I was at my local Polaris dealer today investigating the upgrade of my Sportsman tie-rod-ends. On the floor was a 2000 Sportsman which was fitted with Hem joints instead of ball joints. The mechanic (even though he has never done this) could see no reason why this upgrade could not be fitted to earlier Sportsman. The thread size and physical size looks to be the same. The mechanic believes that this is the same tie-rod-end that is now fitted to the Polaris Ranger unfortunately this could not be verified as the part # could not be found and he didn't have a Ranger on the floor to look at. Anyway for those who are interested the part # for the 2000 SP tie-rod-ends is 7061054 at a cost of $43:00 CAD (about $30:00 US). As soon as I have $100 to spare I will be changing mine to Hem joints, probably in the spring. This could be the fix we have been looking for. If anybody has tried this or is thinking of it please post it here.
Dave Formstone
98 SP500 EBS

 

I recently had my dealer order tie rods and ends for my 95 Sport. They were off one of the new atvs that had beefier ones than I had. I don't know if these are the ones you are complaining about or the ones that fix the problem. In 95, they were wimpy and would flex and bend at the threads. I put them on a few weeks ago and the only problem I had was the one end needed a body bound bolt or a pocket (with mounting support above and below the end), as the tie rod end does not have a threaded bolt as part of it. It has a hole, kind of like a female tie rod end. The ones I replaced both had a mounting screw in a sealed ball. I put the new ones on with the male type on the strut, as the old one was. The female or open one I put on the steering shaft mount with a 3/8 fine thread bolt, washer, and castle nut. I drilled a hole in the bolt for a cotter pin to keep it from backing out after tightening. So far so good, but if it comes loose more than once, its getting a top plate over both ends on the steering mount and the next step would be to weld or bolt that to the stem.

 

That’s a good tip Dave, thanks. If it’s not too much trouble could you describe what a Hem joint is? I have no idea.

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River

 

I was hoping to avoid describing the difference but here goes. (I tried typing something up yesterday and when I read it back to myself I figured nobody would know what the hell I am trying to say).
As you probably know a ball joint has a vertical stud with a ball on the end. The ball is fitted into a tight tolerance pocket machined into a fairly substantial piece of bar stock with female threads in the end of it, which screw onto the end of the tie rod. This allows the ball joint to rotate in any direction, which allows for the wheel travelling up/down and side to side.
The Hem joint is the centre section of a ball (about ˝ a ball with two flat parallel sides) with a hole drilled through its centre. This ˝ ball is fitted into a tight tolerance piece of bar stock with a female thread in the end the same as the ball joint for connecting it to the tie-rod. The difference is that the half ball with hole in it is mounted to the steering arm (on the Macferson strut) via a bolt through the centre hole. (It is similar to a ball joint only instead of a stud mount it has a bolt that goes through the ball) The Hem joint looks to be a more substantial piece of hardware.
For those of you with Sportsman (I don't know if all Polaris's are the same) the inner steering joint on the other end of the tie-rod is a "Hem" joint. It connects the tie-rod to the steering column and is covered with a thin rubber boot.
If this makes sense to you, great, if not I will try again.
Dave Formstone
98 Sportsman EBS

 

DF,
Yeah, thats what I was thinking about... Heim Joints can be bought thru Summit Racing Equipment because they are used in rear chassis setups on race cars.. I'm sure that if they will hold up to 1000 h.p. race cars, they can turn the front end on my Polaris..lolol

 

I ad ordered a new set of front tie-rod ends and when I went to pick them up (a few months ago) I noticed the new '00 Scrambler had what looked like the beffier tie-rod ends. If I would have known before I paid/ordered for my '99 model parts, I would have tried them.

One of my inner end, that you say is a hem joint, is a little loose. So I wonder if it really helps much or not.

 

Thanks for making the effort Dave. Without seeing one I still know more than I did before so it was helpful.

Last weekend I just installed new outer tie rod ends on both our quads (’99 SP500 & Mag500). The next time (probably at about 500 miles) I’ll be looking seriously at using the Hem Joints. If they fit I’ll try’em.

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River

 

The things you can find on the internet ..
<a href="http://home.earthlink.net/~rponiarski/carand.htm">Technical Glossary. Part I</a>
Every automotive term you wanted to know about--but were afraid to ask.
BY CSABA CSERE
..."heim joint--an extremely rigid articulating joint, commonly
known as a "spherical rod-end," used in any precision linkage. Heim joints are often used in the suspension links of race cars because they locate
wheels very precisely."

history .. more than you ever wanted to know.


Tim

 

Prospector, that sure beats the hell out of my discription. Thanks that's great stuff you found and a picture to-boot.
You people with 00 Sportsman how are your tie-rod-ends standing up? and how many miles do you have on your quad?
If we could get some feedback from 2000 SP owners that would be a great help for the rest of us.
Dave Formstone
98 SP500 EBS

 

Thanks Tim, that looks almost too normal, simple, reliable. I’m guessing it might not have quite the range of travel that the “ball & socket” joint does, but all it needs is enough for the application.

I just pulled back the protective boot on one of my defective tie rod ends and I can’t tell for sure without cutting the socket in half, but there’s no evidence of a “sleeve” or lubricated material between the ball and socket. If that’s true then it would rely on lubricant to relieve the stress and wear of metal to metal contact. To produce a joint like this without the ability to grease it would seem to be gross negligence on somebody’s part.

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FloodRunner, on the Wisconsin River