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04 sportsman 700 rear bushings question

hello all. looks like a good forum here. well i have a 2k4 sportsman 700.. my rear tires are leaning inward at the top.. so i believe that i need to replace my bushings in a arms.. i just got it a few months ago i was thinking of replacing all the bushings.. is that unnecessary? i have 26 tires in the back on 14" rims..

so bushings question i've googled this for hours can't find anything on it.. when i replace my bushings do i need to replace the inner metal sleeves and the bolt that goes through them along with the plastic bushings? help much appreciated... thanks i will attach a pic of the lean....

 

[Bruce!]

Welcome to the board!:med:

 

[chrome]

wow no input... is there another forum that could help a little better with the bushing question?

 

[tcr0148]

Yes, replace all of ur suspension bushings and wheel bearings. Also replace your upper steering bushing.

 

[chrome]

im not talking about my bearings... my bearings are fine... i'm talking about the metal sleeved that the bushings slide over, you know the sleeve that the bolt goes through..

i havent done anything on my front end yet... but i will say my steering feels really "FREE" like when i get up to 40 mph it feels like i'm floating... it makes me feel really uneasy... my tires will take me to one side of the road or the other and i have to correct for it... i dunno if its my tires or my suspension..l

 

[Treacherous]

How many miles/hours are on your 700?

 

[chrome]

160 hrs/ 1700miles... well i went out last night and just thought what the hell those bushing bolts look a little loose... well one tightened up, so i went and tightened all the bushing bolts and now my tires are kind of leaning the other way now, they look straight up and down... and it looks like it raised my back end by almost 2 inches or more... wow did not know that loose bushing bolts could cause this... i wonder how long its been ridden on loose bushing bolts? do you think that the bushings are damaged from all the play from being loose and riding it like that? well now i need to get out and ride it and see of the bushings get loose again on the rear...

i have not messed with the front end suspension at all yet, but before i buy new bushings and or more parts i think i should prolly go tighten up some front end suspension parts?

 

[polman500]

Tightening the bolts WILL NOT make the bushings not be worn or take out any slack. They are only supposed to torque to 30-35 ft/lbs anyway. That's just barely more than snug. You probably just picked up on the rear of the machine while working on it. As soon as you mash down no it again it'll look just like before. The only way to know if the inner metal sleeves and bolts need replaced is to get them out and look at them. If they have worn spots or are rusted and rough they will quickly wear out any new bushings you install. It being an 04 I'd hazard a guess that while you have it apart you should probably just replace everything. If you REALLY want it to last, you'll need to drill all the pivot points and install grease fittings and them use them after every ride.

 

[chrome]

ok you were right polman... i got to ride it around a little, not too rough and the tires are slowly starting to lean in at the top again... so i guess i'll just replace all the bushings without looking at them since its an 04 and they look original...

now where exactly are all the pivot points i should drill? this is my first 4 wheeler and bushing change out..

 

[Boburk]

Put a jack under it, one end at a time. Jack up the center rear, and pull out on the bottom of the tire while pushing in on the top. Look to see if you have any play. If you have play, see if it is from the bushings or the bearings. Then lower it and jack the front. Same thing, but see if play is from bushings, bearings, or ball joints. Also check for play in the tie rod ends.

If your bushings are worn, I would say you probably need sleeves too...but only way to know for sure is to take it apart.

Sean

 

[polman500]

Here's a picture of an old 96 Sportsman rear suspension showing where they USED to put fittings at all the pivot points until Polaris engineers decided we didn't need them anymore. Now rather than grease the machine after every few rides you are supposed to just tear it down once a year to replace bushings. If you want to avoid that you have to install them yourself.

You'll need straight ones at all the #11 points and 90* ones at points #43 on top of the bearing carrier.

 

[chrome]

is it really worth it to put the time into putting in the grease inserts... seems like it would take some time... wouldnt you have to drill the hole, then use a tap set to tap in threads for it but you'd also have to remove the burs and how would you do that on the inside of the pipe where u drilled or do i not have to do all that i listed? and i only see one #43 in the pic..

 

[swampdonkeyvt]

If your going to tear it down, replace all your a arm bushing. upper and lowers on both sides. fairly easy to do. theres a guy on here that sells some that are pretty much indestructible. jccapri I believe is his user name

 

[polman500]

is it really worth it to put the time into putting in the grease inserts... seems like it would take some time... wouldnt you have to drill the hole, then use a tap set to tap in threads for it but you'd also have to remove the burs and how would you do that on the inside of the pipe where u drilled or do i not have to do all that i listed? and i only see one #43 in the pic..

