Hello as I had said before thinking on adding a polaris to the fleet okay then the wife wants one or thinks she is getting one. Well anyway I was reading about the tie rod troubles some had been having, anyway I went to the polaris dealer and took him a copy of the forum and explained to him to read it after reading it I explained to him that some of the readers had suggested using the needle method to grease it he showed me that the newer tie rod ends you could just pull the end back to fill it with grease. He also showed me that on some of the newer 2000 models had the new tie rod ends so look for this if you are looking for a sportsman like I am. Anyway he told me some of the problems with the front end was some people forget how to ride (I then had this strange look on my face as I scratched my head) He then explained to me as people get more relaxed at riding they start sitting back farther on the seat??? what does everybody think of this theory???? Anyway he told me since the new introduction of the tie rod ends no one has been having any trouble well lets hear what do you all think of this....

 

Well like you I have heard about the tierod problems and I am taking the tierod ends off, taking them to work and having them drilled and tapped, putting a grease zerk on them to see if this will prolong the life of them, even though I have had no trouble for them.

 

Tie rods? You're worried about a little thing like tie rods? They are meant to be replaced and every ATV will need them someday! When I'm out riding I like to throw caution to the wind and go. But if I had to worry about stuff it might take all the fun out of it. That's why I ride, to forget my troubles, not come up with new ones. All kidding aside don't sweat the small stuff, get out and ride! Fix everything in it's own time
and your stuff will never be broken.

 

Siting farther back causes tie rod failure?? If anything it should lessen the weight on the front end allowing easier steering, hence less wear on tie rod ends. Just my 2cents

 

ATVing,I have had 3 or 4 sets on my 99 Sportsman since new.I e-mailed Polaris and bitched about the continued tie rod problems and told them I felt there ought to be a re-call on them.I told them if it were a Honda and they were having problems,Honda would certainly not pawn the expense off on their customers,they'd do a recall.You dont even want to know what Polaris response was.They told me loose tie rods were most usually caused by rider neglect.WHAT THE FUC?How does someone neglect something that they cant grease?I mean,my tie rods were NEVER EVER bent,just loose.You go figure.=======BILL

 

I’m on my third set of outer tie rod ends in 2300 miles (99 SP500). My wife’s Mag 500 is on her second set in 700 miles. That’s BS. Both machines use the same part number. I’ve started “stocking” a pair of outer tie rod ends so I’ll have them when I need them; ridiculous.

The last ends I bought for “stock” were the new style for ’99 ½ > Sportsman. If you’re going to go this way you’ll also need to order the bolt, 2 washers per side and the castlated nut. I haven’t installed them yet but I do have one concern. They are bigger than the ball & socket ends and I already have very little clearance between the right rod end and the inside of my 26x9 Mud Runner on the stock wheel. To use these larger ends I may have to go to a wider wheel to spread the tire out more. Always something.

Anyway, if you buy your machine to ride it and it has the old style outer rod ends on it you can expect to be replacing them regularly. That ain’t right.

 

You may want to re-think that idea about tie rods not being a big deal. I understand they are made to be replaced, but my 99 SP335 with 175 miles on it has both tie rod ends completely worn out, and my 00 SP500 with 88 miles on it are going fast. When you go to make a turn on a 7 month old machine that only gets ridden on the weekends, and a tie rod pops off and your wife goes over an embankment because of crappy equipment sold by polaris, and they DO know about the problem. They should just fix the gd problem instead of just saying they are working on it...For a year.........

 

You got that right Bill... I called them for a week straight and BITC*** about it. All they could say was that they new they were bad. They offered not one bit of help..

 

Funny, i just replaced the tie rod ends on my 85 trail boss, i've been riding it hard for the last 2 years, and i don't know how it was taken care of before then. When i say replaced, i mean stole some off a old snowmoblile and kinda retrofitted them.