[Scott S]

Well I tore it down. Good thing not only were both bearings nosiy but the speedo side retainer was loose. I took the nuts off by hand. It destroyed the threads on the bolts and was shining up the tunnel from bouncing around. The bearing was covered in rusty grease.

Crappy thing is this sled was just at the dealers for preseason service and new clutching. I guess this isn't one of those things they look at. The chaincase oil was also dirty. I suspect it wasn't done either. They also missed 5 broken studs and 7 missing track clips and one grease zert missing on the front arm at tunnel. I suspect dealer pre-season service really means diddle. I wonder how in the hell they greased it. The rest of the skid didn't have any clean grease in it either. I replaced the zert and pulled the bushings and cleaned them up. Put on new track clips so now it is good to go.

I'll be putting in new bearings tomorrow evening now that she is all cleaned up and ready for reassembly.

Dang was that lower gear tight. Quite the workout loosening that baby.

TIP - Another thing that leads to premature skid bearing failuers is pressure washers - never use one on a sled. Drives water in and grease out.

 

[shepherdblake]

I lost the clutch side bearing 2 weeks ago on the trail in Grand Lake on my '95 ZRT with 3500 miles. The speedo stopped working seconds before the whole thing failed. I bought new bearings and plates and put it back together that day and took it out that next day. I long tracked the ZRT during the pre-seaon and greased the bearing. I think I had my track to tight, which caused extra stress on it....

 

[catspaz8]

When you think of the hp those bearings handle and, I know for me, I beat the crap out it all the time, I would expect it to fail. Over the last few years I have gotten in the Habit of doing it every other season or every 3500 miles. just another wear part. now if someone were to come out with something that ws twice as strong and would last twice as long, count me in

 

[bluelightning426]

I have an 03 Zr 800 SnoPro and I've had both sides go in 4200 miles. Use aftermarket bearings arctic cat ones are junk

 

[63November]

Jack- and drive shaft bearings are invariably ball bearings, often the same brands even on differing makes of sleds. If they are kept well lubricated and free of moisture, they will last indefinitely. They really are no different than the crank bearings in the engine which spin much faster and ultimately have much greater potential for wear! And unlike the also similar bearings in the skid frame, the jack- and drive shaft bearings are not being pounded by every bump the wheels hit.

IF you can keep them lubricated properly and free of moisture - the latter part is especially important during the warmer season or any time the machine is in a warmer place for awhile (when oxidation is more likely to pit the balls and races)- they probably wouldn't have to be changed for the life of the sled. Other things will wear out first. The big problem is that it is almost impossible to keep moisture out of these bearings. That is why the bearings not exposed to the chaincase oil will usually fail first. Of course, moisture can also be a problem in the chaincase and that needs to be addressed through preventative maintenance as well. The bottom line is that this latter thought (preventative maintenance) needs to be employed with these bearings if long life is expected.

It is probably as or more likely that the bearings will fail with low miles and a longer period of time than they will with lots of miles and short time on them. The 'Cat in my yard has over 8000 miles without trouble on these bearings. My older Polaris didn't get its bearings renewed until they had run between 12,000 and 15,000 miles - and the old ones were still as smooth as the new ones if just a bit easier to turn.

Make sure you add plenty of grease to those bearings provided with a zerk, especially if you see water being forced out. Preventative maintenance needs to happen before storage, not after. Change bearings on a consistent basis if there is any doubt about their condition.

 

[900snoproZR]

I have an '03 ZR900 with 3,850 miles on it and haven't had a problem yet. I'm going on a 2,000 mile saddle bag trip at the end of January in Ontario so I hope they hold on!! :sarcasm:

 

[Scott S]

I'd suggest taking a look at it anyways as the odds are not in your favour. Taking out your tunnel, chaincase on a trip would be a disaster. Cost was actually minimal. maybe a $100 bucks or so.

Dealer said these sleds need to be done every 3000 miles anyways.

I thought mine were good (2300 miles) until I saw this thread and got suspicious. I'm so glad I took it apart as the bearing was on the way out and the retainer was very loose and rubbing the tunnel. In the end I had to replace both bearings, the flange, all bolts( nicked and chewed up) and nuts, the studs and o rings in the chaincase as the speedo side being loose caused a chain reaction. I thought the sled was OK before I looked into it.

I made three trips the AC dealer for parts. I thought I had it and found something else. Thought all was well and found something else.

Attached is a pict of the loose speedo housing. You'll notice grease coming out of the seam between the tunnel and the housing. I could move the housing around by hand or by lifting on the drive shaft. Scary!
Also attached is the rusty speedo bearing.

Keep in mind this sled was just dealer serviced 50-60 miles before I found this with under 2300 miles.

