well as far abuse goes you should ride w/ us some time and you'll see some lol. i have 27's on my 800 and i just got stuck earlier today pulling 2 wheelers out (sp 500 and honda forman) together and actually my xtrs dug right thru hard packed sand to the frame. i actually got them out w/ the winch, but then couldnt get out(from not lack of tring) and ended up being pulled out w/ a sp 700 winch he almost pulled him self over frontwards upside down into me. ( good reflexs on his part) point is ( i know long one) i never had any breakage or problems. and yes i do jump it a little and whhelie it as well. now thats abuse.

 

I hate to hear that you are having problems. I have been pulling logs, stumps, and large limbs out of the woods with both my 800 and the X2 and have had no problems. I have pulled probably 4000 pounds and have to ride some pretty rough virgin woods driving over downed trees and haven't had a problem. I have heard of the bolts breaking but I have never seen one. It does make me a little paranoid so I check them as a part of my post ride clean up. Hope that you can get it fixed correctly.

 

Well, I have to admit I’m at a loss to explain your breakage. The least comforting thing anyone can be told when parts fail is “you’re the only one that’s ever happened to.” I feel for you but man, you’ve busted those bolts on more than one machine!?!?! I don’t get it. Those huge bushings in the bottom of that setup protect the bolt from shear stress so the only stress they can suffer from is tension. I’d believe you could strip the threads before you’d pull the bolt in half. I’ve never ever seen or heard of this problem until this thread. Sorry, not trying to make you feel worse by any means but the design has been good to me for many tens of thousands of miles. Hope you can get it resolved.

Your story has a familiar ring to it though. When I used to own Max amphibious vehicles (I owned two four passenger models over a 15 year period) I felt the same way. Axles broke, sprockets broke, transmissions would lock in forward or reverse, splines failed, axle bearings failed constantly……. it was a nightmare. My first was a ’93 and I was convinced it was a lemon so I traded it on a ’97 (both bought new) that was supposedly far better built and addressed all the problems I was having. Not even close. It suffered the same problems and more. I was afraid to even drive it a half mile on a gravel road because I’d have to spend a half day fixing it. What a piece of junk. On the ’93 I went through 27 axle bearings in three years. The two happiest days of my life as related to Max machines were the day I bought my first one and the day I sold my last one. All the while the dealer told me “we never see ANY failures like you’re having, never!” (read that ABUSE!) I drove that thing as carefully as I could specifically to avoid breakage and it still broke all the time.

Blame it on the moon and stars, I don’t know. I used to get flamed every time I’d mention my Max problems on the 6x6 forums, like I was making it up to bash the brand or intentionally driving the thing off cliffs. So I empathize with your frustration but can’t find the fault you do in the design.

 

On my 02 500HO i broke one of the rear bolts and the dealer couldn't believe it since they are isolated by the bushings and are supposedly grade 8-they are not! i replaced all of my rear a-arm bolts with true grade 8 from hardware store and have put lots of miles on them since then and no more failures. i had to replace the whole carrier when it snapped off at the hub-no way to get it out-plus they are threadlocked from the factory. it has happened to a few other guys i have bumped into in the woods-it is a common problem with the sportsmans in my area.

 

Sounds like it might be worth replacing those lower bolts with Grade 8ers. It’s certainly fast, easy and cheap enough to do. I’d put a little blue thread locker on them though, like the factory does.

 

This is a common problem on these machines. Polaris started using bigger bolts on the newer quads to try to solve the problem.

The newer ones with the bigger bolts don't break as often as the older ones.

 

Funny...I haven't been here in a couple of weeks. I check this thread.......and bing.

Mine broke last week. Same thing. I've got about 1650 miles. Lower rear a-arm broke the rear bolt and caused the front lower A-arm itself to shear right off at its bolt connction....or vise/versa.... I don't know which happened first but it was "catstrophic" because it also caused my inner CV to pull apart when the wheel kicked out. This is an expensive one. New axle, new hub, new A-arm and all the hardware.

Aside from this the machine has been bullet-proof.

The trails I ride are particularly abusive in that they are rutted/rooted/rocky. I'm certain that the continuous jarring and stress of this terrain figured into the equation but I still have to think it shouldn't happen if properly designed and manufactured.

Ohh..BTW...'Instigater'......I wouldn't run out and get a Griz. I ride with several Grizzlies. They break rear axles like toothpicks. Big time weakness on that machine.

 

Over 300 miles on mine and I did run into a tree for real and no problems. When I hit the tree (which was fallen I should add) I was going about 30-35 mph down hill in a heavily logged area and did not see the tree sticking out in the trail. It was like playing joust [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

The plastic fender well over my rear tire did get cracked. But other than that she is fine. I have pulled wood around (most likely a 1000 lbs in a single haul). I have been over some serious terrain. No problems. The only problem I have is more of my own complaint and that is she does feel a bit tippy if I get on a REAL steep hill. Had that happen today going up a kelly hump which was up hill. Made me a bit nervous. But from a mechanical perspective no problems here.

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Hope your dealer takes care of you like they should. If they don't, call up Polairs. People need to report dealers who do not honor their commitments.

 

I had the bolts back out before ruining the threads in the hub I put heilicoil in. I always check the bolts before we go riding

 

Well, I am a cooled off a little now, especially after people admit this happens to them too. Nothing worse than "Nope, never heard of that!"

For the Grizz idea... doubt that will happen. I do know that the axles are there weak link though. Thanks!

Floodrunner...Not trying to argue here but, I believe that the bushing should be 1/2 in the arm and 1/2 in the hub. Make the bushing longer if needed. If the axle shaft is a concern, they could add material to the outside portion of the hub and widen the arm to accomodate the repair. As it is now, the bushing is less than 3/16" in the hub.

Here is why this is a bad design. I have put serious thought into this and I believe the bushing rocks up and down in the hub a little at a time weakening the bolt until it breaks. For you JUMPERS out there, think about it for a second... you got 800lbs. of quad, plus you, coming down on this barely seated bushing. Ok, I just thought of something... imagine if you will... imagine bolting the bushing inplace at the hub without the arm. Then use a jack and lift up on the bushing, then start jumping on the quad. I know this is not exactly the same, but I am trying to explain my rocking theory. This rocking has to be the cause IMO. I say this because one time while cleaning my old quad, I noticed that the washer was domed. The center was where it should be and the outer edge of the washer was seperated from the bushing. The bolt was tight too. I just removed the washer and flatened it and flipped it over on install! If the bushing went in farther, there would be less radial movement possible and the rocking would be eliminated. When the bushing rocks in the hub, it is bending the bolt back and forth, we all now that metal will eventually break.

Maybe by replacing the bolts twice a year, I can eliminate the stressed bolt problem! Something to ponder! Grade 8's...most definitely! Sorry so lengthy, I try to explain things very well, as to eliminate misunderstandings!

For you guys with no problems... Ride On, I'll catch up when I get mine back![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]