Problem: On some axles the plating fills in the threads and makes it difficult to put your castle nuts on. If your axle did not come with castle nuts then you must use your stock nuts.
Solution: Secure the axle. Put some axle grease (not Vaseline) on the threads. Make sure the castle nut is perpendicular to the axle. This means make sure it is on straight! (See picture below and remember your warranty does not cover damaged threads). Take your crescent wrench and turn your castle nut 1/8 of a turn and back it off, 1/8 of a turn back it off until the nut threads itself all the way down. Remove the nut and wipe off the grease, install your hubs in the normal way.
If you are missing small parts to your axle you can call us and order them direct. See the picture below to find out the names of the parts you might need. We will help you with the part numbers when you call.
If you are like me, you probably saw how easy it is to install the pin drive wheel hubs and threw the instructions away. While simple, there are a few things to look for. The instructions call for us to torque the clamping bolt/nut to 60-90 ft/lbs and possibly add a jam nut (optional). Be sure to check that you are not out of thread on the cross bolt before the nut is actually tightened to spec. In other words, you may be getting the proper torque reading but it is because the nut has bottomed out on the thread of the bolt and is not clamping the wheel hub. Add an additional flat washer if this is the case. A loose hub may rock back and forth even when it appears to be torqued properly. Once this happens, it will not stay tight despite your best efforts.
Solution: Unfortunately the only solution is to replace the hub(s). Please note that if the cross hole in the axle is egg shaped it will not cause any problems. If the cross hole in the hub is cone shaped it must be replaced! Yes, you can buy just one hub!
The Posi-Lock nut system is designed to be light and strong. It keeps your axle from moving side to side in your carrier. There are two reasons why the nut comes loose.
In example #1 Below we see one of our Posi*Lock nuts where the inner sleeve is extended out of the nut too far. There are not enough threads inside the nut onto which to grab. In general, there should be at least 1/2” minimum of threads inside the outer nut. This will give the Posi*Lock nut enough threads to grab and hold the inner sleeve tight. If you do not have enough thread engaged into the nut, make a spacer (like a large flat washer or piece of tubing) to be placed between the sprocket/brake flange and the closed end of the outer nut. The thicker the spacer, the more thread will be engaged in the nut.
The second reason your Posi*Lock may be coming loose is that the big nut was over tightened and has collapsed. Remember, using a pipe wrench to tighten the big nut down can cause the nut to collapse and/or warp it’s shape. Remember that the purpose of the Posi*Lock is to take up space so the axle cannot slide in and out of the carrier. Slightly more than hand tight works best.
Solution: Tighten the large outer Posi-Lock nut until it’s snug (not too tight). Tighten the Allen bolt to 7-9 ft/lbs (don’t over tighten). Ride the quad and check for any axle end play (movement in and out of the carrier). If further adjustment is necessary, loosen the Allen bolt which clamps the Posi*Lock nut. Rotate so that the end play is taken up and re-tighten Allen bolt. Check the threaded inner sleeve to make sure it has sufficient engagement inside the nut. You should be good to go! Thanks to our customers for the pictures!
My Posi*Lock nut still comes loose. Now what?
There have been a few cases where the nut appears to come loose despite the fact you did everything correctly on the list above. First, we have to determine if the Posi*Lock nut is actually at fault. You can test the nut by taking a felt tip pen and marking the edge of the nut (see picture) and onto the threaded inner sleeve (not the axle). Ride your quad for a while and check your index marks. If they are still lined up then it’s not the Posi-Lock that is coming loose, but some other component. Bearings can be suspect but there are other items in the assembly (sprocket and brake flanges) that can also collapse and wear. If the index marks have shifted, then the Posi*Lock nut is coming loose. You can apply some Loctite to the inner sleeve of the nut. Use the blue medium strength Loctite and apply a couple of drops to the threads. Don’t over do it with the Loctite ( more is not better). You may need to get the nut off someday! Give the Loctite about 5 minutes to dry so you get full effectiveness. Most people have the red Loctite. If you use the red, apply only one drop!
Some of you have noticed that if you grab the nut, you can rotate the whole assembly by hand! Don’t panic this is normal for some applications. Remember the Posi*Lock nut system keeps your axle from moving side to side in the bearing carrier.
I spend quite of a bit of time on E-bay. I’ve gotten some great deals there, but judging from the tech calls I’ve received, many of you are getting bad deals. I’ve gotten plenty of calls from riders who bought axles on E-bay and wanted to know what parts they needed to make their axle work. When I tell them it will cost an additional $130.00 I hear cries of anguish! The good deal they got isn’t so good now. One customer called and wanted to know why his Posi*Lock kept slipping. Turns out that while he thought he had an Eliminator 2 + 2 axle the seller had slipped him a Heavy Duty axle instead. (ouch!). The Heavy Duty axle came concealed in an original Eliminator 2 + 2 box.
