Cracked Tunnel..Advice?

[Deven07]

Hi, I bought a 07 M8 SP with quite high miles for cheap...thought I was getting a hell of a deal, but didn't do a good enough inspection. I found this after removing the exhaust:

Not pretty eh? It was hidden by silicone, I peeled it back and...surprise! You can see where it extends across the top of the tunnel there, and then goes down vertically along the diagonal line below:

There's actually a whole chunk of aluminum that has broken away on the vertical...it's held on only by the bolt/bushing above the orange circle below:

Obviously I'm going to have to completely tear down the sled. What I'm wondering is how to go about the fix...I did a search and it sounds like welding isn't the answer...epoxy, aluminum plate and rivets? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[smokindave]

Looks like you need a new bulkhead.I would get a hold of Free Agent on the forums and order a new one.
Its not that big a job if you have a air rivet gun.

 

[backcountryislife]

Agreed... sounds like a pain, but it's really not that bad. Really sucks finding stuff like that in a sled you just bought.

 

[Deven07]

Thanks for the encouragement. It's my own damn fault for not doing a better inspection I guess. Plus, what the hell was I gonna do with a non-broken sled for the next 2.5 months! I've never pulled a engine, but I'm pretty mechanically inclined. I just installed Techspark, I'll keep you posted!

 

[backcountryislife]

C'mon... you were probably PLANNING on taking the motor out, tunnel off... all that stuff anyhow RIGHT???

 

[CB.8]

Sorry I don't have any before pictures, but mine was cracked pretty good. I choose to weld it up and make some reinforcement and add a M-Rite support.

Mine too is an 07M8 with that runs too good (too much money invested)to scrap.

 

[m8magicandmystery]

these old M sleds need these cracks and breaks in them after being ridden hard to be on a level playing field with the failures of the new sleds coming right out of the factory

 

[m8magicandmystery]

Sorry I don't have any before pictures, but mine was cracked pretty good. I choose to weld it up and make some reinforcement and add a M-Rite support.

Mine too is an 07M8 with that runs too good (too much money invested)to scrap.

nice welding...you do that yourself..??..what type welder..??

 

[CB.8]

Neighbor Kid welded it. Miller Tig. I think it might be stronger then when it came from the factory.

 

[m8magicandmystery]

good to have those kind of neighbors

 

[CB.8]

I have got a lot of good neighbors!

 

[Deven07]

C.B that frame looks amazing, but way past my repair budget, which is damn close to about $0.00.

I talked to the previous owner, he swears he didn't know about it. If he did or didn't it's not like there's much I can do about it now except maybe cause him to have to drive the 12 hour round trip I had to make to get the sled to watch me lose in small claims court. So I told him I got no desire to make trouble for him, I just want to know what his honest experience was with the sled while he had it. He was certainly quite apologetic and said he'd never have sold it if he had known and swore he had no problems and has rode it that way for the 2500 miles hes had it with no extra belt wear, funky vibration, tracking issues.

I popped the clutch this afternoon (water trick...science rocks!) and got the PTO side mounting bracket out of the way. Its too moshed in there...I don't even want to show you!

The top post is broke clear off...I took it to my local machine shop and he showed me that a) it's been repaired before, there are new welds on top of the factory welds and b) its worn far enough to have been that way a long time. He said if the area has any other problems, welding it again is gonna toss heat right to them and could be as bad as good.

I cleaned up the frame under the mounting bracket and voila! The crack hair line stutters right down behind the lower bracket all the way to the horizontal cross brace. Plus, there's a short one on the front side right next to the heat exchanger. Yep, I'm pretty much !@#$ed.

So I'm gonna roll the dice and drill some stop holes on the cracks, brace that top stud back in place with some 1/8 aluminum stock the machine shop guy gave me and some hardened bolts, put that bitch back together and romp the piss out of it!

