My new Argo Frontier

[Silverbullet75]

There are only 8 hours on it. The manual says to check it after the first 2 hours for slack. It says it'll do a "banging" noise... which it did/sometimes does. I'm hoping I'm just being paranoid due to inexperience with chain-driven vehicles... just cautious... I hope.

[MaxRules]

How many hours are on your Frontier? It takes many hours of running to even allow the chain adjusters to begin taking up slack. Sometimes the adjusters might stick in place (rarely) but other than that, they will take care of themselves. I've heard of a few vehicles getting very loose drive chains with low hours on the meter. However on most Argos, these chains require very little attention. I'm not sure how these hit and miss chain slack issues are popping up.

[Roger S]

Can't say about the frontier but argo in general, you have to keep an eye on all that stuff. The primary chains off the trans, need to be kept adjusted. And lubed.. with a non slinging lube that won't get on the brake rotors. Someone else might have advice on the chain adjusters.

[Silverbullet75]

Yup. Same thing. I do what the manual says and pull up on the chain tensioner to manually adjust it, but I'm not sure if it worked or not... (That mechanism is so... Mickey Mouse... to me. Why couldn't they do a hydraulic cylinder style, (like an engine chain tensioner)? BTW... I do admit... I did not have it off the wheels like the manual says.
Oh.. and also, my main chains (I forget the name of them) from the tranny to the brakes, went WAY slacked last week. Had to break out the breaker-bar and a 24mm to fix that. I guess this kinda stuff is normal... the manual warns about it in quite a few places... I just hope it reduces in frequency.

Can you veterans chime in? Is this a normal practice?... tightening/adjusting chains a lot...
Thanks!
---JIM---

[RKlingborg]

what do ya mean weired, My right side chain hits some wear. the mecanic at the dealer sead to put it up on the rack <like my boss would let me> and tightened the chain.

[Silverbullet75]

Thanks for all the great info!

I adjusted the carb... purrs like a kitten now!
One question though... what's the deal with the backfire after shutoff? I had the same thing with my old riding mower w/8hp Briggs.

One thing I'm not too happy about is the chain tensioning system. It keeps going "wierd".

[GREASEMONKEY]

BTW, my buddy has an argo with a 9hp outboard & ended up doing a good bit of reinforcing to stop the body flex!

[GREASEMONKEY]

I have swapped out to an optima yellow top battery & 35lb thrust trolling motor. I looked into the outboard, but due to price of a 4stroke 6.5hp I shyd away from the idea. I was looking into a 4stroke for fuel, no spare tank & mixed fuel for me to confuse. The 4stroke runs on regular gass, and could be piggybacked onto the existing tank! With a good outboard running upwards of $1000 it's not worth it for me. I never get in open water though! The trolling motor will push you along at about 10mph. Battery, and motor I have about $300 invested!

Hope my 2cents helps!

[Silverbullet75]

Very true... good words of wisdom.

Cool.. $1500 saved. Now I can concentrate on an Outboard!
Anyone have knowledge about question 2 from my last post?

thanks!
---JIM---

[MaxRules]

Tracks in the sand - I wouldn't see a need for them if you are happy with the climbing performance of the tires. Everyone has reported great performance with the 24" Argo tires in sand. In fact they are the best tire for sand, snow, and water for an amphib. Tracks in my opinion would just rob some power, be more expense, and add potential repair time if it walked out of the track. Get the factory Argo track if you decide they will suit your riding conditions.

[Silverbullet75]

Hi guys,

Questions:

1. PLASTIC Tracks.. anyone have them, or have used them in Desert/Rocky areas?
Wondering if they get torn up...
Worth the money for desert use?

2. Outboard motors... Argo recommends max of 9.9 hp. Is this due to weight? Thrust vs. structural integrity?
I've heard of people putting 15 hp motors on...

Thanks!
---JIM---

[Mike]

Jim, thanks for the in-depth report! I think Brandon said in another post that the Argos are notorious for needing idle adjustments from the factory but once you get it dialed in you should be good to go! Perhaps a temperature/elevation difference is causing the difference from the factory?

Anyway, I'm glad you and your wife had a blast. Tell her that we look forward to seeing more of her pictures of your other outings. Have fun!

Edit: By the way, I think you can now change the title under your name

[Roger S]

The tires are really good on sand and pea gravel.. the last ride I was on, the frontier was the only one that wasn't a chore to steer or bury itself on inclines.

The carb.. take the air cleaner off, including the base. I imagine you'll see two screws with plastic limiter caps on the top of the carb. Those are idle mixture. The two barrel is one seperate barrel per cylinder. The high speed is a jet you'd have to pull the bowl and change or drill.. shouldn't have to do anything to it on a stock engine.

[Silverbullet75]

Hi All!

Thanks for the compliments on the pics! My wife took them.. I copy/pasted them into an email and sent to her... as a little encouragement to keep it up!


We try to stay to the Las Vegas area mostly. The dunes in the picture are what I call the "training dunes". It's the Apex Dunes, just north of Las Vegas (near the speedway). I want to do Dumont Dunes soon

Funny thing is... My wife had more fun than ME! I was in task mode most of the time, being that it was the first time out I wanted to make sure that every noise, creek, and clank was legit. I did have a blast though! We were only out for about 1.5 hours when I felt the machine pulling to the left while driving. It still drove fine, just wierd... Come to find out, the tire had been punctured, probably by a sharp rock while turning. Power was VERY adequate. It climbed a hill that I wouldn't even try with my VehiCROSS! (funny... the safety video from Argo warns like crazy against hills and roll-overs... I had no problems, but will still be cautious). I don't plan on building a roll cage/bar... I don't want the extra weight, and don't plan on crazy situations. My wife and I drive like old folks. That's why we didn't get a Rhino... Don't need speed either. The Frontier is fast enough!
Now.. about the tires.. other than the puncture, I'm AMAZED with the capabilities on sand! NO PROBLEMS on sand! It was more fun/easier to drive on the fresh sand than on the dirt! To fix the tire, I took it to a local ATV shop, who installed a tube! I'm going to use that one as a spare, because a new one is arriving tomorrow. I'm looking into tracks from Richard's Relics...
Disappointments: Engine tuning... the carb mixture needs to be adjusted. Anyone have schematics on the carb? I need to know where the idle mixture and High Speed Mixture screws are... if there are such things on the newer motors...
---JIM---

[Mike]

I forgot the most important question of all: How did your wife like it?