Argo Avenger issues

[Rock Doctor]

OK, So a buddy of mine has an Avenger, I think it's a 2004 model.
We made a plan to go fishing to a remote lake (we both have cabins there), he calls me up the night before we have to go..........
Second axle from the front on the right side piled up the outer bearing, and he needs to borrow some parts from me, Bearing, seals, and bearing housing all need to be replaced.......No Problem, come get the parts, I have them here.
We leave on friday, and are making the 10 mile trip to the lake.........Half way there, he said that the machine started to make noises????? (he never told me till we made it to the lake). I start looking around the drive train, and find the "noise maker". The inner right idler shaft bearing piled up, and this allowed the idler shaft to rise up and grind on the brake rotor (big pile of metal shavings under the rotor)........GREAT.
Long weekend, and we are miles out in the bush..............
I get an idea, (some of you might remember that I had a problem out at this lake this winter, I ended up stealing parts from another friends Argo that broke down out there last summer............It was still out there). I tear the Avenger apart, then I tear an axle out of the other Argo that was out there, to get an outer bearing (same as an idler shaft brng). I rebuild the Avenger with stolen parts, and all was good. Test drove the Avenger, and could not find any other problems.
The next day Carl was driving from his cabin to mine, hit a little hole, and piled up the transmition on the Avenger. Locked in low range, and making rather loud CRUNCHING noises. GREAT. I fidled with it, till I got it to come out of gear, and managed to get it into reverse. Drove it to a spot where we could air lift it out to the trucks (as Carl wanted to do). We talked about it the next morning, and I convinced him to let me tear the trany out, I figured I could save him a Chopper Bill by hauling the trans out for him. 45 minutes later I had his trans sitting in my Conquest ready to go

On the bright side, My Conquest worked flawlessly with the 24" Frontier tires. Carl was trying everything he could think of to get me stuck on the way in. Turned out that he got me stuck once on the trail, but he got stuck twice doing it.
There was lots of laughs and excitement over the weekend, and got some good vids. Will post some of the trip later, when I can.

RD

[chapy]

That is some bad luck!! It seems there are alot of avenger problems on here the past few weeks. I hope The isn't any bad weeks for the bigfoots.

Seth

[artist1018]

Sounds like the Conquest owners, like me & you R.D., have a better built machine!?! Perhaps ODG should consider putting them back in thier fold!!

[m350]

Yeah,,whats up with these Avengers ?,,,That other ARGO that was left out there sure has come in handy for ya RD,,,Good thing it was still there! And sounds like you had an adventerous weekend with the Good old Conquest.

[xrover]

As one who has experience drivetrain problems it appears to be centered around the tensioners. Argo changed them sometime in 2006 as they were not providing enough adjustment. My right rear chain was always very tight (could not flex the top at all) until this was done. This would be a lot of stress on the drivetrain and impact the bearings and axles. In my case, with the track, I was ripping off axles. ODG authorized the local dealer to do a complete swap out on all axles, bearings and tensioners. Since that was done a few months back we have not had any issues and the chains carry the required amount of slack.
Perhaps the tension in rock doctors case caused the input shaft on the tranny to not run true causing internal damage?
Good luck with your fix.

[cory_Alaska]

I am curious to see what you come up with. I have a buddy with an 05 avenger and he is not in any shape financially right now to be replacing major parts on his. He is pretty much fully disabled and does not have a job any longer. Kind of a bad situation to own a money pit, but it is the only way he can get out in the bush. I am starting to appreciate my conquest more already! Sounds like you had a good time overall though and as I have said many times in my short Argo ownership. Always and adventure!

[mightymaxIV]

Doc I am happy to hear that your tires are working out so well, and sorry that your friend is having so many problems with his Avenger. I am still waiting for you to give us a report on how your argo swims with 8 frontier tires.

[Rock Doctor]

Sounds like the Conquest owners, like me & you R.D., have a better built machine!?! Perhaps ODG should consider putting them back in thier fold!!

I've always wanted an Avenger, but I was taught to NEVER purchase a machine that is "New" on the market. "Give 'em a few yrs to work the bugs out" That's what dear old Dad used to say. The more I help others with thier Avengers, The more I like my Conquest.

Yeah,,whats up with these Avengers ?,,,That other ARGO that was left out there sure has come in handy for ya RD,,,Good thing it was still there! And sounds like you had an adventerous weekend with the Good old Conquest.

Out of all the Argo's I have worked on, this Avenger is the first one to throw a bearing at under 250 hrs (this one only has 153hrs on it). It has never been on tracks, or abused in any way (that I know of). I'm really thinking that ODG should send me a couple machines each yr to TEST RUN them before they put them on the market. I wonder how I could arainge something like that?

As one who has experience drivetrain problems it appears to be centered around the tensioners. Argo changed them sometime in 2006 as they were not providing enough adjustment. My right rear chain was always very tight (could not flex the top at all) until this was done. This would be a lot of stress on the drivetrain and impact the bearings and axles. In my case, with the track, I was ripping off axles. ODG authorized the local dealer to do a complete swap out on all axles, bearings and tensioners. Since that was done a few months back we have not had any issues and the chains carry the required amount of slack.
Perhaps the tension in rock doctors case caused the input shaft on the tranny to not run true causing internal damage?
Good luck with your fix.

This is worth looking into. I would like to note that the inner Idler shaft brng on the other side is also on it's way out (on this machine). Also, when I reassembled everything the Idler chain was very tight on the rebuilt side, even though the tensoners were as loose as they would go. Thanks for the tip, I will mention it to the owner.

[Rock Doctor]

I am curious to see what you come up with. I have a buddy with an 05 avenger and he is not in any shape financially right now to be replacing major parts on his. He is pretty much fully disabled and does not have a job any longer. Kind of a bad situation to own a money pit, but it is the only way he can get out in the bush. I am starting to appreciate my conquest more already! Sounds like you had a good time overall though and as I have said many times in my short Argo ownership. Always and adventure!

Don't ever get rid of your Conquest Cory, there will NEVER be anything wrong with it that CAN'T be fixed. IMHO
I will let you know if anything comes of this, but keep in mind that it's not my machine, and I might not hear all the details.

Doc I am happy to hear that your tires are working out so well, and sorry that your friend is having so many problems with his Avenger. I am still waiting for you to give us a report on how your argo swims with 8 frontier tires.

My Friend, You would NOT believe how well these tires swim on a Conquest. Maybe it has something to do with how close they are mounted togeather. I don't know, but these things swim incredibly well. I drove into a creek by my cabin, and swam UPSTREAM, INTO THE WIND. I was leaving a WAKE behind me. Now, I won't be pulling any waterskiers, but I will recomend them to anyone that wants to hear my opinion.
I will be putting a set on my 6x6 as soon as the "peti-coat government" releases the funds to me

[bearclaw46]

Who would leave a whole Argo out in the Bush?? Glad to hear you like those Frontier tires. I assume they're the same tires as I have on my 07 Frontier. I'm headed out for some slop this weekend. Snow's been melting and it's plenty muddy up where I'm headed. I'm sure my Argo will be up to the challenge. My buddy just bought a new 08 Avenger and has had it out last weekend. He had a good time and it performed flawlessly.

Cory, did you ever get your Conquest fixed?? How bout the Voltage?? Ever figure that one out??

Hope to post some pics here next week.

Dennis