Has anyone found any sturdier aftermarket front suspension parts for these Tao Tao ATVs?

We bought the Tao Tao ATA 110 D1 for my 7 year old son and after riding it for a couple of weeks with no problems we had a major failure on the front suspension SPINDLE TIE/HOLDER that caused the ATV to flip over when the spindle tie/holder on the bottom of the lower A frame snapped and dug into the grass. Luckily just minor injuries but pretty scary. I make sure my son wears his helmet at all times (good Full Face helmet) and this really reinforced that as it really banged up the helmet when the fourwheeler rolled flipped on it.

I have found the part online at Eagleatvparts.com and they are only $10.00 each. I am more concerned about future breakage than the cost.

I did notice that the other side was lloking bad also and it seems to be due to amount of slack/play in the way the spindle connect to the A Frame. I am going to try to insert some spacers on the lower spindle bolt before the nut goes on to see if I can tighten in up but would rather find some sturdier parts.

Any thoghts or has anyone else encountered this?


Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum jdunn01!

Did you break a tie rod end? If so did it break at the shaft or at the bolt that holds it to the a arm? The bolt being loose more than likely contributed to the tie rod end breaking...

Good thinking having a helmet on your son....sounds like it would have been a costly lesson had he not been wearing one..

 

Thanks for the welcome!

The piece that broke was where the spindle bolt connects to the Lower control arm. There is a small piece that allows the wheel to pivot on the lower control arm and has a bolt hole for the lower spindle to connect.

After looking at the amount of play in the other side i tend to agree that this contributed to the failure. I will be adding a washer or two and some loctite when I reassemble. The cotter key on the current setup allows the nut to back off creating the play. By putting a washer in front of the Nut i think i can get it to where the cotter pin will not allow it to back off at all.

Yeah I used to race motor cross when i was a youngster and my dad would put a pop knot on my head if he caught me even warning up my bike without a helmet. I have always felt that if you value your brain you should protect it with a good helmet! Not trying to tell others how to live life but only the ones under my control.