Last winter I hit a water bar that must have had a rock in just the wrong spot. It bent up the tunnel around the driveshaft, which caused a funny side-load on the bearing. My speedo quit working, and shortly after the bearing started making noise. Of course, I wasn't aware of this damage until the bearing started making noise. Considering that I put over 200 miles on it (most of them by myself at night), I was darn lucky not to wind up stranded.

I decided that I'd buy my Crossfire, and fix the old sled to use as a spare/2nd sled. I ride alone most of the time, and didn't want to gamble with the reliability of my repair. Plus my wife wants to get involved, so this got us the 2nd sled.

Anyway, I attached some pics of the damage. Now that it's apart, I think that the repair may not be as tough as I had feared. I'm going to try to straighten the tunnel, and rivet a steel reinforcement plate to the inside of the tunnel. Straightening it may prove difficult because this is one of the strongest parts of the sled, but if I drill the rivets out of the foot area I think I'll be ok. I'll be sure to post progress pics as I go on.

While the sled is apart I'm also going to repaint the pipe and can, and replace my seat. I also have a new front skid shock coming, and need to replace the rear skid springs. Once I get it back together, I will probably pull the front suspension apart to repaint everything, and hopefully revalve the shocks and add stiffer ski springs.

In the first pic you can see the damage with everything together. The running boards are pushed up, and the tunnel is bent. The second pic really shows how bent the tunnel is around the bearing. The retaining ring is bent at quite an angle compared to the driveshaft. The third picture shows the naked tunnel with everything removed.

That looks like it should have hurt.
Be patient, measure everything 10x before you drill. I'd use the flage as a template and make a Big plate to cover as much and catch as much meat on the outside as you can. May need to plate both sides, with extensions forward and back. Keep us posted.

Thats a freak thing wow! Before you beat on it with a hammer I would cut some wood bocks and use a bottle jack between the tunnel to open it up a bit. Still a good dead blow hammer is in order. I would not worry about plates unless the tunnel cracks.

honestly, I'm surprised I haven't seriously hurt myself on that sled. I've hit some water bars very hard. I've knocked my skis out of alignment a couple times, I've twisted my handlebars more times than I can count, I've actually bent the driveshaft (you should see that - I saved it!!!) and this was my most recent bout with water bars. With all of these incidents, I've usually been thrown into the handlebars, but have been completely unhurt every time. The abuse that this sled has been able to withstand has made me a 100% believer in the older ZR chassis. Mine's not even reinforced like the ZRs are.

Although most of the riding of this sled from this point on will be by my wife, father, and friends, I still want to make the sled Jimbo-proof to the best of my abilities. I'm going to rivet a steel plate into each side of the tunnel after I get that side straightened out. I may put the ZR-style braces on the outside as well. In order to prevent this kind of impact in the future, I'm upgrading the rear suspension with a ZR CC front skid shock & spring, and a stiffer rear spring. I've already got a rear skid shock valved to ZR specs. I'm also going to re-clutch the sled. Right now the sled feels like it weighs a thousand pounds because it has no throttle response. The clutching is so "smooth" that the power comes on very slowly when you stab the throttle. This prevents me from being able to get the front end to lift up as I approach bumps, which is why I always crash into the other side of the water bars.

And it goes without saying that I'm having the dealer put the tunnel supports into my Crossfire before I ride this winter.

what is a water bar?

That's what we call a section of trail that has some sort of stream running across it. Usually this is mounded up a little bit so that the water will go across the trail and not down it. When it snows, this section keeps melting away, so you wind up with a very deep hole across the trail. Usually by the time you see it you have to make a quick decision whether you're going to slam the brake or the gas. When there's a lot of snow (but still warm enough for the water bars to melt open), it's all snow on the other side, so even if you hit it hard, you don't usually break anything. With less snow, sometimes you wind up hitting that mound of frozen dirt or a large rock on the other side.

I haven't made a lot of progress since my first post, but I have completely dis-assembled the rear skid and taken an inventory of the parts that I Need to replace. Most of my bushings look decent, but I'm replacing them all anyway. The lower bar that the front skid shock mounts to is also bent, so I'll be getting a new one of those.

