Arctic Cat Slide Rails. Wear and Tear item or not????

[pippy_b]

My buddy is having a huge issue with Arctic Cat Slide Rails "egging" out the holes where the shocks are mounted to. He just ordered his 3rd set on his 2004 AC ZR 900 SP and just took his 2008 CF 1000 SP in under factory warranty. AC is telling him that these rails are a "wear and tear item" and won't take care of him under warranty. What are your thoughs? In my mind, this is an absolute cop out! How is a rail a wear and tear item when this is what holds the whole suspension together!••••

[dab102999]

Have a hard time with that one. If these were a wear and tear item why would they still be $150 a set at swap meets for 10 year old ones??? Why are they saying they are a wear and tear item?? Is the dealer saying they are not covered or AC directly?? If it is the dealer I would bypass and contact AC and see what they say.

[pippy_b]

Supposedly it was AC that said they were not covered. I think it is a farse!

[anonomoose]

This sounds like the thru-bolts are the wrong size....if they don't fit snug, they would do this banging back and forth. If the hole is too big (egged) enlarge the holes and use collar shims to get them tight again.

[grub]

AC has had this problem for years. The bolts get loose and wreck the holes. In my opinion it is a design flaw. Other brands have eliminated this problem. If you try to shim the holes with a harder substance than what is there (aluminum) it will last a little longer but the harder substance will accelerate the egging out. The only way to keep up with this is to start with new rails and check the tightness of the bolts virtually EVERY time you use the sled. If AC started warrantying all their rails they would be over.

[toddspolaris]

Remember, all suspensions take a pounding, Start with new rails, or have the holes welded shut and redrill, Works well, and loctite all the bolts and recheck once in awhile, this is why I take my suspensions out every year and go completely through them.

[grub]

Back in the day we used to safety-wire these bolts aircraft style. This gets to be a lot of screwing around but it works.

[special_k]

mine were covered under warranty.

[jhsmustang]

I found one rail hole egged when I put mine away for the winter. I made a new piece made of steel and bolted it to the rail. I made sure to torque the bolt and I used red loctite. We'll see what happens when it snows.

[pauly]

I put over 12k on my ZR600 and had only one set of egged out holes (Those inner idler wheels that get loose every season.. I just took them out.. I saw NO difference in slide wear).

If the bolts loosen.. then yeah.. it is going to happen on any sled.
I agree with the blue loctite!

But I would ask the question if the rear shock or something isn't installed correctly..causing the force of a bump to be translated through the linkages and into the rails. IE, Does the Shock bottom out before suspension does?
The rear suspension linkages can be confusing,and with extra holes available, putting a link in the wrong set of holes could be causing the suspension lock up, rather than the shock.
I would print out a exploded view and check it over to make sure it is assembled correctly.

[zrjes]

Old School Post, but a fix to the problem:

We offer the ORIGINAL slide rail repair option for the elongated, egg shaped, shock bracket mounting holes. Our kits are NOT a "band aid" repair - instead, they offer long lasting reinforced repair plates featuring built-in bushings, which will double the wear area around the damaged hole, while offering additional strength and durability to the rail.

The re-usable installation kit includes an aluminum drill jig, an arbored hole saw and nuts and bolts.

The repair kit comes with (2) aluminum plates, grade 5 bolts, a 3/8" o.d. stainless shaft and all hardware necessary to complete the repair.

We offer the following repair kits;
Upper Front Rail kits,
Lower Front Rail kits,
Upper Rear Swing Arm Limiter and
Lower Rear Swing Arm kits, for the ZR's, ZL's and FC's...

Note: Each Model requires it's own specific repair kit.

We are located in Central Wisconsin and offer same day shipping for any orders received by early afternoon. Quantity discounts available.

PERFORMANCE STAINLESS INC.
920-739-9899
email: performstnls@aol.com
www.performancestainless.net




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