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GREASING THE AXYS-Mtn Sleds... DO IT OFTEN AND USE EXCELLENT QUALITY GREASE

mountainhorse

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If you want your AXYS-MTN sled to work smoothly, function reliably.. and not cost you big money to replace parts that wore out prematurely... Grease the sled and do it often..

Greasing also pushes out old worn out grease, moisture and debris caused by wear.

DO NOT use normal axle greases... especially not the blue " Waterproof Boat Trailer grease".. that stuff gets way to thick at lower temps that typical mountain sleds see.... this will cause the suspension to perform poorly.


The stock suspension on the PRO RMK is great, but it does NOT have any bushings in it...so normal use moves the grease around in the suspension and you have direct steel-on-aluminum contact... frequent greasing will keep the sled working smoothly and keep it from wearing out too soon.

You would not believe the difference in the "seat of the pants feel" of the sled between a poorly lubed one and one that is lubed and set up properly. HUGE!!

Sure it will "work" if you neglect it... but it won't work well/smoothly... Proper transfer and bump absorption of the suspension relies on the suspension moving freely with no "tight" spots.

Get a good DEDICATED grease gun and keep only high quality, synthetic grease in there for this purpose... a Pistol grip, rather than a pump-arm type of gun works better (pneumatic or cordless is best/easiest)... with a long hose and a quality grease gun chuck at the end work best... the pistol grip allows you to hold the hose end on the fitting with one hand and pump the grease with the other.

I use RedLine CV-2 EXCLUSIVELY on my sleds for grease...It is priced well, you can get it from NAPA, Summit Racing, or other Redline dealers.

red80402.jpg


Other acceptable grease is Mobile 1 synthetic and the low temp greases that the sled mfgs offer specifically for these applications.

Grease the suspension often...every few rides... if you want the sled to work well.

End of the season or 1500 miles, whichever comes first... pull the rear suspension out of the sled... remove all of the cross shafts, clean out the bores of the tubes in the suspension arms... check the shafts for wear, replace if necessary and re-grease using this grease.

YES... PULL IT OUT OF THE SLED... It's easier than you think!

This is definitely worth the effort!

In addition, pull the ski off... grease the sleeve-bushing and bolt into the spindle. Some people even put in a grease fitting on the spindle.

Other points are the drive shaft bearing on the PTO side, I like to grease the A-arm pivots too to keep it smooth and low-wear.

On the pro.. to keep the sled working well... pull the steering post and drag link bushings... lube them with the CV-2 (or similar) and you will see smoother steering action... especially when you have to use a lot of effort.





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theletup

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hmmm... ****... So what do you do after you just did this all wrong? haha... I used some blue grease (not the thick CV joint stuff) but water resistant. Gotta tear everything apart and clean it all out?
 

mountainhorse

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This recent post brought this thread back to mind.

So with standard worn out pro bushings the total will be 10 degrees pivot.
Mine with 2200 miles is at least 2 degrees each way just from wear.

REAR SUSPENSION (AKA "SKID") MAINTENANCE.

In the stock PRO-RMK/RMK suspension there are NO bushings in the stock front or rear swing arms/scissor...other than the ones in the shock eyes.

There are just bare aluminum cross-shafts in the bare steel tubes of the scissors. With just grease to lubricate them.

As you use the sled...the grease gets pushed around in the tube and you loose a lot of the all important lubrication... and get metal to metal grinding.

This happens really quick, and you need to keep up the maintenance in this important area.

I've seen some of those shafts go less than a season before being worn out... and others... with greasing every 2-3 rides last since they got their 2011 PRO RMK.

Also... a worn shaft will "bell mouth" the end of the tube it slides in if let go too far... It will also not allow the suspension to work as it should

The owners manual says to do this every 500 miles... BUT... If you want your sled to last, I recommend that you do it MUCH more often than that... say every 3 rides or so... and hit every grease fitting on it.

One other thing that makes greasing easier...

Keep a dedicated grease gun with the grease just for this purpose... Besides a pneumatic comercial or cordless battery-powered grease gun... I'm a big fan of the quality/price of the Lincoln PISTOL GRIP grease guns... This allows you to hold the chuck onto the zerk-fitting and use the other hand to pump the grease.

Also useful... after pumping grease into all of the fittings... cycle the rear suspension up and down a few times and grease it again...then wipe off any of the squeeze out.

http://www.amazon.com/Lincoln-Lubrication-1134-Pistol-Grease/dp/B0002NYDZ8

http://www.amazon.com/Red-Line-80402-Synthetic-Grease/dp/B000CPAEJA

Also, on the 2011 & 2012 PRO RMK's and the 2011 - 2015 standard RMK's (those with a chaincase as opposed to a quick drive)... Although the drive shaft on the PTO side has a zerk lube fitting on it... it does no good to use it as the bearing is a sealed unit with no way for the grease to get in....this is different than in previous years where there was a small hole for the grease to get in.

