I would gladly eat a big steaming pile of humble pie if your assesment is correct. I think the failure rate is going to be bigger than your prediction.

 

[IEATSRT]

My thoughts are that... if glued properly, the joint should be the strongest point of the shaft as it is thicker at that point than either the steel insert or aluminum reciever alone. Key being, when bonded properly!!

 

[snowmobiler]

if the joint is going to fail,i cant see how a bolt on "fix" will stop it from failing.seems any pressure to the driveshaft will pop the joint apart.i could be wrong.

 

[Hawkster]

Hmmm not sure , there's been so much discussion but I thought it was mentioned that the demos where not the same . Anyone ?

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

Hmmm not sure , there's been so much discussion but I thought it was mentioned that the demos where not the same . Anyone ?

I looked at the demo they had up here last spring...that shaft looks identical to the broken shafts I have seen pics of on here.....

 

[cb2honk]

I suddenly got the munchies real bad with all this talk about joints!

 

[rmscustom]

Hmmm not sure , there's been so much discussion but I thought it was mentioned that the demos where not the same . Anyone ?

MH said the show sleds had 2012 shafts... I don't know about the demos but one would assume if there wasn't enough 13 shafts for the show sleds that not all the demos had them either.

 

[Sunvang]

Anybody with a broken driveshaft that can check the alignment of the drivers? And compare them to the 2012?
Heard a rumor that the faulty driveshafts was made on two specific dates, and that the glue process had pushed the drivers out of alignment, causing the failures.

 

[paulharris]

Anybody with a broken driveshaft that can check the alignment of the drivers? And compare them to the 2012?
Heard a rumor that the faulty driveshafts was made on two specific dates, and that the glue process had pushed the drivers out of alignment, causing the failures.

wow, interesting rumor. How on earth could the gluing process on the end of the driveshaft possibly push the drivers out of alignment????

 

[MURFDOG]

Just curious, is the bonding material (glue) something that can be heated to break down like what is used in bonding the chain cases and other parts?
If so would it be possible to remove the shaft ends and rebond or would it be tolorance nightmare?

 

[AKSNOWRIDER]

My assumption is its a lords adhesive..but which one is a guess, and you would need to fab a jig that would perfectly hold both peices while the glue setup...any imperfection in alignment would cause major issues both with the quick drive and with the track....

 

[IEATSRT]

wow, interesting rumor. How on earth could the gluing process on the end of the driveshaft possibly push the drivers out of alignment????

Exactly how AKSNOWRIDER suggested. If the pieces weren't held in place perfectly center until glue had set up the parts could be off center. If this has happend it explains why some shafts have failed. Off center -> unbalanced -> vibrations -> shaft failures. I personally would like to hear more about this rumour that faulty shafts were made on two specific days? What is your source??

 

[paulharris]

Exactly how AKSNOWRIDER suggested. If the pieces weren't held in place perfectly center until glue had set up the parts could be off center. If this has happend it explains why some shafts have failed. Off center -> unbalanced -> vibrations -> shaft failures. I personally would like to hear more about this rumour that faulty shafts were made on two specific days? What is your source??

What are you talking about? Read the last few posts. The point was how could gluing (or lack thereof) of the ends make the drivers move on the shaft and push them out of alignment. his post makes no sense. the driver alignment on the main extrusion has nothing to do with the process of gluing and positioning the ends.

 

[IEATSRT]

What are you talking about? Read the last few posts. The point was how could gluing (or lack thereof) of the ends make the drivers move on the shaft and push them out of alignment. his post makes no sense. the driver alignment on the main extrusion has nothing to do with the process of gluing and positioning the ends.

Sorry my mistake, in my bid to keep up with all these posts do a bit of speed reading, misread drivers for driveshaft. I am interested to know his source though however, possibly from a dealer? That is the part about hearing two specific dates where driveshafs were manufactured wrong. That's the problem with rumours. I am wondering where polaris is currently sitting on the topic. I should sure hope we hear something from them soon. There is obviously an issue, not nearly as HUGE as this site and snow and mud are making it out to be. I was getting at if the steel insert and aluminum shaft weren't mated perfectly center with a good strong bond, then vibrations will aid to some shaft failures. Any way you look there is a manufactuing defect going on here causing some shafts to fail. Whether it is insufficent glue, inadequate bonding, misalignment of steel insert to shaft or any combination of the above remains to be answered.

 

[Hawkster]

I don't think they put that much thought into it .
Adhesive applied fence post cap pressed in ready for install , that simple .