Adjusting rear suspention?

[mnhunter79]

Can anyone tell me how to adjust the rear suspention on a 1994 XCR 440?

[Macgyver55]

It is adjusted by turning the adjusters on the shocks, the spring rest cams and sometimes the limiter strap depending on what you want to accomplish.

Is there a particular problem you want to correct? Is the suspension too soft, too stiff or do you have steering pressure issues?

[mnhunter79]

it sits too low in front and back. sometimes bottoms out over bumps. and snow comes over the hood in my face too often. just hopeing to raise the front and back.

[hydro]

Do you have Fox shocks? If so they probably need to be rebuilt and recharged.

[Macgyver55]

Shocks just may be bad but also make sure the spring adjusters are tightened up enough for your weight. Lift the ,rear end until the suspension is fully extended, then set it down and see how far it compresses. If it goes down more than a couple inches its probably set too soft. Same with the front. Fully extend it, then sit on it and have someone measure how far it settles with you on it. Shouldnt drop more than a few inches at most. You can fine tune it from there but it will give you a good starting point.

If it is too soft tighten the spring adjuster a bit more, to harsh back it off some.

[Pinusbanksiana]

Shocks don't hold suspension up, the springs do. Either your springs are bad or your sled never sat as high as you thought it did.

[hydro]

My thought with the shocks is that they are a part of the suspension system and provide compression damping on the bumps. If the sled seems to bottom out often, the shocks are likely not doing their job. Also, on a 17 year old sled, gas charged shocks (both front and rear) have not likely been serviced in a while and will need to be rebuilt and recharged in order for the suspension system to work correctly.

[Macgyver55]

Shocks don't hold suspension up, the springs do. Either your springs are bad or your sled never sat as high as you thought it did.

The springs are not necessarily bad if they are not adjusted up far enough. Thats why I suggested uloading the suspension and seeing how far it drops with him on it. Thats the quickest way to determine if the springs have enough tension to support the load.

But Hydro is correct in that if the shocks are bad and not dampening enough it will act like the springs are weak because it will bottom out easier. You'll normally find as shocks "go away" that more spring pressure is needed to keep from bottoming out. As he said, one can make the other look bad.

And back on subject for the original poster, the 94 was a limited build sled and was made more for ice racing as I remember so it was intended to be lower. You can swap out longer shocks and springs from a 95 or newer XCR I think, and there is a bracket kit available to drop the rear suspension some too. Otherwise it is what it is and the best you can do is tune it to ride the best you can and GO!

[311Hemi]

I agree, and just to clarify what Macgyver mentioned earlier the springs are not meant to keep the rear end of the sled sitting all the way up as high as it will go. It should be check with the rider on the sled to see where it sits. If it sags all the way down with the rider on the sled and the springs set on the highest setting, then your spring may need to be replaced. Ideally with the rider on the sled the suspension should have room to drop or rise to compensate for bumps.

I also agree with needing new shocks if they are the originals. Old/bad shocks would certainly allow the sled to bottom out much easier.