Pulling rear shocks off a 02 Yammie Venture

[BoxMN]

Hi guys,

I need to rebuild shocks for my 02 Venture (2-up...). What all does it take to get shocks off? Sleds are at the cabin, and I don' thave book. Can I do it without a book? I think I have ownwers manual at the cabin.

Do I tip on side, or hoist it up from bumper to garage joist to remove? Any tricks? I am not mechanic, but can do carbs and other normal stuff on trucks/motors, etc. Just never did shocks as I am still sledding newbie

About How much would it cost at dealer?

Thanks for any info.

[Sniper07]

If it's anything like my Polaris and Ski Doo then there's really not much to it. Just wrap a rag or towel around the rear bumper bar so you don't scratch it and use a chain fall if available hooked to an overhead beam. Once off the ground a bit take a look at the shock and you'll see their not hard to get out. Sometimes you need to unhook the Track from the Tunnel, but I don't believe so on yours. Hope this helps

[311Hemi]

If you have never had the rear skid out it may be worth pulling that and going through all the wheel bearings and changing the hyfax if needed while the rear shocks are being rebuilt. Probably a little easier to pull the rear shocks with the skid out also!

[BoxMN]

Thanks guys. It's time for hyfax, and I am not sure if wheel bearings were greased last, so might as well do it all with it out.

Usual hand tools are all I need? No tricks to getting it lined up upon reinstallation?

Thanks!

[broken_line]

what i do for an articcat is take a comealong and a tow rope i take the tow rope, wrap it around the raptor and hook the chain to the bumper and pull it straight up and take the 4 bolts and remove the whole suspension.. wayy easier to deal with..

[BoxMN]

Thanks broken line. Stupid Question Alert ...

- what is a "raptor"?

Also, with comealong, how do you lower it "gently"? When mine is under pressure, I can't easily get it to reverse ratchet...

Thanks.

[broken_line]

the beams that go across the ceiling.. a large tree branch works in a pinch.. you lift the lever push the button on the back to release and let the lever down and repeat till its on the floor.. i can have the whole suspension out and back in in under an 40 min..BTW i took mine for a ride today in the grass and it was like a ciggaret for a smoker after a long sunday service! gotta pressure wash round the engine and ride again to heat the wateraway

[BoxMN]

Hey guys, a quick update - I replaced the slides and dropped the rear end of the suspension. It actually was three bolts on each side for the rear, but I left the front in there, just dropped the rear down.

But here is where my rookieness shows again How do I tell if the shocks can be rebuilt? I was expecting to see some large nuts or other indication of being rechargable, but I see there are little spot welds on the shocks.... I left them in for now until I get more info. I still can't find my manuals, I know I have them somewhere!...

Also, I took the nut off one end of the rear shock, and the bolt has little teeth that seem like they are used for an additional tweak, but I don't want to just "rap" that bolt out. Do I need a shock compressor of some sort? The shock and spring seem like it is in there pretty tight.

Thanks for more info!

[ChuckN]

I'm not so familiar with Yamaha's, but I'm not so sure there are re-buildable shocks in sleds of this nature (2-up).

More than likely you will see a gas reservoir connected via gas line to the shock (like some Fox shocks). Shocks like RydeFX aren't re-buildable, or at least from my experiences..

My take: If there is an obvious problem with the suspension performance I would change the shock(s). When I've had shocks fail there really isn't any suspension, and it's obvious!

As far as re-buildable shocks, it's recommended to service them every year because of moisture concerns, not so much so in sealed, non serviceable, oil shocks.

[BoxMN]

Thanks Chuck. I was kinda thinking that, cause they just don't look "cool" or techy at all, not like the front shocks. And when I drop the sled (breaking snow/ice loose) or juust get off of it, the rear does not rise at all. So I assuming that is dead shocks.

Do I need to get shock compressor/clapm to get them off? It just doesn't look like something I want to just "bang" the bolt out of the shock/mount.

Thanks.

[311Hemi]

The sled not rising part of the way up could be do to the rear springs on the skid, not necessarily the shocks. The shocks mainly provide the dampening, the springs provide the action of pushing the rear end up. Over time the springs can get bagged out.

If the sled is bottoming out on bumps a lot, good chance it could be the shocks. If the rear end is just not rising back up at all, I would look at the springs. I would also make sure the main arms of the rear skid (and shafts going through them) are greased properly and not sticking or bent. Last, a skid on a sled will not necessarily rise all the back to the top after you get off. This is because when going over bump the suspension will need to extend further and then compress more when going over bumps than what the standard sitting height of the sled will be. You would not expect to replace non-rebuildable shocks every year, but they certainly could be shot by now. Just some things to think about. Usually [i think] the manual will give you instructions on where the sled should sit with rider weight vs rider off the sled.

What does [or did] the rear end do now that it is not covered in ice? Does it rise up now?

[BoxMN]

Thanks 311. Right now it will bounce up a bit, but not much. So maybe it is not the shocks... I do know that the folks I got the sled from (niece and nephew) used it two up with my neice and her son, not exactly a lightweight package But I also see that the springs are not set to the tightest setting. Maybe I should just set the springs tighter and see if that helps?

I can't really say if it was bottoming out, as my wife rode this one more last year, and I just really used it for ice fishing on flat snow.

I really gotta find that manual...

[ChuckN]

I've always tapped the bolts out that hold the shocks. They aren't under pressure. Then again, I don't know what you have/see and I've never worked on a Yammy.