I took it out again today and it ran excellant.I did notice some water in the sediment drain tube of the air box,about 1 inch of the tube had water in it.I dont have a clue where the water is coming from.I cleaned the air box.I got a feeling the water is coming in from the emission tube that goes to the right side of the air box.Im very POSITIVE that I did'nt go thru ANY water at ANY time.So I'll just keep my eye on it for awhile.I even had this problem before I had the engine re-done.====BILL

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Bill, do you closely examine your machine after every ride? Lol! Just joking. I suppose I would too if I had a machine with those kinds of problems too.

For all you guys with tie rod problems, what exactly is happening to them? Are they breaking, or do they just get too loose? We've never had any problems with the tie rod ends on any of ours we have now or previously owned, unless you're talking about getting loose. Ours has a grease zerk on the tie rod ends, this must help for wear and tear by the way you guys sound.

 

ROOSTER,well you could say I am watching the Sportsman pretty close.I just want it to be like everyone else's.You know the word-DEPENDABLE.Tie-rods?If you notice play in your steering when you are just sitting on the quad and it is not moving,99% chance the tie-rods have play in them.Tyr it and see if the steering wheel moves about one half inch or so and the wheels dont turn with the steering.You got lucky,you have grease fittings on yours.What year is yours?====BILL

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You know this is strang to me to on the tie rod problems. I had one get loose on my old 300 and I thought it was the rod end but it turned out to be the nut had slightly backed off. I tighted it up and no more problems. It by the way has no grease fittings so I grease the rod ends with a needle. My 425 had grease fittings as does my Magnum 500. I have replaced a few ends on other peoples machines .some with the stock replacements others with the one that Dennis Kirk sells that are made by Erlanderson. They are really good quality pieces that have Grease fittings on them. I know I am a little more maintanace minded than most people so that may contribute to me having so few problems with my machines over the years.

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Kevin Gowdy aka Kagey 1999 Polaris Magnum 500

 

Bill, I like your topic you started, it's coming along real nicely! Ok, we have a '97 Sportsman 500, and yes, there is play in the steering when it is just sitting and I wiggle the bars. In fact, I thought that was how all Polaris quads were. I have a lot of relatives with Xplorer and Sportsmans, and they are all loose, they come like that from the factory. Seriously, I have never seen one with no play in it. Ours was like that right when we got it. I just consider that normal on ours and just keep riding it like it is, it isn't noticeable when riding, just that when showing people the machine it don't make it look as good as far as quality goes. On the older Trailbosses, they have the bottom bearing for the steering stem fastened to the frame with pop rivets. That's where most of the play would come from on those models, so on one I drilled them out and put some small bolts (with lock washers)in, and it tightened it up some, plus made it stronger. Honda does a good job of keeping their steering tight. On my bro's '93 300EX, the steering had absolutely no play whatsoever in it, it was the same as the new ones. I can't believe it didn't have any in it after all those years of riding! I took a look at how they mount the bottom of their steering stem. They have a bearing holder built right into the frame, so there is nothing that can come loose. When the bearing wears, just pop it out and put a new one in! Polaris: follow with a design like that!

 

ROOSTER,you better be taking a look at the Tie-Rods my friend,sounds to me like they are loose.=====BILL

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Bill, we don't worry about it. If we would replace them, in a couple rides they would be the same way. Its a never ending thing, and also a crappy design in Polaris's part.

 

Rooster,I understand what your saying,but please remember if they get REAL LOOSE, and BREAK,you'll loose your steering in that wheel.Just keep an eye out for EXCESSIVE looseness.My next tie-rods will be from Erlandson with the grease fittings.====BILL

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Damn, something else to spend money on! Ive been noticing play in my steering too. Noticed it when changing brake pads.

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Ronnie Crecelius Xpedition 425

 

Its time for us to be pro-active in respect to finding a fix for our poor quality tie-rod-ends. Obviously Polaris has no intentions of designing a quality component for us to substitute and it seems like the after market companies are not that interested either. So the way I see it it's up to us. I'm sure if we all pool our resources and creative juices we can come up with something much better than what we have now.
First off the problem must be properly identified, that is the tie-rod-ends wear too quickly, from most of the Polaris quads I have looked at including mine the tie-rod-ends last about 500 miles before they become loose.
Second the lower steering bushing is also a poor quality component.
I believe there are a few after market components already in existence that work very well, one that I know of is from HPD out of East Bethel MN and the part# is SPB for $34.95.
The tie-rod-ends are a different story, the only options I know of are:
Ranger 6x6 tie rod ends as suggested by Loyal. Has anybody tried this? Was it successful?
As Bill mentioned, Dennis Kirk sells an after market ends. Are these good quality? Anyone know how long they will last?
Another option is an automotive replacement (which may require some modification).
I am trying to locate a fellow from Calgary who did a conversion using Honda tie-rod-ends. As I live 180 miles away it will have to wait until my next visit to that town before I can do a follow up.
This should get the ball rolling. If anyone has an idea of how to solve these problems or has tried and was unsuccessful we need to know about it so please post them here. I will keep a list of the suggestions/solutions and will post it periodically.
Dave Formstone
98 SP500 EBS.