MAX IV questions

[zoood]

Ok, I got to see and run this Max IV. There wasnt any water around to water test it. The owner said it didnt leak. But I already did that trust thing when I bought the Hustler and,... well thats a total rebuild at this stage.

Anyways. When I looked under the floor boards. I never in my life ever seen so much grease! It wasnt hardened or gritty looking. It was just loads of black grease. Looked to be an inch or two deep on the floor.

Since Im familiar with the axle and frame layout of my Hustler. I found myself a little lost looking down in the Max. I need to see a picture of someones Max that they are redoing. The owner said that the Max is a 1999. He mentioned that the tires are stock original and they are the 12x12x26. These tires looked serious compared to the 21's on my Hustler. He said it swims and steers in the water very well with those tires. I was surprised to see that the engine in the Max is set up so high within the body. I wonder why they did that? Also. The tub drain holes. He showed me there were 2. Im not sure I understand Max's policy with the plugs or even the owners comment on them. Saying that the plugs arent reusable. That doesnt make sense. This thing needs to have all the excess grease removed. Like I said I could not see in the bottom where the drain hole or holes are.









I also noticed that you had to ease the shifter into gear, (forward or reverse). Meaning it wasnt a clean process. I dont know if it's an adjustment or if it's a tell tale sign. The engaging didnt grind. It just wasnt a smooth transition. Anyone wanna chime in on this?

How about some links to pictures of the inside of these.

RJ

[thebuggyman1]

The easy Q first: T-20's are finicky when they are not split shift because you are trying to get both sides in gear at the same time. You can try adjusting it, but split shift would be best. Sooo, I wouldn't call it normal, but it's not abnormal.
The "grease" in the tub: are you sure it's grease and not excess oil from oiling (or over oiling) the chains? Some could be from leaking/ spilling oil from the motor or trans. it could also be 2" of water with 1/4" of oil floating on top????
If it is grease, the owner must have WAY over greased the bearings, I'd look at the seals being bad....so plan on replacing the bearings.

[SlimChance]

The T-20 can be a little quirky to get into gear at times, so that is normal.
Could be the previous owner filled the chain channels with grease thinking more is better. I have seen this a couple of times on Max units.
The plastic drain plugs are a pain, replace them with brass and rubber expansion plugs and you are good to go.

[zoood]

You have a picture of where the drain plugs are from the inside? I saw where they go in from the outside underneath. But those are or seem to be through the plastic shroud or protective covering. This guy has had a couple surgeries that keep him from bending over and down in the tub. I can see where he added more globs of grease so the chains would grease themselves. But it makes it impossible to see just whats happening in there. Since i couldnt inspect inside because of all the grease. there would be no way to check if the thing floats. he mentioned that he could fill it with water and if it held water, it would mean it doesnt leak. However i feel the water pressure on the outside of the tub while in water would be greater pressure than just holding water in it.

[thebuggyman1]

The best thing to do is look over the bottom side real well. Look for gouges or punctures and for bulges under the axle sprockets. I have seen where chains wadded up there and cut the tub from the inside. If there is no damage then it will float. You can still have leaks around the bearings/flanges/axles, or at the punctures/cuts/gouges...but the small stuff is easy to fix.

[zoood]

that means I have to remove the black plastic under shield. Correct?

[SlimChance]

Zoood,
you won't need to do that. The shielding is the factory skid plates for the Max IV. It is attached with waterproof rivets.
I would just look over the outside of the lower tub well. No matter how well the unit is sealed, you will get SOME water inside. On my unit when fishing for about 3 hours, I drain out roughly a gallon.
Weeps in through the bearing seals.
I have just come to accept that and no big deal to drain using the expansion plugs.

[zoood]

can the expansion plugs be inserted from the inside? If so,... anyone have a picture of the drain holes on the inside? Like I said. There's enough grease in this thing to grease at least 35 Tractor trailer fifth wheels!

[tonyk72]

It would be a major PITA to remove them from the inside. If they are factory plugs (like mine) I just use a flat head screwdriver to pry up a lip and then use a pair of pliers to yank them out. I've reused mine and never had any issues with them leaking.

[zoood]

There's no plugs with this one. PO destroyed them. I have to scoop the grease out of this thing. I dont want to pull the frame to clean it. I guess Ill get some brass plugs that I can screw in. Im curious as to where the drains are on the inside.

[msafi65]

Once you get the major stuff out the rear plug holes will be visible behind the rear crossmember of the frame. If the factory holes are still 3/4" inch the original push in cap-plugs work great. I have a plug removal demo that has been in and out probably 200 times. I pass a small screwdriver beside the plug about 1/2inch and pry the plugs out. Pulling them out with pliers is the common way and usually tears the plug making it unusable. I have had people use bait well expanding plugs in MAXand iv seen them pull out in heavy brush so be carefull. Good looking IV, have fun!

[hydromike]

I like to use these on my machines; they're kayak drain plugs. I rivet them in place. You may have to manipulate a little plastic to get the permanent flange to fit past the skid plate, but it's not that big of a deal. I added a set to my RIM with a factory Max IV skid plate.

[zoood]

Thank you for that! They look like they will do exactly what I want. Now all I have to do is raise the money for the MaxIV. Hopefully have it next month. My gosh, then Ill have two AATVs.