Once I managed to get my damned secondary off the jack shaft, I'll have room to start drilling the rivets for the foot area so I can get that part out of our way so we can start the straightening.

Been there done that, had the same exact rock damage on my 2003 zr800 efi sno pro, first thing to show up was a broken speedo key, broke 2 or 3 more keys after initial repair, after finding the cause, which turned out to be a slightly tweaked area around bearing flange, some shims were used to square the speedo adaptor to the driveshaft, problem cured for time being, last season the track needed replacing so while every thing was out it was much easier to get the tunnel perfect, repair not noticable and hasnt been a problem since, just remember aluminum is harder to straighten than steel.. good luck with your repair..

Tonight I finished drilling the rivets out of the foot-area piece so that I could remove it. With it gone the tunnel is much more flexible so that I'll be able to start hammering it back into position.

It's been a while since I've been able to do much, but progress should start going faster now.

Jim, You want to put your wife onto this death sled? Got her life insurance policy paid up?? LOL I shouldda thought of that!

When I'm done this sled will be stronger than stock. Once the tunnel is straightened, I'm going to make a steel tunnel support to rivet into the tunnel, much like the Crossfire supports that Cat offers. Even in its current condition the sled was perfectly strong. I rode it for at least 200 miles before I was even aware of the damage. The only reason I even knew about the damage is that the speedo quit, and the bearing dried up and started making noise. I assume that the damage was done 200 miles prior because that was the only hard hit I took on the sled and the speedo died shortly after.

All of my painted rear suspension parts are repainted. Last night I cleaned up the rails and started to re-assemble the skid. Tonight I'll be installing the new springs on the rear arm and hopefully be putting it into the sled. All of my new bushings are here, and the last of my parts have been ordered, pending any future discoveries.

You just know your night isn't going to go well when instead of pressing the new bearing onto the rear arm, you can just slide it on... and off... and on...

I masked off the shaft where the bearing sits so that I wouldn't damage it with the sand blaster, and also so that I didn't paint it. After I painted things I cleaned up the shaft with some mild sand paper, and then the bearing fit too loose on one side. I looked at the original bearing and realized that there was paint stuck to the inside of it. Apparently 'cat took the paint thickness into account when turning the shaft that the bearing sits on. So last night after I got the skid half assembled and still had my bearing and rear spring falling off, I puckered the shaft Redneck style. I squeezed it with channel lock pliers, and hit the top of the pliers with a hammer. I did this all around the shaft to put a bunch of marks in it. Then for good measure I brushed some paint on to the shaft. It doesn't look pretty, but at least it'll keep the bearing where it belongs.

The next problem I had was getting the aluminum shaft into the rear part of the rear arm where the two brass bushings go. I put new bushings in, and they're a lot tighter than the old ones. I had to sand the aluminum shaft, slather it with grease, then pound it in with a hammer. The old one slid right out! I decided that since it was a tight fit that I should sand it so that there would be a place for the grease to sit between the shaft and the bushing. Once I got it together, though snug, it rotated smoothly.

Hopefully tonight I'll get the front arm assembled, and hopefully I'll be able to tip the skid on its side so I can put the new bearing on the rear arm without taking everything back apart.

Last night I pressed the new bearing on to the rear arm, then installed all of the brass bushings and pins into the front arm. Getting those bushings and pins in was a lot of work... I really wish I knew this ahead of time so I could have brought them all to my press, but instead I did it in my garage with a c-clamp. No wonder new suspensions are so tight at first!

Tonight I won't have time to work on anything, but hopefully tomorrow I'll finish with the re-assembly of the rear skid and will have a couple before & after pictures to post.

Last night I worked on putting the rear skid together. I got the front arm installed, and today I got the front shock and the straps installed.

