[bezerk1]

I just finished changing the bushings in my front lower A arm.  The whole job took about 20 minutes.  That includes using a screw extractor to get a broken grease fitting out.  I noticed that there was a loud thumping under the floor the last few rides I was on.  At first it sounded like a bad carrier bearing.  When I inspected the bearing I found everything tight and in good order.  My next though was that the steering rack was loose.  While inspecting it I noticed a huge amount of play in the lower bushing.  This is where the thumping was coming from.  I pulled the arm off and disassembled the bushing.  I was surprised to find the the metal sleeve inside was considerably worn.  I figured that the bushing would wear instead of the sleeve.  That wasn't the case.  Even though I am pretty good about greasing the assembly was relatively dry.  I would have to assume that very little grease was used from the factory.

My advice to you is:  If you are going to replace the plastic bushings, be sure order the inner sleeve. 

[NMKawierider]

Yeah that's one of my biggest bitches...the sleeve material is substandard for the application...way too soft. I think I even show how easy it is to scratch it in one of my videos. No where near bearing grade/quality.

[gfmoto]

Mine was making the same noise, tightened everything up and was fine. 

[chuddly]

Also the A arm mounts wear in an oblong hold in them from the bolt.  I welded thick washers on the  mounts to rebuild them.

[bezerk1]

Well, the time has come to do some surgery.  This past summer the front suspension has become as sloppy as a Basset hound eating a soup sandwich.  The constant clunking and loose steering have become too annoying for me to handle.  I have the new bushings from a RZR in my possession.  I ordered new bolts and sleeves from Alphabet-Shorts.com.  Next is to size up step washers from a RZR to see if everything is the same size as the CFMoto.  If the step washers will not fit we will go the washer route.  I'll drill them, welder them up, and be good to go.  My Polaris Sportsman has several A arm mounts with washers welded into them.  It doesn't seem to matter how well you take care of them and grease them.  If they ever get wet or muddy, they will seize.  I believe that the sleeve seizes to bolt causing the bolt to rotate with the A arm.  That's what causes egged out holes in the mounts. 

The video shows the hot, sloppy mess that can also be referred to as my lower A-arms.  The front upper arms seem tighter than a jar of peanut butter at a squirrel convention.

[Diver]

Heck my brand new 17 z800 had lose control arm bolts to.  Glad i caught them before they elongated my support mount holes. Like others have said ,use washers od for me id buy some 1/8 flat stock and cut to size drill the hole and weld in..
 

[bezerk1]

The tear down of passenger side is complete.  To my surprise the fine folks at CFMoto have already welded in a washy from the factory.  All that was required was a little grindy, grindy to remove the spot welds and a quick rat a tat tat from a air chiseler and the washers came right out.  This picture shows the before.

[bezerk1]

This picture shows the tab after I cut the washer out.  The same thing happened to my Polaris but, it did not have washers from the factory like the CFMoto.  It's the little things that I like about the CFmoto.  Surprisingly my bushings were in good condition.  The bolt however, was seized to the sleeve.  I used a slide hammer to pull it out about an inch then I cut it with a die grinder.  Problem solved.

[bezerk1]

Here is the finished mount ready for re-assembly.  I measured the shaft and it came out to .393 inches or 10mm. The bolt is M10x1.25.  Instead of welding washers back on I am going to drill the holes to 5/8 install step washers.  The step washers will provide a larger bearing surface.  Here is the link to the step washers:

https://rtproutv.com/stepped-washers-for-chassis-pivot-points.html

I then need to find some type of locking method for the nut.  Maybe safety wire a some type of castellated nut.  I don't feel like the Nylock nut did an adequate job.  I think this is a good plan.  Jesus, allah, and Buddha, pray for me.

[flash]

Hey Bezerk, that’s a great write up, I like the step washer idea.
I agree with you on the little things about CF.

[bezerk1]

Thank you.  I like putting out as much information as I can.  I enjoy doing research.  Somebody somewhere is going to need this information.  Its almost like the hunt for wheel bearings.  Also, karma.

[Diver]

Nice , i really like that . The step washers you picked up are nice. Plus Chromoly.. Life is good when things come together in nice packages

[bezerk1]

Alright boys and girls, this project is done with the exception of purchasing nuts and a little black paint.  I'm not talking walnuts.  I'm talking poly lock nuts.  The factory nuts on the a-arm bolts are not poly locks, they are those pre shished deals.  I'm not sure what the proper name is.  Whatever they are called, they do not work well.  I've had to retighten them several times.  They are going to be replaced with poly locks.  Maybe a regular nut with a poly lock jam nut.  No more shall these nuts loosen.  On to the pictures....

We are starting out with a bonus pic for the first one.  It was brutal inside, more brutal outside.  This crusty thermometer was inside all night.  Luckily my heater had the shop warmed to a sultry 70 degrees within 2 hours.  It is after all a barn and barn doors aren't known for their R value.  Just enough snow blows in to keep the beer chilled.  There's not much to do when its cold enough to freeze the nuts off a steel bridge.  Except work on stuff and post on the forum.

Pic 2 shows my items of destruction.  I bought a 5/8 inch bit to open up the existing holes.  The drill and bit was too long to get the back mounts so I resorted to a step drill.  The step drill worked way better than I anticipated.  I also used the step drill to clean up and ream the holes.

[bezerk1]

The first picture shows a weld in step washer from Racer Tech.  Its a great product that is well made and fits perfectly.  The washers were 26 bucks for 4 of them.  Not a problem.  The problem I have is that I paid 20 bucks for shipping.  FU Racer Tech.  Never again.  The washers themselves were 10 gauge and the mounts on the CFMoto were 11.  I opted to use the 12 gauge settings on my welder to keep the heat down as much as possible.

The next picture shows the setup on my Electro ghetto blaster.  I used a MIG Steel C100 process.  .030 solid core wire with C02 instead of argon.  C02 welds just as good as argon but, is a quarter of the price.  I'm not a welder.  I don't know how it works.  I plug it in, squeeze the go button, make sparks fly and hope for the best.  The next picture shows the rest of the "Synergic" settings.  The welder automatically adjusts the settings for the perfect weld.  It takes a lot of guesswork out of the setup.

[bezerk1]

Up top we have the mount drilled, reamed, cleaned and ready for welding.  Hopefully these will never have to be replaced.  The middle picture shows the forward mount mocked up and ready for welding.  The washer fits perfectly in the 5/8 inch hole.  It keeps everything nice and centered.  No grinding on the inside of the mount was required.  The bottom pic shows the aft mount mock up.  I bolted everything nice and tight before welding.  The chromoly, which is very hard, should last a long time.  Yes, I know the nut is on backwards.  Its like that because I needed clearance for the electro ghetto blaster.