If you have a few seasons or more than 2000 miles on ANY year PRO Chassis sled... I highly recommend that you replace all of the sealed driveline bearings... This means all four bearings on the Quick drive equipped 2013-2015 PRO RMK's and the two sealed bearings on the PTO side jackshaft/driveshaft for the chaincase equipped sleds.... This is just good maint and keeps you riding rather than wrenching.





41QkfomL1dL._SX425_.jpg






FROM THE FIRST POST IN THIS THREAD... FOR EASY VIEWING.
mountainhorse:
If you want your PRO RMK to work smoothly, function reliably.. and not cost you big money to replace parts that wore out prematurely... Grease the sled and do it often..

Greasing also pushes out old worn out grease, moisture and debris caused by wear.

DO NOT use normal axle greases... especially not the blue " Waterproof Boat Trailer grease".. that stuff gets way to thick at lower temps that typical mountain sleds see.... this will cause the suspension to perform poorly.


The stock suspension on the PRO RMK is great, but it does NOT have any bushings in it...so normal use moves the grease around in the suspension and you have direct steel-on-aluminum contact... frequent greasing will keep the sled working smoothly and keep it from wearing out too soon.

You would not believe the difference in the "seat of the pants feel" of the sled between a poorly lubed one and one that is lubed and set up properly. HUGE!!

Sure it will "work" if you neglect it... but it won't work well/smoothly... Proper transfer and bump absorption of the suspension relies on the suspension moving freely with no "tight" spots.

Get a good DEDICATED grease gun and keep only high quality, synthetic grease in there for this purpose... a Pistol grip, rather than a pump-arm type of gun works better (pneumatic or cordless is best/easiest)... with a long hose and a quality grease gun chuck at the end work best... the pistol grip allows you to hold the hose end on the fitting with one hand and pump the grease with the other.

I use RedLine CV-2 EXCLUSIVELY on my sleds for grease...It is priced well, you can get it from NAPA, Summit Racing, or other Redline dealers.

red80402.jpg


Other acceptable grease is Mobile 1 synthetic and the low temp greases that the sled mfgs offer specifically for these applications.

Grease the suspension often...every few rides... if you want the sled to work well.

End of the season or 1500 miles, whichever comes first... pull the rear suspension out of the sled... remove all of the cross shafts, clean out the bores of the tubes in the suspension arms... check the shafts for wear, replace if necessary and re-grease using this grease.

YES... PULL IT OUT OF THE SLED... It's easier than you think!

This is definitely worth the effort!

In addition, pull the ski off... grease the sleeve-bushing and bolt into the spindle. Some people even put in a grease fitting on the spindle.

Other points are the drive shaft bearing on the PTO side, I like to grease the A-arm pivots too to keep it smooth and low-wear.

On the pro.. to keep the sled working well... pull the steering post and drag link bushings... lube them with the CV-2 (or similar) and you will see smoother steering action... especially when you have to use a lot of effort.





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HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF A 2013 PTO-SIDE DRIVESHAFT/BEARING THAT HAS TAKEN A DIVE..

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volcano buster

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I pulled the skid out of my '10 IQ prior to last season to do a once over. MH is correct that the aluminum cross bars take a beating if they don't see regular grease. I also popped the side covers on all bogey/idler wheels and cleaned and regreased these bearings. Pretty surprising how nasty they look and feel in a short time. Hard to imagine how these little bearings feel when spinning at 60 mph.
 
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gdhillon

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Is there any way you can 'hop' on a used sled in the of season to test it out and see if the PO greased it regularly?

Since you say theres only zerks and no seals do you just pump in enough grease until you see the new stuff come out between the fittingS?
 

mountainhorse

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Is there any way you can 'hop' on a used sled in the of season to test it out and see if the PO greased it regularly?

NOPE... IMO

Since you say theres only zerks and no seals do you just pump in enough grease until you see the new stuff come out between the fittingS?

YES... PUMP IT TILL GREASE COMES OUT BOTH ENDS (LOTS OF IT) ... WIPE IT UP...BOUNCE ON THE SLED A BIT... THEN PUMP/WIPE AGAIN....DONE.

AFTER A SEASON... OR FROM HIGH USE... PULL THE SKID... PULL THE SHAFTS... CLEAN OUT/INSPECT...GREASE... RE-INSTALL.
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mountainhorse

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I just pulled and serviced a rear skid of a 2014 PRO for a riding buddy last night.

Wish I had a camera.

The two upper shafts were worn out and all the shafts were all mucked up with old grease and aluminum oxide (abrasive as heck) dust. This sled is is trailered in an enclosed trailer and only has 1500 miles on it.