One way to make sure you are getting the correct axle and all the parts is to use our website as a reference. Look up the axle you want to buy and check it against the picture we show on our website. You can click on our website picture to see it close up.
Another issue is warranties. If you are not the original owner you are not eligible to get your axle warrantied! You must also be careful when you purchase a new axle from a company on E-bay. We do not accept Pay Pal receipts to verify that you are the original owner for warranties. These receipts are too vague and don’t show an itemized list proving the axle is new merchandise. You must provide an itemized receipt showing the name and address of the company you purchased your axle from, date of purchase and a description of what axle you bought! There are many reputable companies selling items on E-bay who will provide you with a legitimate receipt. We will honor your warranty from those companies so keep your receipt! You can’t get warranty work done without it.
A word on wheel spacer deals! A lot of riders bought wheel spacers on E-bay with no hardware. I get phone calls asking how much for replacement stud extenders. Each time the callers assumed that the stud extenders where cheap. Stud extenders cost almost $10.00 each. These are custom made, heat treated, plated and not available at any hardware store. To buy a set of 8 stud extenders will cost you about $95.00 with shipping. The lesson here is to buy a complete wheel spacer set. Wheel spacers are inexpensive enough that you should be able to buy them new from an authorized dealer and also receive a limited 90 day warranty (our UTV aluminum spacers have a lifetime warranty)! See our dealer referral section and start calling for prices on wheel spacers. If you aren’t sure which spacers you need go to our wheel spacer section. Click on the big blue bar and search our data base to find your quad and to locate the wheel spacer part number you need. You can always call us and talk with a live person, 949-770-5533.
Here’s some advice for all of you that want a good deal. If you really sit down and think about how much time and extra money you spend trying to get some of this stuff to work, you are going to end up having a heart attack! The extra aggravation and time spent just isn’t worth the stress, plus the fact you’re taking a chance on losing your money and you don’t have any warranty. The best deals I see are through your dealers who are willing to use their experience and expertise to make it happen for you!
Please Note: The bearing carrier for the Suzuki Z400 has changed mid year. The Durablue bearing carrier will fit only one of the swing arms but not both (without drilling a hole in the swing arm). To find out if our bearing carrier will fit your quad please see Figure 49B. If you have the curved rear plate and the mounting holes are the same it will fit. If you have the other swing arm where you have the flat plate in the rear and the wider spaced mounting holes (see chart 49A) our bearing carrier will not work without drilling a hole in the swing arm. Occasionally a manufacturer will find it necessary to make changes mid year. The Kawasaki KFX-400 and Arctic Cat models are not affected. Drilling the hole is an easy, non-precise operation that can be accomplished using a hand held drill. Use the bearing carrier as a guild as to where the hole needs to be drilled. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
There’s an issue with the kfx700/vforce 700 wheel hubs wearing down frequently by ripping the splines out of the wheel hub requiring replacement. The cause is due to the bike being heavy and the 2 cylinder engine creating power pulses similar to an impact wrench. Also, the spline on the axle where the wheel hub goes has a small diameter with insufficient surface area to adequately transfer power. The solution is the X-33 axle which increases surface area and locks down the wheel hub, so there’s no movement allowing for wear and tear.
We have received calls recently about various brands of wheel hubs coming loose. This bothers many customers who now say their aluminum wheel hubs are lasting about a season and a half at best. After surveying a number of customers who bought stock or other brand name hubs, a pattern has emerged as to the cause. There are 3 basic reasons why your hubs my be loose. The first reason is that hubs are a slip fit. They will naturally be loose by a few thousands of an inch. This is ok and will not affect performance. You might be inclined to tighten the castle nut. This will not solve the problem. If you over tighten the castle nut (example100 foot pounds) you will risk stripping or snapping the end of the axle off. The second cause is jumping. Many riders who jump fail to back off the throttle while flying through the air. When they hit the ground everything stops almost instantaneously putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the hubs and axle. The splines will begin to break down especially in the soft aluminum hubs. The third reason is a more recent phenomenon. New, more powerful 4 stroke quads may be to blame. These more powerful engines tend to thump more and harder than the weaker 2 stroke engines. The increased power and constant thumping may cause premature spline wear.
“The Cure” – If loose hubs are driving you crazy then you should consider the X-33 axle. This axle uses a pinch bolt hub system. The hubs are held in place by a bolt which acts as a lever to cause the hub to generate an extreme grip on the axle. The X-33 hubs won’t move. These high performance hubs must be torqued 60 to 90 foot pounds to generate the proper lever effect. The second solution would be to order a set of Durablue racing hubs. These hubs use a heat treated steel insert with aluminum cast around the insert. This gives you stronger spline support while keeping the hubs light weight. These hubs are far superior to the other aluminum hubs on the market.