This afternoon my father came over and he helped me straighten the tunnel. We worked on it for most of the afternoon. I guess having a body man for a father definately has its advantages. My father knew exactly what we had to do to get it straight. We used a heavy piece of angle iron, along with clamps, spacers, and a few different hammers and dollies. We're not 100% yet, but we've gotten it straight enough that once we make a tunnel support for the inside of the tunnel and get it installed along with the foot hold pieces, it'll wind up a lot stronger than it was originally. I can't wait to get these supports made and get the sled back together!

Hey, that looks real good.
Yes suspension bushings are a pain in the a$$.
I like the visegrip etching thing. I would have used a pric punch and loctite.

My father suggested a punch too, but I wanted something that would bite a wider section of the bearing, so I decided to give the channel locks a go. It worked extremely well.

Tonight was an easy night. I reinstalled the exhaust y-pipe and I played around with polishing the aluminum exhaust pipe shield a little bit.

Question... are people interested in these progress reports, or should I just let the thread die? I don't see a lot of interest in the thread anymore, and I don't want to keep bringing it up to the top unless people are following it.

I'm waiting for the tunnel brace development, although it does look pretty good without it. Maybe do a new thread with the first pic (waffled tunnel inside) then post it beside the finished pic. when you get there.

Today I made the brackets. I planned on using steel, but I wound up having a sheet of .092" aluminum that I decided to use.

Here are a couple pics. The first is the brackets by themselves, the second is the left bracket in position, and the last is the right bracket in position. Once they're sucked in with the rivets, I think they'll work extremely well.

nicely fit pieces.

...just a question but wont those plates make the bearings be a litle sloppy in the brackets????

no no no, look how he cut them to allow the flanges to set inside.. nicely cut.

No. I cut the brackets big enough that they won't interfere with the bearing mount. The speedo assembly and bearing retainer will mount just to the original tunnel like they always did. The brackets will just add strength to the tunnel, and help keep the tunnel where it belongs so that there won't be any funny wear to the bearings.

That looks really good!!! Nice job...

I'm getting ready to install the new brackets. Last night I removed some of the factory rivets on the right side, and started marking the bracket to drill the new holes. Today I need to pick up some rivets.

I also bought a new brace that supports the area between the foot rest and the running board underneath. This was right in the area that was damaged, and rather than screw around with trying to straighten it, I bought a new one. To my surprise, it was only about $5. It's interesting to see the new one next to the old one. I had no idea the old one was as bent as it was. You get a really good idea of just how compressed that whole area became due to the damage.

I made great progress on the sled this weekend. I got the tunnel supports installed, and in the process, I got the left side foot perch and brace installed too. In the pics below, you can see a picture of the repair from the outside, and a picture of each tunnel bracket.
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I also replaced my seat with one that I bought a few years ago when the opportunity presented itself on Ebay. I always look for deals on things, even if it's something that I may not need at the time. I'm glad I did... a few years back I got the seat and tank for $100 shipped. I traded the tank away a while ago, but I knew this seat would come in handy eventually. I had planned to make a new seat (or actually add foam to the old one) but I've run out of time so that will have to wait.
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Hopefully this week my bearings and my clutch puller will come in so that I can finish everything. Trails open in 2 weeks, and I'm determined to have the sled done before then.

Very nice write up Jim. I hope to see this sled first hand out on the trails ready to fit off a few more water bars

Last night I packed the new bearing that goes on the jack shaft behind the secondary, but before I could grease the rear skid the grease gun decided to stop pumping grease and instead just makes a bunch of sucking noises.

So, I worked on the clutches. I replaced the spring and the weights in the primary, then replaced the helix in the secondary. I had a hell of a time trying to get the secondary back together, and so far I haven't suceeded. Today I need to buy a long bolt and nut so I can use them to help squeeze things together so I can just concentrate on twisting the pieces. Doing this by yourself and without most of the proper tools certainly is an adventure.

Hopefully tonight I'll also be able to clean the chaincase and start partially re-assembling that.

