OK what is it?

[Borch]

Today my 1998 Artic Cat Panther started making a noise/vibration in the left hand side/front of the track. It's a grrrnt....grrrnt....grnt.... that coincides with the speed of the track. I looked and didn't see anything. Could it be a stuck slide? Track out of alignment? Ice build up? I'm leaving for URL Thursday night and plan on bringing the sled.

Any ideas?

[fishonnopeoff]

Sounds like it might be a bad bearing.

[minneman]

does the speedo work?

[Surface Tension]

Bad drive bearing, bad track wheel bearing or missing rubber or even the wheel has fallen off. I think it something simple like the track window hitting the end of the slides. Check the track tension and alignment.

[MN Mike]

Is it a liquid cooled sled? If so you might have build up of ice and snow. If you can get it in and warm it up and let it thaw, see if it still makes the noise.

Could be a bearing going bad too, if you have never put those bearings in, I would almost bet on it, even if the speedo is still working, it might just be starting to let go. You can't visually see it either unless it has let go but then your speedo quits usually to.

S.T. makes some good points too.

Mike

[SledNeck]

How tight is your track?

[Eric Wettschreck]

When I had a snow pro I had the very same thing happen. Not only was my track too loose it was WAY too loose.

[ChuckN]

Like others have said bad drive bearing could likely be the cause. Turn sled on it's side and inspect the drive bearing on the main drive shaft (shaft that holds the cog wheels that turn the track). You should be able to tell if something wrong with the bearing by looking at it. That model bearing commonly fail on Cats (around the 3,000 mile mark usually) as they are not maintainable.

I rode my wife's new sled over the weekend and had the same loud vibration issue. Really loose track and out of alignment was the culprit. Typical adjustment with sleds.

Lift the rear of the sled up, how much gap in the track? Measurements of track from the outer edge to the slides?

[Borch]

Thanks guys. I'll check into it closer tonight and see what I can come up with. It seems to be lile it could be the track. When I look at the bogey wheel on that side it's a good 1/2-3/4 inch closer to the edge of the track than the other side. If it's a bearing how easy is that to track down and replace? I'm dealing with a short repair window.

It's a fan cooled engine, so the ice build up doesn't sound like it's likely.

[Borch]

Quote:

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does the speedo work?

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Yes it does.

[Borch]

Quote:

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Lift the rear of the sled up, how much gap in the track? Measurements of track from the outer edge to the slides?

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What should the gap be and how is it measured. It's been years since I had sleds and much of the specs have changed since the old days.

[MN Mike]

Yeah, I would say that is unlikely too with a fan cooled.

Still wouldn't rule out that bearing starting to go bad, we've stopped on the trail before because someone ' heard ' something funny coming from the sled ( checked things out, bearing looked fine at that time ) about 20 miles or so down the trail, Speedo quit and the bearing was gone.

They are not too bad to put in, I do mine every 3 - 4 years, no questions, preventitive maintenance.

Mike

[Surface Tension]

Put the back of the sled up on a jack.

To check the drive axle you need to take tension off the track. Then get your arm up there and grab the axle and feel for any slop. Rotate the drive and feel for smoothness. Even then you might not be able to feel a bad bearing. You might want to go ahead and align the track and get the correct tension on it. If the bearing is going it might be able to hear and feel it then. Heres the kicker, its one of those things that as long as you have track loose you may as well replaced the slides now.

Measure at the rear wheels. The distance from the outside of each wheel to the edge of the track should be the same. Make the adjustment and then start the engine and spin the track. Then measure again, repeat. Once you get the track to run centered then adjust the tension.

Track tension is determined by the deflection in the center of the track between the rear idler wheels and the drive wheels. I don't know the specs, (foot pounds pull and distance between the track and slides)but it'll be in your manual. I do mine by what feels right just like I'd do an alternator belt.

[Borch]

I put it up on the jack last night and the track tension was fine. I tweaked the alignment a little and the problem still persisted. It's now squeaking in addition to the grinding noise/vibration and seems to be tougher and tougher to getting the track to move at low speeds. I'm trying to get it in for a quick fix as it doesn't look like something I'd be able to pull off in a hurry. It's looking more and more like the front bearing. Everyhting else looks like it's been replaced recently. The slides look like they're in very good shape.

Thanks again.

[hanson]

Doh!

I changed the front drive bearings once in a.... Polaris and never want to do it again. What a not so fun job.

[fishonnopeoff]

Yep, done a few of them and they are some work. But thats part of the fun of sleds...

[Borch]

Well it's done. Front bearings was the diagnosis. It's on the trailer just waiting for me to get off work and take it on a fishing trip.

[fishonnopeoff]

Cool, glad you got it fixed. Have fun before the snow is gone.