98 explorer 400...noticed today that my bars/pod will raise up/drop a little. Just enough to feel a slight "clunk" if I lift hard, if I had to guess, 1/4"...What to tighten/replace or is as it simple as greasing the zerk?

 

by the looks theres a nut on the bottom of the steering post. check to see if its not loose. it wouldnt hurt to grease the steering post either.

 

The nut Stendori is talking about is a castle nut, and should have a cotter pin locking it in place. There is a nylon bushing just above the nut that carries the bottom of the steering post. I'll bet dollars to donuts that this bushing is worn out.

 

what jodaanja said..........its a fun little booger to change also.

 

Yup, what last 2 said. the bushing is gone. It's pretty common. My 99 scrambler does it, 96 the sport does, and my buddies 95 300L does it really bad.

 

yup happened on my 96 scrambler,
now what you havent been told yet is the solution..


http://www.hpd-inc.com/400model.htm


scroll down about 3/4 of the way, and your savior is there,
you will need to drill out the holes in the bracket a tiny bit, you will need a dremel, or right angle grinder type deal.

Up top (under the clamps)

is probably shot too.. EPI or Hot seat or maye rick ritter makes a hard bushing kit for up there,
I just bought the stockers off bikebandit.com (cheapcycleparts.com is cheaper, but for 1 part shipping might come to more than bb)
Also, check the steering shematics on this site, replace any of the little crap that gets worn out, its all cheap, and it will make a big difference,

Check out the HPD steering stabilizer / damper its right next to the bushing in the first link i sent, its SICK

 

ahh poo, you said xplorer didnt you

hmmm

cheapcycle parts.com order all the stock stuff..

im sure EPI or somthing makes bushings for you, or maybe the HPD stuff will work, i dunno

 

I'd spend the extra an get the aftermarket bushing. Metal instead of the plastic that the oem uses.

 

on my 500 scrambler it was not the bearings it was a bracket behind the gas tank that had two rubber gromets that were bad dunno if your quad has the same or not

 

Well, the nut was loose. the cotter pin must have sheared off on both ends leaving the remains wedged in the hole. Wow was that pin hard to get out, not much room to maneuver. Didn't pull the bushing, just tightened the nut, reinstalled a new cotter and greased. Like new.

Not sure how that cotter came out/sheared, but it did. Just happy I noticed now in the comfort of my garage than on the trail 20 miles in the middle of no where! I could see that nut coming all the way off without the cotter. Go to pop the front end over a log....steering column might end up in the lap, could get ugly in a hurry.

Thanks for the heads up, if I have any future issues I know where to look for the bushing(BB), good schematics.