???
The long bolt trick is for the diamond drive secondaries...not yours.
Kneeling on the floor...set the clutch on a roll of duct tape, backside shaft through the tape's center hole, leave the three helix bolts loose for now, set spring where you want it, hold sheaves with left hand and push the cover down with your right. get it down nearly all the way by hand, then start a nut and run it down semitight, do the other two. do not just draw it downall the way with the nuts as you can bind the rollers on the helix (why you leave it loose) after the cover is tight, then tighten the helix.

oops, I just noticed your other thread...
looking at the 5 holes, with them at the top of the circle, say 10 to 2 o'clock positions.... hole #1 is on the Left or 10 o'clock and is the Loosest setting. hole 5 is full to the right ( 2 o'clock or toward the back of the sled when installed) and is the tightest.

The bolt trick would still have helped keep the cap on the shaft while I concentrated on twisting it, but I didn't have a socket wide enough to fit around the shaft, so it wound up not working anyway. I did get out the roll of duct tape, and once it was sitting in that, I was able to gorilla-fist the cap into place and start the nuts.

Thanks for letting me know the direction for the 1-5 holes. Looking at the spring made it fairly intuitive, but confirmation is always nice. Fortunately I had it right, so I don't have to take the thing apart to do it again.

Jim, you DID mark the secondary and primary before you took them apart, right? They are balanced, and you need to make sure things line up the way they did before, or all hell will break loose and (worst case scenario) grenade the clutch(es) on you.... PLEASE tell me you have the service manual for the ZL and read the directions????

I marked the primary. I forgot to mark the secondary, but I never actually removed the two halves of the secondary, plus there are alignment marks on the outside of the secondary right from the factory, so I'm all set. I may have wound up twisting the roller cover, but that weight is so close to the center of mass that I don't expect it to be a problem. If it is, there's only 2 other positions to put it in!

And yeah, I do have the service manual, but for some things it's fairly worthless. However, it also does have some very relevant information for most things.

you are correct, the roller cover can go anywhere, only the sheaves are marked for balance.

actually, now that I think about it, the roller cover can only go on one way because of the holes for the spring. If I installed the roller cover incorrectly, the spring wouldn't seat properly.

Last night I cleaned the chaincase and pulled the clutch-side bearing off of the jack shaft. If I was smarter, I would have brought the jack shaft with me when I cleaned the chaincase so I could have pressed the bearing off in my press, but instead, I used a 2-fingered puller and spent almost an hour pulling it off a 1/16th of an inch at a time. Because that took so long, all I managed to accomplish was to get the new bearing installed and get the chaincase housing and jackshaft back into the sled. Then I stood around and swore a lot because both of the new NTN bearings that I bought for the chaincase side won't fit because the frigging collar is too big to let the gears sit on the shafts properly. Sooo... it looks like my old bearings are going back in for now so that I can have the sled functional by sunday. Fortunately those bearings still feel ok, and it's not that hard to pull the gears off in a few weeks to replace them.

Hopefully tonight and tomorrow I'll get everything under the hood put back together. If I can accomplish that in the next 2 nights, then I'll just be left with reinstalling the gas tank, then the driveshaft & track, then the rear skid on Friday, and I'll get to ride the sled around on Saturday before taking it on the trails on Sunday.

Last night I got the chaincase bearing on the jackshaft reinstalled (temporarily until I can get a new bearing) and then put together most of the airbox and related equipment. In the process I noticed that one of my powervalve cables is frayed and that it's got a hair too much slack, so I'll be ordering one of those today. I put the seat and gas tank back on, and when I was done for the night I decided to close the hood. Even though it's not done yet, it sure was nice to make it look like a sled again.

Last night was a short and highly frustrating night. I figured I'd take it easy and grease the rear skid. I bought one of the cheapo Advance Auto grease guns (my other one works fine) and some waterproof grease. I got about 4 squirts out of it before it quit working. Then the stupid grease gun wouldn't come off of the grease fitting on the skid. I tugged a little harder on the gun and the whole fitting popped out of the front arm. That gun has such a tight grip on the fitting that I broke the fitting trying to get it out of the gun. Now it's going back to Advance auto fitting and all.

