play in axles

[plott hound]

so half way through changing all the chains on my HDI I have found two axles with a bit of play when I lift up on the wheel.the play is very minimal but none the less it exists.6 axles have no play but 2 have it.i pulled the one rear axle to inspect the outer bearing but it seems good,not rough at all.so im wondering how much play is okay?????

thanks

[amphibious drew]

When they start to go, they can go real fast. I suggest biting the bullet and replacing them all. It will give you a chance to lube everything up really well.

[Noel Woods]

The fronts on an HDI are going to be a pain, looked at several recently. There's really no predicting how long a bearing will last, I have one machine with 500+ hours and I've only replaced two bearings. I've had others that a bearing only lasted 40 hours on. The trick to long bearing life is shooting some grease in after a ride.

The tell tail sign of failure is jacking the machine up and grabbing a wheel, any play indicates a bad bearing. If the wheel moves at all. I replace the bearing. I've seen several folks lose axles when the bearing severely fails, so play it safe and at least replace the bad ones.

[plott hound]

oh boy,i thought I was gonna dodge these problems for a year or 3 by buying a newer machine.this thing does not have that much time on it.what a pisser!

[amphibious drew]

I find that unless you are buying a machine from a reputable forum member, bearings and chain always need attention on a used machine. It doesn't seem to matter how much you pay, most non-forum members seem to sell a machine due to having some sort of issue they don't know how to or don't care to take care of.

[msafi65]

Most of the HDI baring play I've found is the bearing to axle. The set screw dosent hold well and when it wears a bit you feel the play at the wheel. If axles are worn the bearings won't seat on them well. I started turning the bearings so the set screws are out, slip the axle in and mark the setscrew placement. File,grind,mill a flat for the setscrew and install with locktite on screw. If you wrap several layers of electrical tape arround the protruding part of the bearing, the setscrews will stay clean for a couple years of normal use. If I were doing one of mine I would use the HC207-20-R3 bearing for the MAX and seal the eccentric collars on the axles. I rarely find an Argo bearing tight on the axle and seldom see a 72mm MAX bearing loose. Just my thoughts.

[SHOTGUN]

Definately check the set screws, my rig with hd bearings had several that had bearing set screws that were loose and caused play. Look at where the movement happens, I also had a couple of the outer flanges that were worn that caused a little play and the flanges are dirt cheap.

[plott hound]

will do guys,i pulled one axle and the bearing is tight on the shaft.also the bearing feels good,not rough at all.i did find that the set screws were missing on the inner bearing so that might contribute the a bit of movement.think im gonna grease things up good and call it a day.

thanks

[plott hound]

so I found another axle with play so I pulled it,and like shotgun the set screws were loose and the bearing has spun.bought 2 new bearing flanges/carriers and am gonna swap the axles around since ones a mid and the other is a rear.looks to me like the bearing set screws were never tightened properly from day one.so the bearings are all good,just some incompetence from the argo assembly line.