Repairing cracked bulkhead at steering post bracket connection.

[rmk2112]

My steering was getting more sloppy as the year progressed, I assumed it was a loose nut at a ball joint on the steering rods.

Pulled the motor last night and started to inspect steering system.......all ball joint nuts were tight, all the ball joints were in great shape, very minor play at the u-joint on the steering column.
As I was scratching my head, Miko700 (Mike) grabbed the bracket and housing that attaches the steering post to the rear bulkhead..........1 rivet was completely gone, the others had worbled out so that there was almost 3/8" of play in all directions.

Thinking new, larger, stronger rivets was the fix, we drilled out the old ones and found........................

Major cracks and stress damage over about a 6" sq. area around the inboard mounting tab.

The problem in repairing is that the rear cooler is right behind that bulkhead, then the tunnel. I was not going to drill out all the rivets, remove the bulkhead from the tunnel, remove the cooler and rivet a backer plate on the cooler....there had to be a easier way.

After checking the clearances to the back of the motor from the bulkhead I decided a 1/8" x 8" x 5 1/2" aluminum reinforcement plate would do the trick.


I drilled 1/8" holes at the end of all the cracks in hopes of stopping any further cracking

I drilled out 5/16" holes so that the plate would fit over existing rivet bodies that were riveted from the cooler side in toward the engine compartment during original factory assembly.

Measured and drilled 3/16" holes for the new rivets in the plate that match the mounting bracket and dry fit.

Now, I'm waiting for rivets... http://oftracing.com/Store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=81&products_id=216
These mushroom up on the back side giving a superior grip both front and back.

I'm going to:

1. Over drill the the existing bracket holes in the bulkhead to approx. 3/8"......larger diameter than the back of the new rivets
2. Use the new Oft Racing rivets to securely mount the aluminum plate to the bulkhead.
3. Mount the steering bracket to the new aluminum plate in the 3/16" holes shown in picture that will be directly over the over drilled holes in the bulkhead to give the rivet room to expand out and bite the new plate.

Doing it this way, I'm mounting the bracket to a new plate that is the same thickness as the bulkhead, which is itself securly mounted to the bulkhead, thus taking away most all the the strain that would have been at the cracked area.

I'll post more pics when I over drill and mount the plate and bracket/steering assembly.

This is definitely something to check on all IQ sleds. We have all heard about steering posts snapping and ball joints breaking........when/if you pull your motor, give this area extra attention.

 

[UBRultra]

Good thing you found it now....

 

[milehighassassin]

Good job. I was going to suggest putting a plate over it, maybe even sandwiching plates on each side (overkill).

 

[rmk2112]

Got my OFT Racing rivets today, I'm now able to get everything put back together

Overdrilled holes in existing bulkhead

Repair plate mounted to existing bulkhead

Steering bracket mounted to new repair plate

Repair complete!!

Getting my cleaned injectors back from http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/[url=http://www.witchhunter.com/][b]WitchHunter PerformanceWitchHunter Performance on Monday, going to install them, clean the motor up and reinstall it.

Then it's back to the normal summer time maintenance projects

 

[Ski-Dont89]

Good Repair! So was it 80 bucks for them to service your injectors?

 

[rmk2112]

Good Repair! So was it 80 bucks for them to service your injectors?

Yes, $20 per injector plus $10 to ship back to you.

I'm curious to see the before and after flow test numbers they provide too.

 

[Ski-Dont89]

no doubt...i have read that you can leave all the wiring and everything attatched to the injectors.

is that what you did?

 

[rmk2112]

With Polaris injectors, you have to leave them on. They epoxy the connection between the injector and the harness.

A little OVER engineered if you ask me....LOL

 

[fonetikal]

Sure you got enough rivets in there?

Any worry about the lower bracket being mounted out of alignment now due to the thickness of the new plate? I can't really imagine it's enough to put your steering out of whack, or put extra stress on the clamps from it being slightly out of true, but things are so bloody tight down there I wouldn't be surprised if the bottom ball joint hit the intake or something stupid like that!

Thanks for the good heads up! I've had so much headache from my steering I'm just going to assume this is happening to me now too. At least it's summer.

 

[Ski-Dont89]

at least they got this fixed on the RAW

 

[rmk2112]

Sure you got enough rivets in there?

I think I may need a few more
After I looked at it installed, I thought the same thing myself....."Dayum, I think I over riveted...just a bit!"

Any worry about the lower bracket being mounted out of alignment now due to the thickness of the new plate? I can't really imagine it's enough to put your steering out of whack, or put extra stress on the clamps from it being slightly out of true, but things are so bloody tight down there I wouldn't be surprised if the bottom ball joint hit the intake or something stupid like that!

I checked with my dealer and talked with him about my proposed repair.....he said there should be plenty of room. As for the steering geometry, He didn't see a issue either.

 

[miko700]

Yes for what its worth guys, I have nearly the same sled as rmk 2112 06 755 and last winter i also broke a rivet on my bracket that i ended up repairing with a small bolt midseason, since my engine is coming out in a few weeks I suppose we'll see the stautus of mine.. but maybe a thing for you guys to keep an eye on as it could be a real safety concern for riders.