[polaris_world]

ok so i have a problem my speedo does not work, and i made sure it was not the cable, i had taken off the part where the cable screws into and i was told the needle like thing inside there should b like 2 inchs long but mine is like 1 cm so i want to know how to get my speedo working and what exactly to change ? ive red in another post about it but no one wenrt into detail and i would really like to get my speedo working

 

[doomer67]

sounds like a Driveshaft Bearing...those are a pain to change. we just changed one in my dad's ZRT. good luck man!

 

[polaris_world]

how exactly do we change that?

 

[700RMK136]

OK so you took off the adapter where the speedo cable attaches to the drivshaft and found the square key is only a stub? I would bet if you look in the drivshaft end you will se the rest of the 2" key, this will need to come out for the new one to go in. I would say to replace the bearing as you have it this far apart already and is probably the cause for the speedo key breaking.

 

[Dragon700]

try just a new key. if that goes again then its time for the bearing to be re-placed. it could save you alot of work if you just try a new key

 

[Luke]

Since when is changing the speedo bearing a lot of work? For the most part its preventative maintenance. $20, a few hrs, and a lot of peace of mind. Speedo drive keys dont break for no reason. Theres prob a 99% chance that bearing is bad and if its not changed soon and fails completely, it could ruin your drive axle and possibly damage the chassis.

 

[old_school]

Check the bearing for any play, and if it's bad, then replace it. You don't necessarily have to replace it just because the key is sheared. A sheared key does not always mean the bearing is bad, that is not always/exclusively the cause. People that automatically say that you need to change the bearing because you have a sheared key don't have a clue what they're talking about and should be ignored.

sounds like a Driveshaft Bearing...those are a pain to change. we just changed one in my dad's ZRT. good luck man!

The speedometer is driven by a key, not a bearing. You cannot diagnose a bad bearing without inspecting it.

 

[Dragon700]

i didnt say it wasnt a good idea. its just that come times a key comes bad or breaks for another reason. otherwise the bearing isnt bad to change

 

[old_school]

Since when is changing the speedo bearing a lot of work? For the most part its preventative maintenance. $20, a few hrs, and a lot of peace of mind. Speedo drive keys dont break for no reason. Theres prob a 99% chance that bearing is bad and if its not changed soon and fails completely, it could ruin your drive axle and possibly damage the chassis.

99% chance that the bearing is bad? That is total BS. It is fairly common for moisture in the speedo drive mechanism to freeze and cause the key to shear due to binding. Also, moisture in the cable itself can freeze causing the key to shear due to binding in the cable.

 

[Rock]

You have to take the bearing housing off to see the key.3 bolts and it should come off. In the center of the drive shaft is where the key goes into. I ftheres to much slop in the bearing or the bearing is broken or siezed will cause the key to break.

 

[Luke]

Since when is changing the speedo bearing a lot of work? For the most part its preventative maintenance. $20, a few hrs, and a lot of peace of mind. Speedo drive keys dont break for no reason. Theres prob a 99% chance that bearing is bad and if its not changed soon and fails completely, it could ruin your drive axle and possibly damage the chassis.

99% chance that the bearing is bad? That is total BS. It is fairly common for moisture in the speedo drive mechanism to freeze and cause the key to shear due to binding. Also, moisture in the cable itself can freeze causing the key to shear due to binding in the cable.

Def not BS my friend. Ive changed a few dozen bad speedo beraings, sheared the key every time. I have never seen a key break when a bearing wasnt bad. Not saying what youre suggesting isint possible, Im just saying its unlikely based on my experience. Theres a reason that everyone says if your drive key breaks, the bearing is bad. Its because thats usually the case.

For the most part, I was just trying to say that changing the bearing would prob be a good idea. While a broken key does not definitively mean a bad bearing, it is a very good indication of bad bearing. And its just good to know thhat the bearing is new and def wont fail on you when youre opu tin the middle of no where.

 

[doomer67]

i Agree with Luke. i've changed out 4 bearings in the past 6 months (on different sleds, not on 1 sled) and each time the key was broken. it's usually the speedometer bearing, and not the chain case bearing even though those can go bad as well. when we just did my dad's ZRT 2 nights ago, we replaced the speedometer bearing, and the chain case bearing at the same time. On one trip last year, my bearing went out one night, and the next morning we went out riding and i took a diffrent sled. we went less then a mile and my dad's drive shaft bearing went out on his sled. I know a lot about bearings going out, it sucks lol

 

[old_school]

Of course it's going to take to take out the speedometer key when the drive shaft bearing goes. It's very obvious why that happens. My point is that when the key is sheared, the drive shaft bearing is not ALWAYS the cause.

Def not BS my friend. Ive changed a few dozen bad speedo beraings, sheared the key every time. I have never seen a key break when a bearing wasnt bad.

When I had to replace a sheared key on a sled with low miles and the drive shaft bearing was still good as new, they told me at the dealership (when I bought a new key) that it's not that uncommon for them to shear due to moisture freezing in either the cable itself or the drive mechanism. I suspect that they have replaced just as many keys as you have.

You would have had to changed at least 100 keys to state unequivocally that the 99% are due to bad drive shaft bearings. Most people would change the key themselves, and would not take it to a mechanic unless the bearing was bad. So even if you've changed 100 drive shaft bearings, that tells you nothing about the people who are out there replacing sheared speedo keys that weren't caused by sloppy drive shaft bearings.

