Axel movement

[Errandboy]

So I have recently snapped 2 sets of chains on the right side of my max ii... I removed the tracks to find that both rear axels have some movement outwards?? No movement top to bottom or side to side... bearings seem fine, whats my issue?? If the axel slides out the sprockets are no longer aligned and seems to be why I'm busting chains! Any thoughts are appreciated! Can't seem to get the locking collors to move! This is the old bushing style max with no inner bearings! Thanks

[john swenson]

hey errand .. i have had the same problem sometimes on my max 2 . probably the locking collars are not holding . my solution has been to get the axle and sprockets back in position , then i use a 2 piece clamping collar on the axle up next to the main outer bearing on the inside. if the lock collars not holding , the collar usually keeps the axle from moving . funny you should post this now , cause i just noticed yesterday one of mine had slid out some . going to check it this morn . only reason i can think of is the tire rim is a bit out of round . so i think that the constant rotating tends to slowly pull on the axle . will let you know what i find . maybe someone else can give a reason why this happens . johnboy va.

[john swenson]

errand ...after reading your post just now again i realized your running tracks . it could be if for some reason the if track isn't true '' straight '' , it would pull the tire and axle outwards . just a thought . when i noticed the chain on mine was not in line between the sprockets , i saw the outer bearing collar was not on . the tire did have a little wobble , which i think just pulled the axle out a bit , but stopped where it is now . the jackshaft chain was still true . so i will leave it for now and see if it moves anymore . inspect your track to make sure nothings bent , bad groser , etc. jboy

[ARGOJIM]

If your axle has side movement there are really only a couple reasons.
Your bearing eccentrics have loosened or broken, or your axle is worn where the bearing locks onto it.

[john swenson]

thanks jim ...the axle being worn makes a lot of sense . see you at busco ! jboy

[Errandboy]

Thanks guys... my collor has definitely moved but is frozen in place! Thanks for the 2 piece inner collor idea I think I'll give that a try as the bearings seem fine but 2 of the E collors seem to have pieces broken off of them which might prevent me from putting them back in place! I would prefer to have a collor on the inside also... the better fix would probably be adding inner bearings but seems like a bigger job than may be needed I hope

[john swenson]

you can get the 2 piece clamping collars from mcmaster - carr co. hopefully you can push your axles back in so all tires line up . the bearing eccentric collars not only keep the axle from sliding in and out of the bearing , but they lock the axle to the bearing so the axle does'nt spin in the inner bearing piece if the roller balls start getting bad or rusting up . that's how the noise from a bad bearing let's you know it's time to replace it . let us know how things turn out . johnboy