Well, I took the axle carrier off last night and one of the bearings is bad. The sleeve between the two bearings rattles around in the carrier. It's about 1/4" too short and is not giving any support to the bearings at all.

I spoke with raceway before I took the rear end apart and they said they would be sending out new bearings asap but they were not sure about a sleeve problem. They were going to contact Jetmoto about the sleve.

I should be able to make my own sleeve/spacer - should it be tight against the bushings with no play? Also - I haven't removed the bearings yet and I see that they have a rubber seal on them. Are these seals part of the bushings or are they seperate? Also, will Raceway send these (if seperate) with the bearings or do I have to ask for them?

So far, everything is going smooth. I'm hoping to have it back in the dirt for the kidos by the weekend.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I wonder if this problem was just with the second batch or just a few? Mine are from the first and I know I have not heard any of this noise from mine, Yet! But my axle nuts have not came lose! I just wish Jet would own up to problems and say hay we found this may be a problem so here is replacement sleeve so we don't have to replace everyones bearings!
The wife on her 150 and I may go out riding today up in the mountains before it snows, may be our last ride this year but hope not!

 

Yeah, it's quite a problem that should have been addressed.

I just got done talking to John at Raceway. He's getting the bearings (with seals) shipped out asap. He said he'll be talking to Jetmotto later on today about the sleeve/spacer. I'll post what I find out later incase anyone's interested.

***Have fun outofline !!!***

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>It's about 1/4" too short and is not giving any support to the bearings at all. </end quote></div>Bingo! Exact problem I had. You can replace the sleeve your self, just find a piece of pipe that just slides over the axle and is cut to the length of the bearing carrier. The inside diameter is the critical dimension and length. The outside dimension is less important as a thicker pipe just adds weight. Jetmoto has a length of pipe the proper dimensions as I was the one to be the gopher and get it for them when the problem occurred on mine a couple weeks back.

Ideally you can use a bearing puller to extract the bearings and seals which are separate pieces. If you are careful the seals should be fine but get new ones to be safe.

On another topic - Since your quad is new, make sure to go over every bolt/nut you can get a wrench on and make sure it is snug. It'll take a few trips to feel that you got them all but listen very closely for any kind of rattling, clinking, clanking, knocking sounds and chase it down to take care of it. My 150 is nearly silent now and running good, knock on wood.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>I wonder if this problem was just with the second batch or just a few? Mine are from the first and I know I have not heard any of this noise from mine, Yet! But my axle nuts have not came lose! I just wish Jet would own up to problems and say hay we found this may be a problem so here is replacement sleeve so we don't have to replace everyones bearings! </end quote></div>It seems the problem is with the latest (August) batch of 150's and if you have not had a problem yet, you are probably alright. It would show up pretty quickly as there is quite a bit of side pressure applied doing normal riding and if the sleeve was too short the bearings would have gotten hammered without the sleeve for support.

I thought the same thing - why not just send out notices and fixes when common problems arise. It certainly is the best thing to do but nobody does it. The only time this occurs is when an official recall is ordered and that is usually because of some serious safety issue. ATVs by nature are safety hazard so I think they have generally higher exception anyway. But it is just basic business 101 to just serve out the parts when a failure occurs as it costs the mfg the least amt of money. Either you pay more up front for better inherent build and parts quality or you pay less and suffer more flaws and earlier failures. The basic thing is if you send the fix to 100% of the sold units it costs alot more than to just those who have and report the problem within the warranty period. How many actually got short sleeves? Let's say 50%. It is sure cheaper to just send those fixes out. What if another 20% don't ride enough and get the problem until after the warranty expires. Now the mfg only has to fix 30%. If you were the mfg you would do the same thing. If you wanted to have less of these issues, then you sell a better quality product at a higher price to a different target market. Just pure, plain, simple capitalism at work. We made an informed decision and are experiencing exactly what should be happening. Hang in there! :-)

 

Update:

I talked to John at Raceway about the spacer/sleeve. It is suppose to be 5.188" in length. Mine is about 5". To get a new one will take about 3 weeks. I'd like to make one myself but to find pipe with the same I.D. is difficult. I can get standard 1" or 1.25" plumbing pipe which neither one matches the I.D. of what I need.

Windtrader, can you tell me what you used?

Thanks

 

Measure the diameter of the axle then call to a couple of the local metal suppliers. If you have a scrap metal recycler, that's even better. Remember the ID is more important than the OD. It'll cost you more in gas than the tubing. You are really looking for tubing rather than pipe, although either would work. When you make cut it make sure it is long enough to keep the bearings from pressing too much against the carrier. Mine is a tad longer so one of the bearings does not seat all the way in but it is fine. I'd rather they not get crushed. Good luck.

 

Thanks for everything windtrader, you've been a big help.

 

Ya know, I was working on my 150 yesterday and saw the 150's set up is different then the 250's and the 150 will not make the chain slap noise that we have experienced with the 250's as heard in my video. So I was wrong with my initial chain slap noise statement post for the 150. There is quite a bit of distant that it would take a very loose chain to hit any thing of the 150. Looks as if Jet did a good job in that respect because I know a lot of other Chinese 150's suffered from the chain rubbing the frame and wearing holes.
I have been working on eliminating rattles on my 150's, I tore the muffler apart and RTV'ed the arrestor (I think it's called) into the end caps and solved that rattle but I still have two rattles I just can't locate and it's driving me nuts!

 

I wonder if you could just preload the bearings correctly and not use a tube inside? I havnt seen this rear end, mine is the old style with ball bearings. I would think it would be like the front wheel bearings on a car. Tighten to seat the bearings and then back off about 1/8 to 1/4 turn. Is there a grease zerk on the rear end anywhere to fill the cavity with grease?