Unless you've had at least 100 people bring you their sleds with the only symptom being that the speedometer doesn't work, then there is no possible way that you can state unequivocally that the drive shaft bearing is the cause 99% of the time. You simply pulled that number out of thin air, that's why I said it's BS.

 

[old_school]

If you search this forum for other threads on this subject, you'll find plenty of posts where people had sheared speedometer keys and it turned out not to be due to a bad drive shaft bearing. Of course there's always someone saying that the bearing must be bad is the key is sheared.

Here's a couple threads I found with just a quick search:

http://www.snowmobilefanatics.com/forum/topic/78429/display.aspx

http://www.snowmobilefanatics.com/forum/topic/61995/display.aspx

Just because a bad drive shaft bearing is a common cause for a sheared key (or even the most common cause), it doesn't mean that it's the only cause, or that it's the cause 99% of the time.

 

[Teicherc]

Some people really over diagnose problems. Start simple and replace the key, that is very common. If have problems after that than move on to the next thing it could be.

Of course it's going to take to take out the speedometer key when the drive shaft bearing goes. It's very obvious why that happens. My point is that when the key is sheared, the drive shaft bearing is not ALWAYS the cause.

Def not BS my friend. Ive changed a few dozen bad speedo beraings, sheared the key every time. I have never seen a key break when a bearing wasnt bad.

When I had to replace a sheared key on a sled with low miles and the drive shaft bearing was still good as new, they told me at the dealership (when I bought a new key) that it's not that uncommon for them to shear due to moisture freezing in either the cable itself or the drive mechanism. I suspect that they have replaced just as many keys as you have.

You would have had to changed at least 100 keys to state unequivocally that the 99% are due to bad drive shaft bearings. Most people would change the key themselves, and would not take it to a mechanic unless the bearing was bad. So even if you've changed 100 drive shaft bearings, that tells you nothing about the people who are out there replacing sheared speedo keys that weren't caused by sloppy drive shaft bearings.

Unless you've had at least 100 people bring you their sleds with the only symptom being that the speedometer doesn't work, then there is no possible way that you can state unequivocally that the drive shaft bearing is the cause 99% of the time. You simply pulled that number out of thin air, that's why I said it's BS.

I have replaced a number of keys and never had a bad bearing.

 

[old_school]

Just to be clear, I agree 100% with any advice to inspect the drive shaft bearing for any play. A sloppy bearing is a common cause for a sheared key, so it would not be wise IMO to just replace the key without inspecting the bearing.

Personally, I wouldn't replace it if it's been well maintained (greased), and has no play in it and still rolls smoothly. If it ever does get play in it, you'll know because it'll take out the speedometer key. If a bearing is maintained properly, it won't go from working perfectly with no play at all to super sloppy all at once. A good bearing will only go that bad that quickly if it runs out of proper lubricant.

 

[readytoride]

I had an indy 400 that had no speedo. After looking into it I found the driveshaft bearing was bad. Which in turn took out the gear case. My suggestion is to check the bearing and make sure it is good. Or be on the safe side and just replace it.

 

[Luke]

Of course it's going to take to take out the speedometer key when the drive shaft bearing goes. It's very obvious why that happens. My point is that when the key is sheared, the drive shaft bearing is not ALWAYS the cause.

Def not BS my friend. Ive changed a few dozen bad speedo beraings, sheared the key every time. I have never seen a key break when a bearing wasnt bad.

When I had to replace a sheared key on a sled with low miles and the drive shaft bearing was still good as new, they told me at the dealership (when I bought a new key) that it's not that uncommon for them to shear due to moisture freezing in either the cable itself or the drive mechanism. I suspect that they have replaced just as many keys as you have.

You would have had to changed at least 100 keys to state unequivocally that the 99% are due to bad drive shaft bearings. Most people would change the key themselves, and would not take it to a mechanic unless the bearing was bad. So even if you've changed 100 drive shaft bearings, that tells you nothing about the people who are out there replacing sheared speedo keys that weren't caused by sloppy drive shaft bearings.

Unless you've had at least 100 people bring you their sleds with the only symptom being that the speedometer doesn't work, then there is no possible way that you can state unequivocally that the drive shaft bearing is the cause 99% of the time. You simply pulled that number out of thin air, that's why I said it's BS.

Of course I cant say unequivocally that 99% of the time etc..... I was just trying to stress to polaris_world that the bearing is the most likely cause for a sheared drive key, in my experience. Personally, I have never seen a key shear for any other reason. Every time I ever pulled one apart the bearing was shot, but thats just my experience. I can def see that others have seen other reasons for the key to fail.

For the most part, were all in agreement though. Closely inspect that bearing before reassembly.

 

[old_school]

Of course I cant say unequivocally that 99% of the time etc.....

But that's what you SAID (and you were very insistent and snotty about it). Even after I called you on it you posted back like your opinion is the ONLY one that matters. You posted YOUR OPINION as if it was absolute indisputable FACT (careful you don't injure yourself falling off that high horse).

You told people they should automatically change the bearing whether it's bad or not, and you called it "preventative maintenance". If you're going to start replacing parts that are still perfectly good because they MIGHT fail at some point down the rode then you might as well go out and buy a new sled. That's the only way to replace all the parts that might fail at some point down the road.

Then you said it's not a lot of work to change the bearing, while in the same sentence you said "a few hrs". It might not be a major job compared to rebuilding a motor, but any job that takes "a few hrs" IS a lot of work to most people, especially if it's unnecessary.

 

[Rock]

Are you guys still arguing about this?[confused]