Hey everyone whats up. Yesterday I changed an upper a-arm and some bushings on a raptor. Its all fixed now but it sucked. My problem was with the upper bolt, the 11" long one. I got the nut off easily but the bolt would not come out. It would rotate freely but would not slide at all. I tried hitting the end of it with a hammer, with blocks of wood, everything and got nothing. I could not hit it direct due to the frame. I finally managed to hammer a screwdrive in between the head of the bolt and the mounting location and was able to pry the bolt out. My question then...Is this normal or should I replace the metal tube that the bolt resides in? Should they just slide right out? Should that tube be lubed up with lots of grease? The grease fitting on the a-arm does not lubricate where the bolt is since the tube is sealed. Thanks yall.

 

I'm not trying to insult your intellegence...but did you take the front bumper off first?? The bolt will hit the bumper when trying to remove it, otherwise, mine pulls out easily by hand....[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

Question #2. Did you take the load off the shock? If not then there was pressure on the pivot tube which in turn means there was pressure on the bolt pinching it in place.

 

I had a very similar situation - mine rotated but was pretty much stuck in the tube. Seems some corrosion built up and locked it up. I finally got it out but not without a fight. Shock and bumber off. Grease it up real good when ya put it back together.

 

Ok, to clarify things I have a brain, and I am not a moron. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] I hope anyway haha. With that said, yes the bumper was off. In my post I stated I could rotate the bolt but it would not slide. The shock was undone and the load was off of the a-arm. I guess it just got too much crap in there as the tube was rusty. I suppose the river will do it to the quad. I just wanted to see if it happend before or not, I guess it was just a lack of lubrication and a combination of the sand from the river. Thanks for the replies.

 

Mine were not lube AT ALL from the factory.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img]

I would replace the bushing if you can. The one that is in it now is more than likey rusted/corroded up just like the bolt. I can't remember the upper a-arms having bushings for some reason though.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

lube...lube and lube. wait till you have to work on your swingarm pivot bolt. lol i don't know what the going rate for grease in Japan is...but they're not very liberal with it. I learned long ago...as soon as you buy a new machine...assume nothing is lubed and do it yourself. i also disconnect every single electrical connection and Pack them with di-electric Grease.

evry other week i re-lube all the zerks ( 4-6 rides ). i pump fresh grease until i see rasberry jam.

 

Mine did the same thing. The bolt was seized to the sleeve. What a pain in the butt.

I welded a slide hammer to a pair of vice grips and then got the vice grips on the bolt. It worked OK but it still took a while!

Glad you got yours sorted out.

Coate the bolt and the inside of the sleeve with Anti Seize compound. It lasts longer than grease.

 

LMAO haha. Thanks for the replies. Welded vice grips to a slide hammer, man that is some classic stuff, very smart idea, but hilarious if you ask me [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Anyway, yah I found no trace whatsoever of any type of lubricant in there. I think when I put on the aftermarket arms i'm just gonna get new bolt tubes, bolts and the whole deal. Thanks yall.

 

Thanks for the tip Air. You and mettec lol [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]