Another bent pivot arm bracket/shaft

[MitchRS]

Hello Everyone,

Over the weekend I was installing my new Pivot arm in hopes to having my track all back up and in place for the upcoming season but then came across another bent pivot bracket and shaft. This pivot bracket holds the first set of center wheels at the front of the skid.

My question is, I want to try to bend it back straight and wondering if I should attempt to bend the shaft and pivot arm together or separately?

Thank you for any help and guidance.

 

[RobX-1]

Good lord, two pivot arm brackets bent? Was the previous owner a retired sumo wrestler and his wife?

I've always been leery of straightening bent stuff as I'd be concerned it's been compromised and would bend again. Then again, I'm not the one with the checkbook either.

 

[MitchRS]

Good lord, two pivot arm brackets bent? Was the previous owner a retired sumo wrestler and his wife?

I've always been leery of straightening bent stuff as I'd be concerned it's been compromised and would bend again. Then again, I'm not the one with the checkbook either.

You're telling me! The previous owner was a pretty big guy and told me he would ride with his wife often, she seemed to be more of an average size when I met her. What I've noticed by digging in this thing is that he took a lot of shortcuts, I've found missing hardware, washers or bushings missing and such. It's been a really big mess but I wouldn't of known without digging into it.

I've spent close to 2K getting this thing back up to stock by purchasing all my parts through Partzilla. Both the pivot and shaft aren't currently in stock so I'd have to call them to see if they can indeed get them for me if I were to replace them.

I agree that if I bend it back that it'll most likely be compromised but at this point I'm kind of trying to save a bit of money if I can. I was thinking of heating up the pivot with the shaft inside and bending them together.

I also noticed that there's missing bushings where the shaft runs through the control rods, then the shock absorber has a lot of play near the bottom portion closer to the track so I need to take that apart and see what's missing there as well...

 

[MitchRS]

Good lord, two pivot arm brackets bent? Was the previous owner a retired sumo wrestler and his wife?

I've always been leery of straightening bent stuff as I'd be concerned it's been compromised and would bend again. Then again, I'm not the one with the checkbook either.

I was checking out the center shock absorber last night since I brought it home and measured the distance between the adjusting nut and the center of the bottom mounting point. I measured 3 1/2 inches of distance. The (soft) and (standard) setting is supposed to measure at 4.81 inches of distance.... so the shock was set super soft and then he had the rear torsion springs set to hard. This along with the missing hardware and poor assembly of how he had set up the main pivot arm probably caused the bending of both pivot arms, this is my suspicion anyways

 

[MitchRS]

I was finally able to install my last pivot arm and rear shock over the weekend. A few weeks ago I had noticed that the rear shock had hit the the pivot arm making an indent in it... This thing has really had a true domino effect from whatever the previous owner did with his machine. I was also able to take her out of the shed, few things left to do are new rails due to some damage as well as possibly new rear guide wheels (I think the bearing is shot or has seized since you can see that the bolt is shifting towards the back inside the wheel). I also installed a new stopper flap and flap.

Next spring I'll start tackling the front and re-paint the steering knuckles and ski reinforcement handle that the guy had tried to paint red....

Does anyone have a trick to installing the torsion springs arms back into the blocks? I always have a hard time doing it.

We just need a little more snow over here to be able to go for a real ride!

 

[SumpBuster]

Weve welded and straitened many shafts/arms over the years and added gussetts in the corners. For the springs, make sure its on the lowest cam block setting. And limiters are off, track loose, shock is out so the suspension drops as far as possible.
Ive used a big vise grip on the square spring to help hang on and more leverage, but 2 people work best. Wear good gloves!
I may have used my floor jack on the vise grip to, to help compress it...cant remember nuffin no more.

 

[74Nitro]

I

I was finally able to install my last pivot arm and rear shock over the weekend. A few weeks ago I had noticed that the rear shock had hit the the pivot arm making an indent in it... This thing has really had a true domino effect from whatever the previous owner did with his machine. I was also able to take her out of the shed, few things left to do are new rails due to some damage as well as possibly new rear guide wheels (I think the bearing is shot or has seized since you can see that the bolt is shifting towards the back inside the wheel). I also installed a new stopper flap and flap.

Next spring I'll start tackling the front and re-paint the steering knuckles and ski reinforcement handle that the guy had tried to paint red....

Does anyone have a trick to installing the torsion springs arms back into the blocks? I always have a hard time doing it.

We just need a little more snow over here to be able to go for a real ride!

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View attachment 170250View attachment 170251

I'd say it wasn't put together properly at some point, and that may have also caused the bending.

 

[MitchRS]

Weve welded and straitened many shafts/arms over the years and added gussetts in the corners. For the springs, make sure its on the lowest cam block setting. And limiters are off, track loose, shock is out so the suspension drops as far as possible.
Ive used a big vise grip on the square spring to help hang on and more leverage, but 2 people work best. Wear good gloves!
I may have used my floor jack on the vise grip to, to help compress it...cant remember nuffin no more.

That's a good tip, thank you! I always wear good gloves when dealing with them but I'm always alone so finding ways and tips that other's use is helpful. I've thought about using my jack but haven't attempted to try yet.

I

I'd say it wasn't put together properly at some point, and that may have also caused the bending.

It definitely wasn't, I found areas where hardware was missing or improper hardware was used and so on. This most likely caused the bending, the premature wear on other items. Just a few more items to cover and the rear will be completely taken care of, just need to take a little break as it's been quite expensive lol