2010 Summit 154 Torsion Springs bending?!

[Littledoo10]

So ive had my 2010 summit 800R 154 Everest for my second winter now. It just rolled over to 920 miles today playn around at our farm. Heres my issue, maybe you guys have seen this before. Before my first trip this year at the begining of december i threw in an adjustable limiter strap to keep the front end down. After the first ride when we loaded my sled, I noticed my one torsion spring was bent. So figureing it just sagged out and got weak i went back to doo and seen if it was covered under warrentee yet since i still had my 1 year bumper to bumper warrentee. The dealer told me they have only seen 1 other person bend one before and called it abuse, but if it broke it wouldnt have been abuse! MAKES NO SENCE AT ALL!!! so being ticked off with the springs being the weak low end ones from doo on my sled since its an everest, i went about bought the "Heavier" springs. 1st ride out on them, once again i bent one! just not as bad. i kept riding it cause i didnt see the point spending the $150 plus on another set and have the same issue. Last weekend i noticed how much the suspention is sagging now!
Have you guys had this issue before?
What should i look for? They arnt catching the rails or anything when they compress.
What should i do, buy these springs again or is there better aftermarket ones that are stronger and better?
Swap out the whole skid for something better?

 

[teeroy]

what do they look like when "bent"? bent sideways, or an extra bend in the spring? I've got an '08 with the original springs and I bag the sh!t out of the suspension. had to rebuild the skid, build stronger drop brackets, but the springs have never been the weak point.

 

[Littledoo10]

the long arm of the sping that goes down the the slider on the rail bends upward in the shape of an upside down U with a bit of exaggeration. if you put a straight edge along the sping arm, the old ones bent up about 1/2 inch at the highest point, and these heavier springs bent worse. I see how people bag the hell outta thier xp`s on whoops and everything and thiers dont bend, but mine are. its not like im a heavy guy either, i only weight 170lbs so its not like im some 300lb porker slammin this thing down. could it be the rear shock is getting weak or what

 

[teeroy]

the shock only controls rebound, if it isn't functioning properly you would notice it as a pogo stick effect. it does add a bit of compression damping, I couldn't see it being the cause of bent springs. when you had the torsion springs off, did you check the skid to make sure it cycles up and down freely? maybe they are sticking somehow in the slider....sure is weird man, never heard of such an issue. is the slider hanging properly, like below the bolt as opposed to the spring sliding above the bolt?

 

[takethebounce]

Sounds like the slider portion is upside down causing them to bind. This is the only way I can see them bending.

 

[tex78]

what about one of the piviots freezing up ?mabe warm it up good and grease it up to push the water out

 

[Littledoo10]

I just looked at a picture i have of my skid on my phone, the sliders are above the bolt where they mount. I havnt touched them from when it came out of the crate beside when i swapped the springs to the heavy ones but i did each side individually and never changed the sliders position. Sounds like poor pdi or assembly from factory on this one.

 

[Littledoo10]

I just googled more photos of the rear skid and looked on doos parts site and the sliders are mounted properly. Any other ideas on what it could be? This is a real piss off

 

[takethebounce]

I just googled more photos of the rear skid and looked on doos parts site and the sliders are mounted properly. Any other ideas on what it could be? This is a real piss off

can you post a picture of the way your rear springs slide through the pivot point?

 

[Littledoo10]

it wont let me post a picture due to too large of file. all the pics i have you gatta zoom in on to see it so if i shrink the size you cant see it well enough.
also it is only my left side (clutch side) that keeps bending

 

[teeroy]

check to see if your drop bracket is broken on that side

 

[takethebounce]

Do you have scratchers mounted on the rails?

 

[Littledoo10]

Do you have scratchers mounted on the rails?

Yes i do have scratchers mounted to my rails.. Why do you ask?

 

[takethebounce]

Yes i do have scratchers mounted to my rails.. Why do you ask?

what are the chances they are mounted too far back and when the suspension is collasped the sping end sometimes hits the scratcher, or the mounting bolt?

 

[Littledoo10]

ill double check that. it could be a possibility. my sled isnt with me here in the city, its at our farm an hr north of e-town. so i gatta check this weekend

 

[Littledoo10]

So after taking a look at my skid, i noticed when i compressed the suspention, my springs infact do hit my scratchers where they bolt to my rails. Anyone got any pics where to mount them?

 

[neilsleder]

Drill new holes up further.

 

[takethebounce]

If I can remember tonight I will take a picture of mine.

Some people remove the set of rear idlers and mount them there but I find that is still further back. You want the scratchers to keep the hifax lubricated when on hardpack/ice so further forward tends to be better.

There is the one set of spare holes closer to the front. One hole needs to be drilled out larger usually for the bolt, then drill a hole for the spring tab. I have seen people put the spring tab on the top of the rail as well but any set I have had this doesn't work well.

 

[teeroy]

So after taking a look at my skid, i noticed when i compressed the suspention, my springs infact do hit my scratchers where they bolt to my rails. Anyone got any pics where to mount them?

good call 'bounce.

 

[senorjeem]

Wifey just picked up 2 pairs of scratchers to mount on our sleds. 2011 and 2012 163 Doo's After taking a quick look at the rails, I see a limited amount of space for mounting. Anyone have pics of a successful install?