09 avenger 700 bad stuck bearing and crank jackshaft bearing

[Misskimo]

First argo avenger 700 bought a month ago new
Getting ready for a alaskan adventurer soon
Then 3 days ago came across one here in the village that was a steal
Bought it for a back up rig and now we going to get it ready to go in pairs
Hood missing
Hard top.
Tracks
In good shape by looking at it
Noticed front left inner bearing destroyed, no ballbearing
Starting taking the shaft out. Inner race stuck on there like its welded to it
Cut the race off with a dremal cut off wheel
Then i said to my self. If ones bad. Im ganna replace all
On one side had to cut bearing off with dremal
Then Ill work on the otherside next.
So far this sucks
Argo needs a better system here. Not just a HD upgrade
Im thinking a roller inner bearing type with thrust bearing in one
Bearing housing instead of these flanges
The forces are to high for this
Enough of the beaching
Tranny jack shafts. One is flopping around Drivers side
This calls for the experienced fellows that can guide me in the right way of doing these
I was told by Argo rep Ed to take tranny out is the easiest way
I will atemp this task when the weather gets better
Raining in the Arctic so early
I will leave tracks off unless theres snow
Take wheel extentions off due to long leverage
Forces that seams to be the destroyer of these cheesy bearing housings
Also noticed the setscrew walking the shaft , digging a ditch that has to be filed down before you can slide the front bearing off. Right off the flats huh.
This tells me they need to drill 3/32 hole on 4 sides of the shaft and add more setscrews
To much forces to this size bearing. HD or not
Tony

[mightymaxIV]

Talk to Adair Argo about a UHMW super bearings for each axle. Just a big piece of composite that bolts to the inside of the regular bearing and (they say) will never wear out. If the bearing fails the axle will ride on the UHMW with out issues. Next time I need to replace a bearing the UHMW super bearing will be bolted to the regular bearing. Forum member Noel Woods has run them on his machines. He would be a good person to talk with. I have a set out in my shade somewhere.

[Misskimo]

Thanks. Yeh I was looking at those
And wondering how they worked

[Rory_mcw]

You don't have to remove the tranny to change the idler shafts bearings.
This is the way I do it.
Split the duplex driven chains
split the idler chains
slacken the power pack bolts
jack up with 9/16 spanner, take care as exhaust etc will rise
You will then have enough room to undo the inner bearing flanges
Undo outer idler bearing flanges and the idler shaft will come out.
When refitting I always put the non greasable flange half on the fixed studs and put the greasable flange and bearing on the shaft.

Hope this helps you.

[Misskimo]

Thanks alot. Yeh. Been real busy. Got the tranny out had to cut one thanny bolt
Yeh! I needed to take it out to clean it up and also give me room.
This winter. Its all coming out again. Will replace sprockets and chains as well as a HD bearing upgrade
I will use your tecknic then.
Out of all the shafts. 6 of the inner bearing had to dremal them off. What a pain. Im a mill mechanic at a lead and zinc mine
Out of 18 years. I never went through this type of labor ����
One good thing though. My first Argo is the 700. 25 grand
Second argo 2009 700 for 2500 with tracks and hardtop
I sure will pay attention on greasing them and pamper dis beach now
No mistreating it. I like to take care of my toys
All shafts are out and waiting on tuesday when the shipment come in. 500 miles by air only to the nearest mc donalds and Argo dealer

[Rusty-Gunn]

Hi Tony. I recognize the Misskimo alias. Don Ferguson here. Good to see you signed up to this site. Plenty of experienced Argo owners here.
I too had to replace a bearing on the driver side jack shaft and front axle bearings on our 2005 Avenger after we bought it. Pain in the arse to do both. I also had to dremeled a bearing off. I'll have to drop by and check out your Argos.
I highly recommend you grease all bearings every ten hours. And lube all the chains before each ride. You'll be glad you did.
Argo Adventure | Argo Atv | Argo Parts
Much cheaper prices than Anchorage.

[Misskimo]

Hey Don. Hey. I been talking with Ed there. Nice Guy. Sure a big help on advice too
Yeh. This used 700 here has only 98 hours on it. 700 miles
I dont think They did nothing to it but add gas a go with tracks on
1 jackshaft riding on inner race only aswell as 2 right front and right 3rd axile with no ball bearing what so ever

[Rusty-Gunn]

This past early winter we seen this Avenger pass by our place. I hate to think the driver drove the machine with busted bearings. You got a very good deal on it though. A fine machine once you get it done.

[Misskimo]

Yeh. Its a steal forsure
How of yall slap on the inner bearing with flanges and tighten the bolts. Then slid the shaft in and put on the sprokets. Then lift shaft up and find the bearing and slid it on in.
Works like a charm doing it this way

[Rusty-Gunn]

Works like a charm? You're having too much fun with this rebuild. Its supposed to cause you headaches, make you cuss and spit, throw tools all over the yard, and insist your trading it in for a quad. Pretty soon everyone will be bringing their Argos over to you for work!

[Misskimo]

Haha. Yeh. Did that when taking the shafts out. Got 5 put back in. 5 more go
This second Argo even all the work that was needed has taught me a valuable lesson on how to treat the new one.
No quick turn arounds on tundra. Slow turns only
Tracks will stay off unless theres snow.
And yeh. Ganna have to buy a big grease gun. This little one runs through tubes with in 2 axles.

[Misskimo]

Well got all done. Few hickups. And was hoping the chains would last another year. Wrong! Those small one sure stretch more that the bigger ones. What the ratio on replacement
2 to 1 verses small and big chains?
1 hour on it and it ate right through a new UHMW slid.
Second tire chain.
The question is. What should I change
Just the small chains.
All chains and sprockets ?

[Rusty-Gunn]

Chains should be #60 o-ring and the other #50 double. Confirm this though. The single 60 chains on our Avenger stretched quickly. Had to be cheap chinese chain. One summer, stretched beyound use. I highly recommend Japanese Tsubaki Omega ((or stronger/expensive Lamda) or American Diamond chain. Or their equivilent.
Change the sprockets if the teeth are shark finned. The sliders ought to last a long time. I don't know what caused it to wesr out in an hour.
Side note... We saw you floating your Avenger in the upper lagoon. How'd she do?

[Misskimo]

Hey Don. Yeh. Tried it with the tracks on. And was the reason why it ruined the second slid. Must have been a bigger tire there. Had 5 in the front. 7 in the mid and 6 in the rear. Did notice it shifting side to side a tad on pavement.
Ordered all 50s today. Anchorage argo didnt have any 60s on hand. Those can be tighten by taking a link out once they stretch a 1/8 more.
Yeh the floating. Thats called testing it out for a few min . Had it opened up a bit and it just died. Ended up being the drop tube was too long and it finally shoved the screen in and plugged the tube
Had to get my friend to get spare argo to come get me
Took all the gas out with the new air pump made to suck oil out that Anchorage Argo sold me so I can change the oil.
Cut the drop tube 1/2 " And no restriction . Oh all that after I took the carb off. Took the pump apart. That was all that was left .
Took tracks off. They will be a pain out in the bush

[Rusty-Gunn]

Removing a link is a no-no. A stretched chain will ruin the sprockets pretty fast. The reason is the distance bettween the pins. Their farther apart due to the stretch. The chain's tendency will be to ride higher up the sprocket teeth.
The pins need to "rest" at the bottom of each tooth as the sprocket revolves. A stretched chain rides too high and will wear out the sprockets.
Keep going, you're almost done. The arctic circle is waiting for you.