Guys, I have a 2003 Sportsman 500 HO. I just changed the strut cartridges (yes they are the correct ones) and I have taken this thing apart at least four times trying to get the front end to stop "clunking" every time the struts extend all the way! I have all of the hardware on properly and it is driving me crazy. I was wondering if simply moving the strut cartridge up in the housing instead of being bottomed out would help. I am really struggling with this and any help would be appreciated.

John

 

You can try moving the cartridge up a little in the strut and will even sit up a little higher in the front,but still might clunk when you extend the front end up unless you have a loose/warn ball joint or slack in the a-arm bushings that may be making the noise. The clunk usually is just when the shaft hits the stop at the top of the cartridge body itself. I've done this on brand new ones out of the crate. OPT

 

OPT, thanks for your reply this thing is driving me crazy! The ball joints are good and the front A-arm bushings are good as well and I have pin pointed it to the stops. I will try to raise the cartridge a little in the housing and see where that goes. I am assuming that all I would need to do is loosen the two retainer bolts with the unit in the air and simply control the amount that the cartridge drops... Does that sound about right?

John

 

Problem is if you loosen the two bolts the cartridge will jump up and might be a bit of trouble to get both sides even. Been through this before. Best to swing the strut out from the mounting tab on the frame, remove the nut and spring retainer plate,then you can slide the cartridge up and using a tape measure, slide it up from the open end of the strut bottom to make sure each side has the same distance that you want,then reassemble. OPT

 

OPT, thanks once again for your advice, I am hoping this takes care of my issue.

John