I used cats outer wheel kit on my 2018. 3500 miles and no issues.

 

This is the direction I was likely gonna go since my sled has 5600kms/3500miles on the tri-hub alone. Just the simplicity of the spacers and two additional wheels to delete the tri-hub vs. the extra cost over just the outer two wheels baffled me.

 

I just installed the J&T Stealth 4 wheel kit, and installing another this weekend on another sled. Bigger wheels and bigger bearings. Easy install, good quality. J & T Products

 

Any 4th wheel kit helps the Tri hub.

 

Either buy the JT kit or look at barnofparts.com. He has something similar to what you are looking at doing.

 

The TriHub is fine if the bearings are serviced.
Add an outside wheel kit and ride.
3500 miles is time to service all idler bearings.
Guaranteed there is moisture inside.
Especially since they are 5 years+ old. Replacement may be the only option.
Age can be more damaging than miles.

 

I have done the servicing on this machine the last few years for the previous owner. I always checked the bearing as well as the small bolts holding the tri-hub together. The machine will get a thorough inspection before it hits the trails

 

Congrats of the Great Buy!
I love it when things happen like that.
My current machine is a 2017 ZR6000RS with 13,500 miles.
Original TriHub, serviced of course, with the Arctic outside wheel kit.
Ready to go, just need more snow.
All the Best!

 

Thanks. I’m looking forward to it.

 

I added the Cat 4th wheel kit to my 2017s from day one. I've never touched the tri-hub (not sure what you service on a sealed bearing). I have over 10,000 miles on one and the tri-hub is still as smooth as butter.

 

It’s good to know that the tri-hub holds up to that kind of mileage. I will just go with the outer kit and stop overthinking the rest.

As far as bearings go, you can pop off the rubber seal very carefully and repack the bearing with grease. This was a yearly occurrence for me on my previous sled (2016 Pro-S Switchback). I did the driveshaft and jackshaft bearing every year. I eventually made the PTO side driveshaft bearing greasable. The idler bearings, I usually just replaced.

 

I’ve installed outer wheel rear axle kits on every new sled we’ve had that didn’t have them, since ‘03, and with doing that I’ve never had a inner rear axle bearing fail. Tri hubs included. I’ve been buying the AC add on outer wheel kits since ‘12.

 

Same here stronger. The Cat ones are easy to install. Don’t think u have even loosen the track? I had a tri hub go on my 12 or 14 xf 8000 One fine evening. When they go , they go. Was only ten miles from home on the trail. Limped it home at 20 miles an hour. Not fun.

 

Cat 4 wheel kits for me on 4 or 5 different sleds, no issues.

 

Have had good results with the Cat 4th wheel kit but deleted the tri hub. Cut copper plumbing pipe to act as spacers easy and cheap. Also, installed Polaris idlers on the rear and thru out the skid just can't seem to get big miles on Cat idlers plus Polaris are a tad larger

 

I can say I have never had a problem with 2 wheel set ups from cat. The amount of sand you hit makes a difference. A long time ago when I road in lower Michigan hyfax, bearings, and carbides were replaced constantly. Now i usually sell the sled and they are still good

 

JT has the OG and best, basically its the doo axle and wheels. There are other places that have basically adopted the idea as well. If it were me I would pony up the little bit extra cash to go with the bigger bearings. I went with the Ken's sports option and found that the inside axle actually needed to be machined so that the idle wheels rode between the cogs, when I first put it on they rubbed on the inside of the lugs.

 

I also use JT wheel priducts. Good stuff.

 

Larson Racing. also makes a nice heavy rear axle and 4 wheel kit.

Larson Racing.

Larson Racing. 843 likes. Cross Country Snowmobile Race Team & Manufacturer of Snowmobile Performance Parts

www.facebook.com

 

I’m glad to hear that those using the outer kit haven’t had any issues with the tri-hub. I think I’ve read too much into the potential failure of them. I decided to order the outer wheel kit for now since I don’t see any issues with the tri-hub on my machine.

 

One of the biggest issues with the tri-hub is that if a bearing goes, you are stranded, since the wheels are tied together. You fix that with an outer wheel kit.

 

I pulled my tri hub out last weekend on my 2017. I thought the seal was damaged on the one, but upon closer inspection, it was fine. I had two brand new SKF 6004 sealed bearings already bought so I changed the bearings anyways. There's about 2500 miles on the original ones and they felt perfect still, but I figured I might as well change them while I had it all apart anyways.

 

If money isn’t an issue then best way to go is billet aluminum 4 wheel kit with the billet offset axile. Tricked Toys in GTA area is where I got mine. Bigger bearings, frees up rolling resistance, the rubber is replaceable or you can run no rubber.

 

That’s a hot looking machine, nice wrap and wheel choice! Yes I have heard of them. I have a long list of upgrades and maintenance this year since I just got this sled. I’d like to make sure I like the machine before I dive in that deep. The hope is that is becomes my wife’s machine when the kids are a little older in a few years. She talks about riding again

 

little late to the party here, but will add this to just allow for food for thought
if one really wanted to pick the lesser evil, replacing the tri hub, or just adding a 2 extra wheels!

keep in mind, that the main possible problem or concern actually is,
Is hat if a bearing in the tri hub ever froze up(which was known to happen on the first few yrs of non serviceable bearings)

there can be catastrophic damage to the sled, (pending when and where the failure happens, and what speeds are involved) ,
so just adding two extra wheels to things doesn;t solve this possible damage? it doesn;t really add any life to the tri hub or its bearings, or not a going to prevent the possibility of it causing damage if a bearing froze up!(which if greased as needed is a LOW possibility)

BUT replacing the tri up with a true 4 wheel kit, like larson racing, or the JT one, will totally get ride of the possibility of a tri hub failure/ ever locking up due to bearing failure!