It's been a while since my last update. Progress was very slow as the holidays approached, but over the last couple days I made great strides. I got the driveshaft & track installed, then the rear skid, the exhaust, and lots of odds and ends. I've got a bunch more odds and ends to deal with, but I'm hoping to get it out into the snow tomorrow or Saturday.

Looks good, the reinforcing plates look pro!!

I'm not sure what type of paint you used on the pipe, but if it's anything like the "high heat" header crap I used it will be flaking off in about the first trip across the lake.

Sled's done.

I finished putting it together today and I made a temporary mount for the shock adjuster with a u-bolt until I can mount it with the correct hardware.

I took the sled for a short 5-6 mile ride just to use it a little bit. The new clutching is amazing. The front end of the sled jumps up at will, and feels way more powerful. The rear skid rides way firmer than before, thanks solely to the new front skid shock & spring. The rear springs that I replaced apparently weren't really as wasted as I thought, since even with the new "fat boy" springs the rear skid drops all the way to the coupler blocks when I stand on it. I'll try turning up the rear springs. It would be nice if it didn't sag all the way to the couplers when I sat on it.

But, the stiffer front spring is easily noticable. On the trails the rear skid is significantly firmer, almost to a fault. However, it feels well controlled, and after repeated beatings on the many water bars on the trail, I never felt it bottom. Speaking of repeated beatings, the sled's chassis felt fantastic. Perfectly stiff.

I pulled the sled back into the garage and after it thaws I'm going to go through it and make sure that nothing loosened up.

As for the paint on the pipe, after my short 5 mile ride it still looks perfect. When I first got going on the sled I could smell the paint baking for the first few minutes. We'll see how it looks after my first 50 mile ride.

+1.........long haul to fix that puppy / nice repair / thanks for posting it.

Well that was fun while it lasted. On the way home I noticed that the rear skid really started to perform oddly. When I stopped I noticed that the front of the skid was sitting an inch off the ground. The rear of the skid was all that touched.

The ZR CC shock compressed over an inch and wouldn't open back up. I could still turn the adjuster knob and tighten it up further, but it wouldn't expand back to it's normal length.

Here's a pic of it fully extended next to my old shock that is going back in as soon as I manage to get the new spring off the ZR CC shock. That shock was well worth the $150 I paid.

I would not bother trying to swap the spring. I have never actually seen one of those sack out. On the other hand, the bent shock rod that it appears you have, those I've seen. Use slow steady pressure form a chain binder, come-a-long or the like to pull it back out when your ready to fix it.

Shock just needs to be o'hauled with a Fox separator piston.............very common problem that occurs when either the CCE stock sep piston is used or the dials been turned in too far. Dial should not be cranked down more than approx 3 turns from where you first feel resistance.

The knob was full loose when I left the garage yesterday, and I never touched it.

The shock rod isn't bent. It's as straight as an arrow, it's just crooked in the pic because the plastic sleeve in the shock hole is a little loose.

I do want to swap springs before installing the old shock though. That 110lb spring that was originally installed was way too soft for my riding style. I have a brand new 190lb spring on the ZR CC shock. Unfortunately, because the shock is compressed, getting the spring off isn't a simple matter of turning the collar until it's loose. I've got to use a spring compressor to get it apart.

The pisser is, this shock was supposidly fresly rebuilt when I bought it.

So either a poor o'haul job and or it's got the original sep piston in it.

Either way, after spending $150 on it from a fellow HCS'er, the best reply he could give me was "I bought it on Ebay and don't remember who I bought it from, but I bought 2 and mine works fine".

So somehow I should feel better that his works and mine doesn't.

In any case, yesterday I put the spring on my old shock and put the sled back together. I was concerned that the 190lb spring on a shock valved for a ZL would result in a pogo stick, but it seemed to work really well... well enough that I'm not sure that I want to bother rebuilding and reinstalling the ZR CC shock for right now.

Easy for him to track via ebay....................

I know. He's just giving me a run-around.

I'm not trying to get him to take the shock back, but getting some $$$ back to go toward another rebuild would be nice.