13 pro precautionary measure till polaris possably recalls the driveshafts

[lightening1000]

this will have to do till or when polaris does something about the driveshafts that are spinning, if you look closelt the outer shaft is paper thin that is glued to the inner shaft< when i drilled through it the outer skin was super thin but the inside shaft was a bit thicker..installed super strong stainless double crimp rivets on each side, this will be good for now lol

 

[snowhunter]

That's what I was thinking of doing to mine looks good those are stainless structural rivets right?

 

[lightening1000]

That's what I was thinking of doing to mine looks good those are stainless structural rivets right?

yes they are, very strong you have to dill right by the edge also, i tried drilling about haft a inch inward thinking there would be shaft in there that far at least, but i was wrong hollow!! you would think polaris would of slid in atleast a inch or 2 inside the outer shaft... only about a quarter inch no ch!t!!!

 

[Chrisco]

I have done 3 like this already I think they will hold up fine, the steel slides into the alum shaft about a 1/2 inch I looked at a split one today so stay about a 1/4 of the seam and it will be ok.

 

[Chrisco]

I did all mine when the shafts were out, how was it to do in the sled ??

 

[RK Tek]

No doubt this is better than not doing anything.. But be careful.. each drill hole leaves a higher potential for a stress fracture.. The pieces are so thin that any fracture/crack will end up splitting the shaft..

 

[Chrisco]

If that was a factor and there was a chance of that why would they already have 2 holes in the shaft ?

 

[lightening1000]

If that was a factor and there was a chance of that why would they already have 2 holes in the shaft ?

very easy to drill and do in the sled, lots of room.. and you are totally right about 2 holes in each side already, that is what mine had also with that glue blob in them..

 

[Graveler]

yes they are, very strong you have to dill right by the edge also, i tried drilling about haft a inch inward thinking there would be shaft in there that far at least, but i was wrong hollow!! you would think polaris would of slid in atleast a inch or 2 inside the outer shaft... only about a quarter inch no ch!t!!!

How many have failed ?

 

[duck]

rivets look good, hope it helps....

 

[geo]

Pictures of failed shafts seem to show the aluminum is not brittle. I doubt cracking because of the drilled hole is an issue but,,, will it help and for how long if the glue bond fails. I'm not a stress test engineer but I feel 6 rivets is not strong enough to hold all the forces put through that joint but it is the temp fix that makes the most sense because it provides help it locating (but only through some very thin aluminum) the end piece. Then, will Polaris try to deny you a new shaft?
Sh*tty situation. Good luck on your attempt to get riding but IMO there are so many directions of stress at this point that clamping or riveting will not get you out of the hills if the glue bond fails.

The reason (right or wrong) I believe this to be true, is how many functions that glued point needs to do. It has to be strong enough to; take a hit on the drive shaft; support the upward pull of the transmission belt; transfer the multiplied torque of the engine; handle the resistance-load of the snow and track as the suspention cycles and the bumps fly by under you; and LOCATE the shaft during all these forces.
I am leaning towards the latter as the reason for failure. If the other end of the drive shaft had some shiming and a bolt or circlip it may provide some help and support in resisting the seperating. A hit on the suspention towards the clutch side is all held by the bolt on the lower sprocket and the glued stub on that end.

If glue bonding is as strong as welding this design can work. You have to believe Polaris did some stress testing to attempt this. You also have to hope that the failures are simply poor assembly.

 

[trench]

If no recall is issued, because the problem is limited to a few because of production problems, you guys drilling holes in your drive shaft may have warranty trouble if you do end up with a failure. JMO

 

[snopro]

If no recall is issued, because the problem is limited to a few because of production problems, you guys drilling holes in your drive shaft may have warranty trouble if you do end up with a failure. JMO

Hopefully Polaris will be sympathetic to those guys Trencher. I know when we started spot welding axles in the XP's back in 08 they overlooked it. It was ugly man. Everyone got a letter stating they could not ride there sled till they got a new axle and then BRP started sending 10 axles every 2 weeks to the dealers. We has 160 XP's sold and that was a year where the dealers patience was tried with the phone ringing all day long from venting customers. Doo lost some customers that year and the same will happen with Polaris as they will not be able to keep everyone happy at once. Hopefully for you guys it is an isolated serial number problem.

 

[maxwell]

If no recall is issued, because the problem is limited to a few because of production problems, you guys drilling holes in your drive shaft may have warranty trouble if you do end up with a failure. JMO

Enjoy your chopper ride while these guys are out riding lmao. You can call Polaris from the chopper and find out if they have a fix yet lmfao. If they don't warranty that drilled shaft it would be dropped off on the front lawn with the sled if it were mine. You would be amazed what the shear strength on those rivets are.

 

[geo]

It's not the rivets that will let go it is the thin aluminum. The thin aluminum needs the strength of the thicker steel below it (through the bonding) to be strong enough (becomes in theory, one piece).

If the glue bond fails additional clamping will provide rotational support to the thin aluminum but no help in seperation. If a clamp was designed to attach the steel stub to the aluminum and strenghten the aluminum hex points it may work if the glue bond fails.

Again we are just chatting until someone can say that bonding is as strong as welding and if even welding (if the metals were the same) would work with this design. Pretty high stress point for the simple style of interference fit.

Speaking of stress, I guess I'm lucky in having too much work to get a couple days off in a row. Maybe Pol will tell us all soon what is the real issue. Design or quality control.

 

[trench]

Just seems to be a bit pre-mature to be drilling holes in the drive shaft, when only a few failures have been documented. As the season progresses more sleds are getting out with no issues, if drilling holes in the shaft cause a failure with no recall why would they cover it. Maxwell, if no recall is issued and the drive shafts work as designed, how do you want your crow served?

 

[geo]

He's just trying to scare us with heli bills.

I'm pretty sure it is envy. Eh Maxwell!

But thanks for the genuine effort to help.

 

[LennyR]

Maxwell just hates being in second place. But he's still self proclaimed king of meadows and bunny hills , but full of trees that you need super skills to avoid. LOL.

 

[Tyson.H]

When this whole thing started and i said drill holes and install rivet it wasn't to increase the strength by adding the rivets it was using the rivets to hold the aluminum from lifting and breaking the bond with the glue. As soon as it delaminates in on spot that it after that it will just separate and rip apart in seconds. They use the same method in airplanes they will bond and rivit. I am having a had time explaining it. If something is glued together and you go to one corner and pry it apart and then just work your way down the seam it delaminates really easily, well if you have rivet the it wont continue to lift and it will keep the bond. The rivets are there to keep the 2 peaces together, the glue is still the sear strength. But if i were to do it i would probably do 2 in each face so the corners are well held down (the corners are where all the forces are and where the delamination will start. I work with an aircraft engineer and he gave me the whole story but i am having a hard time explaining it. Hope this helps and makes senses sorry if it doesn't.

 

[lightening1000]

i didnt post this thread for anyone to do the same tot their sled if you dont want to, it is MY way of reassuring myself that i can still go riding and not be as worried about it spinning inside, you know what about the warranty possable issues of polaris replacing the shaft if it ever spins, i dont think that will be a issue because if there is actually a problem with their design they will recall the sleds and wont care whats done to the shaft, when your sled has a recall on it for a specific part that may fail it doesnt matter if the part is good or crap at that time, it gets replaced anyway!! i know cause i am the service manager of a polaris dealership so dont be concerned about that..