I bought 03 Predator 500 a month ago, some kid had ragged it out bad,
so I've been going thru it to get it back in decent shape. I haven't bought
a service manual yet so I thought I would ask a couple questions.

I had it up on the lift last night and noticed that the rear axle is loose
in the swingarm.

Is it common for the bearings and seals to fail in 18 months?

Are the bearings most likely worn out or is there a way to tighten them?

What kind of bearings are on it. Caged rollers, sealed rollers, tapered timkens,
caged *****??? Am I looking at buying bearings and races?

I noticed it has a cir clip on the brake side, I guess you pop that off
and remove the axle out the sprocket side?

Should I go thru the Polaris dealer for replacement bearings or get the
numbers off the bearings and buy them thru a bearing supplier.
I haven't had a chance to call around yet, what should I expect to pay.

I was preping it for a cross country race this weekend, if I can't replace the
bearings before the race, do you think I could just pump the swingarm cavity
full of grease and go fo it? These bearings are real loose, I'm talking about
a 1/4" slop up and down.

Does it take a puller to get the hubs off the axle?

Don't flame me, I'm not stupid I just haven't had a chance to look
at it close, I found this problem late last night and had to be at work
a 6 this AM.

Thanks, Bo

 

18 months before the bearings go? you got lucky... mine were gone after 4... they tend to go through them often ive found.
they are a tapered bearing. and yes.. it comes out the sprocket side.
as for price... i cant remember what they were... but i couldnt get the clip of for the life of me and i ended up breaking the axel nut!!!
i rode mine with the bad bearings for a while... not a good idea...

 

Thanks Hozed,

Must be a poor design or seal or something if they are going out that quick.
The local dealer said ~~ $75 total for 2 races/bearings/seals and the o-ring.
Price don't sound too bad but he said it would take him a week to get em.
I think I might check with a bearing supply house and compare availability
and price.

Anybody else got any input into this job before I disassemble it. Do the wheel hubs
knock off pretty easy.

Thanks, Bo

 

ya.. the hubs come off pretty easy... with a BFH!
75$ sounds right i think... cant remeber what i paid.

 

Hey HOZED,

What happened to the 2000 Thread? Got a message saying it had been moved, and when I went there to look, it said error 103? I liked that thread.

Lukester

 

i think that means it got deleted...

 

It was good while it lasted.

 

i didnt get to see the last like 15 posts!!!! the last thing i posted was about that girl... lol

 

FYI, When I started to disassemble the rearend I found that there is an adjustment for
the bearings. I loosened the pinch bolt in the axle nut and tightened up the bearings.
I ran a cross country race this weekend with no problems.

Bo

 

really??? dammit... i wish i hadda known that when i did mine...