Have some play in my swingarm on my 99 Xplorer with 4500 miles on it.Called my dealer to see if he has any new ones in stock and he told me i could try to tighten them before buying new ones.

Jacked up the rear end with my chainblock and took off the 2 rear tires.Then i saw that there were 1 3/4 inch bolts and nuts that hold it together.I only had a 1 3/4 socket and tried tightening the one on the rear brake side but there is a small metal plate welded on the inside of the swingarm to keep the bolt from turning.I don't have a 1 3/4 wrench but can borrow one from the mill.Can someone explain how please.Thanks.

 

The bolts you see on the outer edge of the swing arm are not the ones you want to try and tighten. There are bolts that go through the frame into those bolts that you see.
The heads to those bolts are not reachable without removing body parts and the clutch box. The right side is easy to get to, the left side you can get to by pulling the back part of the clutch box back. Those bolts are 2" by the way. Im going through the same ordeal right now with my scrambler.

 

what a coincidence, me to, lol, what tools are required to get to the easy bolt...?

 

I use a 3/4" drive, 2" socket on a 2' long breaker bar. Its beefy enough to do the job but small enough to get in the tough spot. I found if you put a pipe on the breaker bar (say, 4' long) it makes it much easier to break them loose and to really tighten them back up. Other than that, common tools will get the job done.

 

what about one of those electric screwdrivers (or impact gun) with the bendy metal attachment that you can bend and get to tough spots? would the electric screw driver have enough power? and is there a torquing requirement? or just tighten the crap outta it?

 

SteveXplor,

On my 2001 Xplorer 400, the outer bolts that actually go through the frame had a 1-3/4" head, so I too used a 3/4" drive breaker bar with a 1-3/4" socket. The only 2" that I found were the ends of the swingarm......that holding brackets on the frame keep from turning while you tighten the outside ones up. On the right side, you must use both a 1-3/4" and the 2" to get the nut off.......once the swingarm is removed from the bike.

You will also find that the replacements will be plastic........I think this is the problem with them wearing out in the first place. Before you order new ones, I would take everything to a local machine shop and get him to make you some bronze bushings. That's what I did, and it is super tight.......and I don't inticipate having to do it again. I have money on the fact that your bushings have probably been loose for sometime now. If you have any specific questions about the bronze bushings, let me know. I think I paid around $70 to get them made.

Waylan

 

Waylan, Thanks for the advise,that's what i will do,but it will have to wait till 2002.I going on a ride saturday and don't like the feeling of my swingarm moving around back there,so i would like to tighten it up a little tommorow night.

Do i use the 1 3/4 inch socket to hold the bolt on the right side while i tighten the nut on the inside with a wrench? I don't think the socket will fit to tighten the nut.And how does it work on the other side?

Sorry for all the questions but if i know how to do it, it will go a lot faster.

Finish work at 6:00 pm and my wifes staff party is at 9:00 pm
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img]

Thanks again guys.

 

SteveXplor,

The bolt on the inside doesn't turn..........there's a holding plate cutout either machined into the frame or welded to the frame - that keeps the inside bolt from turning. The one on the outside of the frame is the one that gets tightened up. Mine wasn't loose at all, and I don't suspect that yours is loose. I had a fair amount of slack in mine.......when standing on the floorboards, you could rock the bike side to side and easily feel the slack allowing the bike to "wobble" back and forth. If I were you and wanted to ride for the weekend, I wouldn't keep the chain any tighter than 1" of slack in it. Less than that, and your chain is going to end up taking more abuse........I'll explain: Imagine that you have your bike completely suspended by the middle frame section, and you grab the back wheels. Instead of moving up and down, you move them side to side........in essence, you are moving the rear sprocket closer and farther from the front sprocket. If you adjust your chain to Polaris' recommended slack adjustment (concentric drive) of 1/4" to 3/8" slack, you can then move the rear wheels side to side again, and notice that the chain will get completely tight. So when you hit bumps and other similar stuff, your chain (instead of the bushings) will limit the maximum distance between the sprockets. This all boils down to rapid chain stretching. Run 1" of slack, and the bushing will be what is taking the abuse.........as it is supposed to.

Hope this helps,

Waylan