Are the rear bearings covered under the Bombardier Warranty? If not, are they covered under extended warranty? I was going to go for a ride today but when I changed my tires over to the Knobbies I noticed that my Axle was sliding in and out and up and down a good quarter of an inch. And it looks like there is some grease oozing out of it. The quad is only 9 months old. IF I have to fix it myself does anyone know how much the parts are? And how big of a pain in the Butt is it to do the work? If someone could give me some Ideas by later this morning it would be great, because I will take it to my local dealer tommorow on my day off so I can get it back by This next weekend. Thanks.

 

I doubt warranty will cover it, but try.
Have you checked your axle nut, it may just be loose. The bearings are tapered, for greater side loading endurance, and will have play if loose because of this. If tapered bearings are ran loose, they will be damaged. I suggest try snugging the axle nut - don't crank it tight or bearings will be damaged. See if everything spins nice. If so, then remove bearings to clean and repack, then put back together snug again and your set. If they don't spin well after snugging the axle nut, they are toast, possibly from being ridden with a loose nut, and will need replaced. If you replace them, replace seals too.
Its not hard, the biggest pain is removing the left side wheel hub to slide the axle out of the carrier - its torqued at 180ft.lbs.

 

Thanks Hightower I will give it a look.

 

They should be covered. The only thing my warranty does not cover are perishable parts(clutch, brake pads, tires, chain, shocks, ect). In the warranty is says it covers "rear wheel bearings and swing arm bearings/bushings" .

 

The bearings will be covered under warranty but try adjusting the nut first. Mine came loose the first time out and I was in the sand all weekend. No sand ever made it into the bearings and there was no damage to the bearings. Tapered roller bearings are very durable and forgiving, its very unlikely that there is any damage from being loose. The biggist concern is dirt getting past the seals while loose but considering the grease oozed out its not likely that any dirt got in.

If you take it to the dealer, you stand a very good chance of not getting it back in time for FSW!!!!

Also, there was a couple of posts on this subject about a month ago, with plenty of great info. do a search on axle bearings or rear axle

 

Well it seems that my axel nut had just loosened up on me. I don't beleive it was grease from my bearingsI saw either I think it is just some nasty sticky chain lube residue. Book says to tighten to 97 ft. lbs from hand tightened. But I read some where you should back it off and retighten to 40 lbs.? Does this sound right to anyone?

 

Yeah, the 2000/2001 DS Service bulletin says the same thing .97ft/lbs bearing pre-load then back off to 40ft/lbs.

 

whatever you do... make sure it's tight before you take it to the dealer.
If it's not, they'll point out the "pre-ride" checklist and show YOU that YOU should have checked it.
If the bearings failed and it was tight, then, it's warranty. Tighten that nut!
ALSO, it might be a good idea to put a line with a marker on the nut housing and axle to be able to quickly ID if it moved. (same with the eccentric chain adjust housing)
-T
PS: The tires are bitchin!