I just jacked up the rear of my '95 Warrior, because I need to tighten the huge bolt in the middle (to the left of the axle tube). Now I realize I've got more than one problem... Can anyone offer me some fix-it-yourself advice for the problems below? :

1) The middle bolt (the HUGE bolt to the left of the axle tube) is a little loose. However, to the immediate left of this bolt (if you're standing behind the quad), there's a smaller "bolt" with an opposite thread, connected to the inside of the BIG bolt... I'm pretty sure that in order to tighten the axle properly, you need to twist the smaller "bolt" counter-clockwise WHILE turning the BIG (main) axle bolt the opposite direction (clockwise - to the right, towards the axle tube)...

Can anyone confirm if this is the correct procedure, and how to "properly" tighten the back axle? Am I correct that these bolts are threaded in different directions? And should I hold the smaller "bolt" in place with a wrench, WHILE I tighten the larger one, or vice versa? Or do I tighten both of them at the same time, but in opposite directions (due to the opposite threading)? Also, how do I know what's "TOO tight" - should I just jack her up and make sure the wheels spin freely?

2) I didn't notice this until I just jacked up my quad and got the rear wheels off the ground, but each of the rear wheels is a little "loose", too. In other words, there's just a tiny bit of play from side to side (left to right), but the main lug nuts are tight, cotter pins in place, etc...

Again, I checked out the axle, and it seems to be a similar set up to the middle axle-hub bolt set-up (what I asked about above in my first question)... There are two "tubes" that I'm assuming are each threaded in different directions, and you turn them one way or another to tighten the axle to the wheel...

I KNOW the problem is with these threaded "tubes", because they turn very easily in either direction. So - again - can anyone tell me the correct procedure for tightening these bolts so that each of my rear wheels will be tightly secured to the axle? Turn clockwise? Counter-clockwise? Different direction for each?

Thanks in advance for any pointers or advice. I can provide pics, if necessary.

Cheers,
Mike

 

pictures with arrows are better than your description...

I assume you are talking about the jam nuts on the axle

and the hubs with the castle nuts and cotter pins in them. Hubs wear out and do get play in them overtime. If the axle is super loose in the carrier then you probabaly need carrier bearings

 

Speedy (and everyone else):

I figured some actual pictures would be more helpful than my pitiful attempts to describe the parts I'm referring to... So I took a bunch of shots and posted them on the 'net...

Here's a link to an album I made last night on Webshots - it has pics of the quad itself, as well as the rear axle "bolts" I'm referring to, the tie-rods I need to adjust, etc.:

My Warrior pictures from extreme sports photos on webshots

Thanks again everyone for your advice - Back to work on the quad, I'll let you know how I make out!

Cheers,
-Mike

 

Ok,

So I jacked her up yesterday and took the wheels off... It turn out those two circular "bolts" right at the end of the axle on the inside part of the wheel aren't actually bolts - they're not threaded, they just spin. Not quite sure what their purpose is!

But once I took the wheels off, I was able to take off one of the hubs (the nut on the other hub was seized - I'll have to give that one another shot later on... After taking off the hub, I realized there's just a little bit of "play" (a tiny bit of room) in between those circular bolt-looking things and the hub itself... So I put the hub back on, tightened it down as much as I could, and now that wheel doesn't wobble from side to side anymore. Hopefully I can fix the other side later on.

As for the main center axle hub bolts (to the LEFT of the axle hub) - the bigger one (closest to the hub) tightens clockwise, while the smaller, inner one (inside the bigger one and to the LEFT) tightens counter-clockwise...

So I got my two biggest wrenches and tightened the smaller one (turned counter clockwise) at the same time I tightened the larger one (turned it clockwise). I had the quad jacked up so I could make sure the axle still spun relatively freely. I tightened them as much as I could (until they started to affect the spin of the axle), and then loosened them just a bit.

Does this sound like the correct way to tighten these bolts? It seems to be fine now, I just want to be sure!

Wish I could find one of those Haynes or Clymer Repair Manuals for my Warrior - but I think it would be a good idea to determine the freakin' model year, first!

Off to the 9 to 5 - Thanks again for the advice everyone.

Cheers,
Mike