Has anybody had their front torque arm crack like this in a couple spots? Just wondering what success people have had welding these with durability...I'd rather not buy a new one for $220!!!!...maybe adding some gussets for added strength would help as well? Pics of some examples would be great
The rear torque arm on my 09 Assault sheared in half. The metal is so thin, I would hesitate to weld the old one. I bought a new one and used it to build a jig for building my own, using slightly thicker metal. I would buy a new one and have it reinforced. Lightweight sleds are built using VERY thin metal.
I have fixed them on older edge sleds..never an issue..figure on replacing the aluminum inner shaft..leave the old one in for welding..then add a 1/8" gusset in the corners(about 2"x2")..one thing though..the newer sleds are pretty thin material..the heat from welding may make the steel brittle..i do have the full set of arms from my 08 dragon 163 skid(replaced with a holz skid and had to reuse a couple of shafts, bolts and cross peices..rest of the stock stuff is sitting her collecting dust .. will make you a deal on it if you want them)...
I'm interested AKSnowrider! Looks like front torque arm part# I need is the same as what you have....shoot me a PM with what you want for it shipped to 56377. So if I buy yours and want to beef that one up with gussets won't I run into the same problem?
yes you would...only difference is you wont be doing all the repair welds where its cracked..which would allow for less heat overall....normally if you crack these arms..its from either hitting something(stump,rock) or from bottoming the susppension hard enough to drive the rail stops into the cross bar hard...so....stiffen the suspension a little bit or stop hitting big hard things...lol....will get a pic of what i got tonite and pm you....
Most people I've seen in the field do not grease their suspension regularly.[/QUOTE]
This wasn't from lack of regular LUBE.....Now that I think about it when I bought the sled I changed out the stock #160 front shock spring to the #225 version and noticed the plastic cover all chewed up on the top probably from bottoming out a few times pretty harshly. The arm could've been cracked then and I didn't notice. This time around I did when grease started purging out!
On a side note I'm going to change the front skid shock position to the lower hole to help decrease weight transfer etc. Would that put even more stress on that torque arm? Looks like it would be a better angle and put more on the shock....I'm getting rear skid shocks rebuilt this summer-Should I let them know about the position change or doesn't it matter?