Now all I need is some good snow!

 

[FreezerBurnt]

Well you can add me as of today :bash:

Clutch side driveshatft bearing went halfway into a 100mile ride :cussing:

I heard some squeaking right before it went then the speedo quit

8000miles on sled btw

screwed up my weekend plans :slick:

 

[Floorazz]

Update... replaced mine before this season, locked the collar while working under the sled... well it came loose. Fortunately I noticed it while investigating speedometer failure which turned out to be the cable coming off the dash connection. Still had to get the drive shaft built up a little and a new bearing. After measuring and marking, this time I locked the collar goodntight while it was on the bench, just finished it up last night.

 

[FreezerBurnt]

yup got my sled back together yesterday

 

[TROUTLAKECAT]

01 MC 800 my speedo side went out witch in turn broke my chain, shattered the top gear, damaged my chaincase and the heat melted one of my drive shaft wheels. Took my too the shop to ask what was up, there where two other sleds that where being unloaded with the same problem at the same time I was there. I paid about $250 when it was all said and done. I did all the labor myself and lost about 3 weeks of riding. We have some good snow out here and boy was it tough to be parked. Expensive lesson learned. Would think that AC would have put a recall on that!

 

[Roy]

Yup...My dads 2002 Pantera drive shaft bearing let go.Chain case side. 4,000 miles on it. :bash:

It snapped his drive shaft at the end.

 

[Brother D]

I am going to start working on a Mountain Cat 800 that had the drive axle fail. The drive axle broke in half between the drive sprokets.


Never saw that before. Took all of his gears out(reverse too of course). bearings, drop case.

 

[snofrog]

I have never lost one on the trail but I have had some that were pretty crunchy when I swaped them out ,every other year I change them out wether they need it or not . I do my own wrenching so it is cheep insurance

 

[BigPoppa05]

2004 f chassis 600, 4900 miles and i have never had a problem ever with any of my cats

 

[ZR Sled Head]

Grease em after every ride and they'll last for years and years and years.

 

[zr800man74]

Hi Folks:
We have been having a little discussion about whether or not a recent driveshaft bearing failure is a "Cat" weakness. At first I didnt think so but another writer chimed in with the comment that he has seen it on many Cats and thinks it maybe to small of a bearing for the application. Sooooo, I thought another poll might help.
Thanks for your participation!
Woodsy SWRules
[/quoteHad the speedo side go out on my 2001 zr800 & tore up the chain & gears at 2600 miles...major arctic cat problem

 

[NewfieBullet]

Like I said before, the biggest Cat weakness is having the bearing on the inside of the tunnel, meaning you have to desassemble everything to change the bearing. It's a 15 minute job to change that bearing on a Polaris.

 

[Scott S]

Like I said before, the biggest Cat weakness is having the bearing on the inside of the tunnel, meaning you have to desassemble everything to change the bearing. It's a 15 minute job to change that bearing on a Polaris.
[/b]

Just had a thought.

Has anyone tried and moved the bearing to the outside of the tunnel.

Why is it on the inside?

Could move tunnel bearing support to the inside - possibly add a plate to the tunnel side (triangle flange with the center cut out). I wonder it this would work out?

Trick would be access to the locking collar. The shaft position is set based on the chaincase side assembled and fixed last with the locking collar on the PTO side once everything else is together so it may work out. The actual position of the bearing on the PTO side I think may not matter. We're only talking a fraction of an inch from where the bearing sits normally - thickness of tunnel - play in the speedo drive should accomodate that no problem.

Can we come up with our own update here - anyone need to do one and have your sled apart so we can walk this through.



Your right, my polaris is a piece of cake.

 

[stirfry]

Just had a thought.

Has anyone tried and moved the bearing to the outside of the tunnel.

Why is it on the inside?

Could move tunnel bearing support to the inside - possibly add a plate to the tunnel side (triangle flange with the center cut out). I wonder it this would work out?

Trick would be access to the locking collar. The shaft position is set based on the chaincase side assembled and fixed last with the locking collar on the PTO side once everything else is together so it may work out. The actual position of the bearing on the PTO side I think may not matter. We're only talking a fraction of an inch from where the bearing sits normally - thickness of tunnel - play in the speedo drive should accomodate that no problem.

Can we come up with our own update here - anyone need to do one and have your sled apart so we can walk this through.
Your right, my polaris is a piece of cake.
[/b]

Too bad, I just had mine apart and changed my track and bearings and some idler wheels and the slides and installed some new springs, I wish i would have read something like this earlier cause it sounds like a very good idea and it just might work out with some careful work and attention. Mine is a 2001 ZR 800 and when i took mine apart the speedo side bearing just fell apart and mine has 5200 miles on it