Getting my 96 sportsman 400L 4x4 ready for winter. I noticed the right front outter tie rod end is rubbing on the inside of the tire. The rubber around the ball joint is rubbed off and the inside of the tire is shiny. There is no play in the hub, all tie rods and ball joints seem tight. The wheeler drives straight, no clunking or noises. Air pressure is around 10 psi in the tire. I swapped hub, tires, and bearings from the good side to the bad side, this did not fix the problem. There is about 1/4" gap between the ball joint and tire on the good side. The tires are orginal factory tires. I did find the cv boot strap was missing on the rubbing side and the cv joint was fulll of water and crap. I bought this used last year and I don't remember if it has rubbed from when I got it or not. What am i missing?

I did notice that my two strut mounts are different, is this normal (see links below)?

Go here to see the strut mount that has the tire that rubs
http://webpages.charter.net/vogt2/bad%20copy.jpg

Go here to see the strut mount that does not rub
http://webpages.charter.net/vogt2/good%20copy.jpg

I realize I could just space the wheel, but I don't want to bandaid a problem.

 

No, that is not normal. I see the difference too. There should be a casted number on the housing. I would get the "good" number and go to Polaris and order the opposite side part number. I've never seen one with the "step out" like that. If you feel like doing research, try this link, make sure the first thing that you do is "CHANGE VEHICLE" I have it saved as my quad! You will the have to adjust the "new" side tie rod length, it will need to be shortened. You could always try eBay, there is usually these kind of parts on there. Good luck!!!!!!!

 

I looked at the casting numbers on the strut mounts, the one that is rubbing has the last digit different than the good one by one, seems to be correct. I really am lost as to what could be wrong.

 

Yeah, me too now.