Yes, you are correct about what has to be done. The burs are easily removed with a long punch or file. The tubes have to be cleaned out anyway to get the dirt, gunk and old grease out before installing the new bushings. It only takes a few minutes per fitting and if you already have it apart to change the bushings its well worth the effort and is a one-time mod. If you actually use the fittings on a regular basis, you shouldn't have to tear it down to replace the bushings again for many years. Every time you pump grease in it pushes out any water, mud and grit. That junk is what causes rust and eats up the inner bushings and rods and prematurely wears out the bushings. I know these things from experience. I didn't install fittings until the SECOND set of new bushings. The first bushings I put in only lasted about a year before they had slack again.
The pic does only show one #43 at the top of the bearing carrier for a total of two...one on each side of the machine. If you install them at all pivot points, the rear of the machine will have 12 fittings excluding the torsion bar.

 

[chrome]

is it really worth it to put the time into putting in the grease inserts... seems like it would take some time... wouldnt you have to drill the hole, then use a tap set to tap in threads for it but you'd also have to remove the burs and how would you do that on the inside of the pipe where u drilled or do i not have to do all that i listed? and i only see one #43 in the pic..

Yes, you are correct about what has to be done. The burs are easily removed with a long punch or file. The tubes have to be cleaned out anyway to get the dirt, gunk and old grease out before installing the new bushings. It only takes a few minutes per fitting and if you already have it apart to change the bushings its well worth the effort and is a one-time mod. If you actually use the fittings on a regular basis, you shouldn't have to tear it down to replace the bushings again for many years. Every time you pump grease in it pushes out any water, mud and grit. That junk is what causes rust and eats up the inner bushings and rods and prematurely wears out the bushings. I know these things from experience. I didn't install fittings until the SECOND set of new bushings. The first bushings I put in only lasted about a year before they had slack again.
The pic does only show one #43 at the top of the bearing carrier for a total of two...one on each side of the machine. If you install them at all pivot points, the rear of the machine will have 12 fittings excluding the torsion bar.

ok that makes sense... and i do have 26 moto mtc tires on 14" rims.. some guy around here told me that that setup is bad on my suspension.. not sure how true that is though...

as far as bushings i can get a set of all balls hd delrin bushings for 39.99 per side on ebay.. but that does not include the bolts or sleeves, any idea where to get those at or are there better bushings?

and now the grease inserts, i was telling my dad about this last night about putting them in... was wondering if there is a certain depth on the thread you have to buy on the inserts so that the greese insert doesnt rub the metal sleeves when they are in there turning when riding..

 

[rockhound]

polman500, thanks for the diagram am going to install them all. Is the location on the rear A arms the same for the front also?

 

[chrome]

polman??

 

[polman500]

The front will just be in the center of the A arm (#25) since you don't have all the additional hardware like the rear. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[chrome]

polman500 i posted this up above and was waiting to see a response from you on this... i just copy and pasted.. refering to the rear end again

ok that makes sense... and i do have 26 moto mtc tires on 14" rims.. some guy around here told me that that setup is bad on my suspension.. not sure how true that is though...

as far as bushings i can get a set of all balls hd delrin bushings for 39.99 per side on ebay.. but that does not include the bolts or sleeves, any idea where to get those at or are there better bushings?

and now the grease inserts, i was telling my dad about this last night about putting them in... was wondering if there is a certain depth on the thread you have to buy on the inserts so that the greese insert doesnt rub the metal sleeves when they are in there turning when riding..

 

[chrome]

polman500 i posted this up above and was waiting to see a response from you on this... i just copy and pasted.. refering to the rear end again

ok that makes sense... and i do have 26 moto mtc tires on 14" rims.. some guy around here told me that that setup is bad on my suspension.. not sure how true that is though...

as far as bushings i can get a set of all balls hd delrin bushings for 39.99 per side on ebay.. but that does not include the bolts or sleeves, any idea where to get those at or are there better bushings?

and now the grease inserts, i was telling my dad about this last night about putting them in... was wondering if there is a certain depth on the thread you have to buy on the inserts so that the greese insert doesnt rub the metal sleeves when they are in there turning when riding..
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