SO< honestly, if one wanted to have the lowest possibility of an issue/concern , it would be getting rid of the tri hub, all together

as doing so is a much better deal, than just adding two extra wheels to the skid! IMO, it will actually prevent the tri hub damage if a bearing every froze up!, better way to spend the $$ IMO on an upgrade!

 

little late to the party here, but will add this to just allow for food for thought
if one really wanted to pick the lesser evil, replacing the tri hub, or just adding a 2 extra wheels!

keep in mind, that the main possible problem or concern actually is,
Is hat if a bearing in the tri hub ever froze up(which was known to happen on the first few yrs of non serviceable bearings)

there can be catastrophic damage to the sled, (pending when and where the failure happens, and what speeds are involved) ,
so just adding two extra wheels to things doesn;t solve this possible damage? it doesn;t really add any life to the tri hub or its bearings, or not a going to prevent the possibility of it causing damage if a bearing froze up!(which if greased as needed is a LOW possibility)

BUT replacing the tri up with a true 4 wheel kit, like larson racing, or the JT one, will totally get ride of the possibility of a tri hub failure/ ever locking up due to bearing failure!

SO< honestly, if one wanted to have the lowest possibility of an issue/concern , it would be getting rid of the tri hub, all together

as doing so is a much better deal, than just adding two extra wheels to the skid! IMO, it will actually prevent the tri hub damage if a bearing every froze up!, better way to spend the $$ IMO on an upgrade!

I completely disagree with you here... I had a 2012 where the trihub failed w/out outside wheels. I was lucky and caught it in time - YES, that could severely damage your sled.
But, with the newer trihub bearings AND the 4th wheel kit from Cat, it would be a freak of nature to damage the track or rails with a trihub failure. Those plastic wheels are going to melt (and the locked bearing spin inside them) long before they do ANY damage to a track or rails.

Again, I have OVER 10,000 miles on this setup with a 1.75" lug track and all the dirt/grit that running scratchers bring. They are silky smooth to this day.

So to the OP - add the outside wheels (without taking anything apart) and ride your sled. Pull your skid every now and then to check all bearings and rebuild your shocks.

 

I have been of the opinion since 2012, that the only problem with the tri hub, is that it has all of the load on two bearings. I have never ran a machine that only had two wheel bearings on the rear axle. I know of 2012 machines still going with nearly 9,000 miles on them, original tri-hubs, with only outer wheel kits installed day one or close to it. Adding two wheels to the outside absolutely must increase the life of the tri hub, because it takes half of the pressure off of it. right? There’s no problem with the tri hub bearings, they’re made out of the same junk that all modern bearings are made out of. I have buddies that ride other brands, that only come with three wheels across the back, they add one to the inside to have four, sharing the same mindset that I have. You’re wrapping all of your horsepower around that rear axle. Cool looking complete rear wheel
and axle kits are obviously good too, just at an added cost

 

yes 100% adding more bearings to share the load, will most likely lessen the wear and tear on , just two bearings,
BUT as we all know, a bear can fail, and the deal with the tri hub is, , if that bearing freezes up, it will stop the tri hub and the end resuylt can be destructive!

where as if you eliminate the tri hub and STILL go to 4 wheels/bearings, you , for sure eliminate the possibility of a tri hub ever freezing up due to a bearing failure!
so, adding the extra 2 wheels/bearings , may share the load, it doesn;t prevent a tri hub failure!
and again, I am NOT saying a tri hub is a ticking time bomb or scared to run one, as stated lots of folks run them problem free for long amounts of miles!
BUT some also have had failures too, !

So, I am just saying, if one was want to remove any worries about the tri hub, the better way to remove the possible problem from them, is to eliminate them, and not just add more wheels or bearings
As adding more bearings can also mean adding more things to fail , but if again NO tri hub, even if one bearing fails, , its not going to lock the track up , when you eliminate the tri hub, that is, yet still have them extra bearings to share the load!
and they have kits out there that do so, for a fair price,
the JT one is cheaper, the Larson one is more costly but a little more beefy IMO
peace of mind tends to always have a price tag HAHA!,
and we can all over think things too, so again, NO bash here, just adding info on a better fix/prevention !

 

I see your point.
Although I’ve never actually seen a skid wheel bearing lock up.
Blow apart yes.

 

I see your point.
Although I’ve never actually seen a skid wheel bearing lock up.
Blow apart yes.

go have a look at post # 16 with a picture of what happens when the bearing locks up on a tri hub!
its the reason they came out with the tri hub replacement kits!
and all it takes for a bearing to lock up is for it to get hot enough to seize it self, can happen any where bearings are!
a well grease bearing should not, but, lets face it, , not all folks stay on top of PM's and, , even brand new bearings can be LOW to NO grease from the factory, replaced enough to know this, that I always check anymore before installing them,

Rear Tri-Hub improved?

I am looking at maybe buying a 2017 carry over zr6000. Has arctic cat fixed the dreaded tri-hub bearing issues from the early pro-cross chassis? I am wondering if that is something I will need to replace with a better 4 wheel kit. Thanks in advance.

www.hardcoresledder.com

 

I just don’t know how my sleds survive.
I would think the track would rip the bearings right out of the wheels before it bent the rails though.
I also think I would hear or feel Any bearing going bad before it got to that point

 

No, if the hub locked up solid and the track drive knobs we’re engaged into it, the track would want to lift the rear of the rails like that. I just think the bearings would pull out of the plastic first and that machine in the photo had probably been landed on its tail to cause that damage

 

I have seen trihubs with the bearings blown out of them, just like regular rear axle wheels with the bearings blown out of them