 

[MikeM1000]

My 08 cracked wher cooler and steering post meet and my local welder fixed it and beefed it up for 50$ all u have to do is pull motor and see if someone can weld it up. Been riding mine for 3 years and so far so good

 

[Deven07]

Alright, you talked me into it. I'm going to load her up tomorrow and its off to the machine shop...

I was inches from just cobbling it...hence the stop holes:

This'll teach my wife not to leave her crap in my garage right?

 

[sunbather1969]

Mine broke exactly like that

I pulled the mounts and twisted the engine in compartment and got out my spool gun and ten minutes later it was cured , got another thousand out of her since. I even had that big of gap on back makes for a nice full pen weld. Not being a jackhole but its easy and any welder will tell you that. Before pics only sorry but you can see same problem and how I had engine sitting for weld.

 

[CB.8]

C.B that frame looks amazing, but way past my repair budget, which is damn close to about $0.00.

I talked to the previous owner, he swears he didn't know about it. If he did or didn't it's not like there's much I can do about it now except maybe cause him to have to drive the 12 hour round trip I had to make to get the sled to watch me lose in small claims court. So I told him I got no desire to make trouble for him, I just want to know what his honest experience was with the sled while he had it. He was certainly quite apologetic and said he'd never have sold it if he had known and swore he had no problems and has rode it that way for the 2500 miles hes had it with no extra belt wear, funky vibration, tracking issues.

I popped the clutch this afternoon (water trick...science rocks!) and got the PTO side mounting bracket out of the way. Its too moshed in there...I don't even want to show you!

The top post is broke clear off...I took it to my local machine shop and he showed me that a) it's been repaired before, there are new welds on top of the factory welds and b) its worn far enough to have been that way a long time. He said if the area has any other problems, welding it again is gonna toss heat right to them and could be as bad as good.

I cleaned up the frame under the mounting bracket and voila! The crack hair line stutters right down behind the lower bracket all the way to the horizontal cross brace. Plus, there's a short one on the front side right next to the heat exchanger. Yep, I'm pretty much !@#$ed.

So I'm gonna roll the dice and drill some stop holes on the cracks, brace that top stud back in place with some 1/8 aluminum stock the machine shop guy gave me and some hardened bolts, put that bitch back together and romp the piss out of it!

I call BS that the previous owner didn't know. The bottom has been rewelded before. Good luck.

PS while the motor is out check all the coolant lines to the throttle bodies and at least put new hose clamps on the Ba$tards. They suck to work on in the chassis. I know.

 

[Deven07]

I call BS that the previous owner didn't know. The bottom has been rewelded before. Good luck.

PS while the motor is out check all the coolant lines to the throttle bodies and at least put new hose clamps on the Ba$tards. They suck to work on in the chassis. I know.

Is what it is. I'm having fun tearing it apart really. I'm going to get the engine up off the garage floor here in the next few days and clean it really well, check all that stuff. I'll probably have some questions!

Do I have to drop the track to pull the diamond drive?

 

[Arctic Thunder]

Is what it is. I'm having fun tearing it apart really. I'm going to get the engine up off the garage floor here in the next few days and clean it really well, check all that stuff. I'll probably have some questions!

Do I have to drop the track to pull the diamond drive?

Just slack of the tension on the track, pull the mount bolts between the DD and the bulkhead, Then with a LONG extension in through the break side of the track shaft remove the bolt holding the DD to the track shaft. I believe it is a 12point 9/16" Someone correct me on this. The other thing is before you pull the bolt all the way out use a piece of wood as a softener and hit the extension to push the spline from the drive shaft out of the DD.

Pretty easy job.

Thunder

 

[M-Head]

Hey CB.8, love that repair! Is that bracket 1/4 inch? I just found a hairline crack in the same spot, so I would like to repair it before it gets worse.

 

[CB.8]

The piece started life as a piece of 4x4x.25 aluminum. pay attention to the lower mount detail took a couple tries to get right. Can talk you through it.

Rob
509-397-0202