XP meets tree. Where to start?

[Snort]

So, riding on the 12th at Valemount. Snow was very good. Because of avy danger and poor visibility we are playing in the trees. Punching through an opening and miscalculated? Long story short, plowed in to a tree at WOT. The right ski seems to be pushed back 3"? Rode the rest of the weekend but now time to fix.

I am not sure where to start. The bottom A-arm is bent and the bracket where it bolts into at the front is slightly bent. Other than that, I can't see any other damage. What measurements do I need to take and where do I look for something else bent.

Would be very happy if the A-arm was the only part needed but not sure that I can be that lucky.

Thanks

 

[milton]

Keep looking, i ride an 09 xp and hit a rock under the snow in Cooke city a month ago. I replaced the upper and lower a arms and tie rod out there and when i got it home to the dealer they told me the machine was a right off. I bent the tunnel and the nun. Have a look at the reinforcement brackets behind the clutch and if any thing has moved you will see where the bolt use to sit, it will be nice and shiny. Check for loose rivits. Hopefully it is insured cause they wrote mine off and the fnnn thing is still brand new and paid 16200 last year for it. Black book today is 8100. Good luck.

 

[oler1234]

heh 3.5 inchs is a good start, did mine in on the first year owned it and was 6 inches back. anyways check the casting piece for hair line fractures in it. the bolts/rivets may have moved some of the bulkhead. if thats the case, it will need to be replaced. also check your u frames these can also shift on you, side to side. easy way to tell is check your plastics gap on each side. also sometimes its the upper a-arm will move and nothing else.

when i hit i took out the front bulk head, front motor mount, PTO side had a good twist in it and bent back, shock was bent, forwat upper triangulation bar was tweaked. Its all repairable.

 

[Puba]

You more than likely just twisted the a arms and the nums without bending the tunnel. There are dealers out there that will quote or tell you the worse case scenario then a guy trades it off or they buy it from the insurance and fix it then sell it as a great used sled and make money on it. Take the sled to specialty sleds in Edmonton they'll give you an honest quote for the repairs and more than likely it's repairable for a third or less of the cost that dealer would quote you.

Been there, done that trust me.

 

[Foxstar45]

If the a-arm is bent then there has got to be more bent as well. They are ussually the last thing to go. The suspension/engine module will likely need an R&R parts should be about $1500, the labor is the wild card. Good luck!

Foxstar

 

[steel town]

take your pipe out and take a look around. report what you see. take off the a arms too. depends how picky you are, you can most likley get is "close" and not spend too much, or spend thousands making it perfect. Sometimes close is good enough. My tech "Jogger" here at the shop is really good at gettin-er "close" if your ok going that direction....

 

[takethebounce]

as Steeltown mentioned, take off the nose cone, pull the pipe and then get a better idea of where you stand. Role the sled on its side and check the s-module (bulkhead area) to see if everything looks straight and check for lose rivets or cracks.

You'll likely need an e-module if its bent or cracked. (side supports) I have seen some on kijiji recently for a reduced price.

And NO, just because an a-arm is bent there doesn't have to be more bent. The biggest factor is you hit it at WOT and you got away with being able to ride the rest of the weekend? WOW! Lucky. I hit a tree on Friday while being stupid and ended up replacing a bumper and pipe so I could ride Sunday.

If you want, take some photos and add them to this thread after you get the pipe out and it could help determine the damage.

 

[SLEDJED]

The first one is always the worst... just like a scratch or dent in a new truck. lol. I myself choose the close is good enough route if I can. I like a good challenge and a project, so I take on most jobs myself, its the shop labour rate that right off most sleds. Dont get me wrong I like my stuff nice, and perfect is better than good enough. But if your anything like me I can guarantee it will happen again. At least with close is good enough it doesn't hurt as much the second time.

 

[Snort]

Thanks for the input. I haven't had time to pull the pipe yet to have a look. I should have mentioned that I was rolling the sled on the side at the time of impact, so it was the bottom of the ski that hit the tree. The lower A-arm bent where the torsion bar connects.

Will update when I get further in to it.

 

[flabbajabba]

I smoked mine this year rock at WOT stopped the sled. Left ski was bent, shock is not centred in A arm but not touching. I looked at everything Pipe out/skid plate off/Both cast braces both sides/rivets all tight. And I can't find where it's bent Best I can guess its the Arm. I went close enough and plan on fixing it next time. Only because if I don't fix it next time will take a while. If I do next time will happen right away!

 

[Snort]

Finally got time to remove the pipe. Pulled the upper A-arm off and it doesn't appear to be bent. Can't see any movement in the rivets or bolts anywhere. The front suspension support is tweaked. If I was to replace this, would I replace the rivets with bolts?

Measured between the top attachment point for the shocks and the braces further back and the distances seem to be the same side to side.

Straightened the lower A-arm but have not had a chance to throw it back on to see how much ground I made up.

 

[Modman]

Finally got time to remove the pipe. Pulled the upper A-arm off and it doesn't appear to be bent. Can't see any movement in the rivets or bolts anywhere. The front suspension support is tweaked. If I was to replace this, would I replace the rivets with bolts?

Measured between the top attachment point for the shocks and the braces further back and the distances seem to be the same side to side.

Straightened the lower A-arm but have not had a chance to throw it back on to see how much ground I made up.

You can replace with rivets or bolts - so long as you don't cheap out on either - just use a good quality rivet or a good quality bolt.

Measure corner to corner on the bottom of the bellypan/bulkhead to ensure that everything is square. If it is - you got lucky .

 

[takethebounce]

If you are going to use bolts, get some stainless bolts/washers/nylocknuts. Helps keep the aluminum/steel corosion away.

Depending on how bent your a-arm is, I would replace with a new one, now that metal strength has possibly been comprimised and will bend easier or break.

Keep the old one as a spare in your truck and should you bend another you could keep yourself riding for the day!

 

[Snort]

Did some cross measuring last night and it looks like things are not square in the front anymore. Not sure if there is a way to straighten it out, or if I will have to replace the s module.

Might have to double check what the deductible is on the insurance.

 

[takethebounce]

Is your bumper twisted as well? Don't recall you mentioning that. If it is, drill the four rivets that hold it into the plastics and remove the two 10mm bolts and measure up everything again.

The bumper surprisingly can throw off some of the plastics quite a bit.

Depending on the deductable I would strongly consider insurance, the dealer is going to list every single bolt, rivet and any other items right down to the decals that might need to be replace in the quote if you let them know you want to claim it. You will end up with a just like new front end!

 

[imdoo'n]

me i'd start by cutting down that POS tree, as it won't be there next time. also you'd be getting some revenge.

 

[gro4u]

imdooin' - thanks for that - gave me my laugh for the day - been there done that in fact! the nerve that those trees would grow right where we need to drive!

 

[imdoo'n]

imdooin' - thanks for that - gave me my laugh for the day - been there done that in fact! the nerve that those trees would grow right where we need to drive!

always found it was better to set them straight when they are young otherwise they get harder to move as they age. very stubborn and may take a few big hits to get them to bend the way you want.:d

 

[sledderdoc]

Them trees definitely suck!! Next time hopefully I'll keep it on the ground.

 

[sledderdoc]

Bottom pan, bumper, 22 pop rivets $146.11 brings her back to brand new minus a few scratches on the belly pan protector.
Ski back 3 in. is not good ...