IMO, STRONGLY... If you have a sled that has a season of use on it or more... PULL THE SKID!

Take it apart... Clean it REALLY well...Replace shafts that are worn... assemble with liberal SYNTHETIC GREASE and re-grease on the sled...
PUMP IT TILL GREASE COMES OUT BOTH ENDS (LOTS OF IT) ... WIPE IT UP...BOUNCE ON THE SLED A BIT... THEN PUMP/WIPE AGAIN OR MORE ....DONE.

Grease the rear suspension multiple times during the season, let the grease flow liberally, and you'll be happier with the performance of your sled.






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mountainhorse

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Wonder if I could pump out all the blue stuff by just using the new/good grease to push it all out?

If you have the blue stuff in there... I Really recommend that you pull the skid and clean it... it's difficult to get it all out by pumping it up.. plus you'll still have a lot of aluminum gunk left in there.

Pulling a skid is easy... and If you have a season on your pro... great time to send in the shocks for service (Specify synthetic shock oil and not the factory walker mineral oil)....



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mountainhorse

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I've moved this over from the PRO-RIDE section.

It is very relevant to the AXYS-Mtn. sleds as well...

If you have an AXYS... Buy a Dedicated pistol grip grease gun and keep high quality, low temp grease in the gun... and use it often. Every other ride is not too much.

The grease, in these skids naturally moves away from the pressure points with use... pumping it up regularly is the only way to get it to keep it in the right place.

Even (or especially) on a brand new sled... Grease the heck out of it... pump it up ... then bounce up and down on it to move the grease around... wipe off the excess and do this 5 or 6 times to get the grease throughout the pivots.

Trust me... in the speed of the factory assembly process... the greasing on the rear is skid is LESS than ideal.

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FlatLand_J

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The '16 mountain sleds have grease fittings? The '15s had no fittings. Not even at the drive shaft. A grease gun was useless.
 

mountainhorse

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If you have ANY riding on your sled... or even if you don't...the factory may or may not have greased it really well.

Grease that puppy... and use the right grease.

More likely than not... not the stuff that is currently in your grease gun... Get a dedicated pistol grip gun for this and have some extra cartridges on hand of the right grease.

Since the rear skid of these sleds has NO bushings on the pivot shafts... and the forces from the shocks and tension on the track are high...pushing grease inside the tube/shaft AWAY from the highest point of force... Keep em greased often if you want the most out of your sled.



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Teth-Air

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Mountainhorse, what is your opinion on the plastic bushings in the shock ends and also found in other locations in the rear skid? These are expensive bushings and wear a little faster than I like. I don't think they are supposed to have any lubricant on them but could it help? I tried greasing one but felt it may actually reduced its life span due to dirt/iron oxide sticking in the grease.

The bushings run with an aluminum tube inside and steel on the outside. (struts parallel to shock) I find that the steel side could be smoother and maybe these should be polished up?
 

Prayn4snow

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Now is a good time to pull your sled in the garage and do this. Why? Some of you (yes Im talking to some of my friends) put your sled away thinking there was 1 more ride not knowing you were done and didnt grease everything so water is sitting in all these areas. I just seen a friends skid that some of the tubes still had water trapped inside in July, not good. The other reason "Now" is a good time, if you find something broken, bent or need shocks rebuilt or upgraded Haydays is almost here along with other fall snow shows. Rip out that skid and get your hands dirty! Check those bogeys and Hifax too.
 

Wheel House Motorsports

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Now is a good time to pull your sled in the garage and do this. Why? Some of you (yes Im talking to some of my friends) put your sled away thinking there was 1 more ride not knowing you were done and didnt grease everything so water is sitting in all these areas. I just seen a friends skid that some of the tubes still had water trapped inside in July, not good. The other reason "Now" is a good time, if you find something broken, bent or need shocks rebuilt or upgraded Haydays is almost here along with other fall snow shows. Rip out that skid and get your hands dirty! Check those bogeys and Hifax too.
I always recommend waiting until the night before your first trip to service the sled... This always works out better.lol

Nice little summer project, grease things, clean things, and just give everything a once over. Amazing what you find needing some TLC when your not in a rush to go riding.
 

Sheetmetalfab

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I always recommend waiting until the night before your first trip to service the sled... This always works out better.lol

Nice little summer project, grease things, clean things, and just give everything a once over. Amazing what you find needing some TLC when your not in a rush to go riding.

True story.
I’ve found bent rails, loose steering pivot bolts, loose fuel rail bolts etc.

I usually do it in September since the snow on the peaks starts limiting the dirt rides to lower elevations.
 

sledcaddie

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I've always supported the rear of the sled to get the track off the ground before greasing. This helps take the load off of the moving parts, allowing the grease to flow easier into the gaps.
 
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