2000 Venture 600 cracked skid rails

M

MichaelAngelo

Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2020
Messages
53
Location
Barrie
Just picked up this used sled with 10k kilometers. When I looked over it I didn't even notice the hairline cracks on the skid rails. Pictures below.

Spoke to a dealership and another shop, since I plan on exclusively ice fishing with the sled I might get away with welding? If so I'd have to remove the bolt where the crack is to weld... realizing it's under tension from the suspension so no idea how to do this safety.

Could get new rails but probably a reason why they cracked in the first place - suspension issues?

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struggling to figure out the skid removal process for the 2000 venture. Seems like this skid bolt is very awkwardly placed right at the tunnel so it would be impossible to fit a socket over it

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Then on the other hand I just need to find a way to remove the metal brace bar connected to the limiter strap to get the cracked area exposed enough to weld.... maybe with a sled on a stand it'll relieve the tension from the front skid shock?

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dad has an 05 sx venture and the only way to get that rear bolt out is to un bolt the bracket from the chassis on the side of the tunnel.

that crack is fairly common on that skis with bad shocks. i took of the hydrtaulic ones on dad's sled and put on a full set of olins. you could always find a set of aluminum bodied shocks that can be rebuilt for it. there are aftermarket ones availible for rx1 and sx viper sleds through royal distributing.

odds are though it will crack again.
 
Maim said:
dad has an 05 sx venture and the only way to get that rear bolt out is to un bolt the bracket from the chassis on the side of the tunnel.

that crack is fairly common on that skis with bad shocks. i took of the hydrtaulic ones on dad's sled and put on a full set of olins. you could always find a set of aluminum bodied shocks that can be rebuilt for it. there are aftermarket ones availible for rx1 and sx viper sleds through royal distributing.

odds are though it will crack again.
Click to expand...

Man I hope that aluminum bracket on the side of the tunnel is easier to remove than it looks... It looks awful to remove let alone on both sides.
 
Small victories - the skid's out of the sled! Crazy - one seized idler wheel, a couple in rough shape.

The front suspension "arm" has some side-to-side play in it where it attaches to the rails (red circles) - I'm guessing that's not normal perhaps the rubber bushings that used to be there are shot? Are there bushings that go inside the red circled area?

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Also there are clearly shot rubber bushings at the blue circles in above photo - where the front arm attaches to the tunnel - probably mangled from my removal.

Basically with the skid out I'd ideally find a whole other one in good shape - but so far I've looked at one other used 2000 venture skid and it was cracked in the EXACT same places.

Maim do you think with the new shocks and welding the old rails it might hold up for ice fishing? That's all i plan to use the sled for anyways...

To save me all this work (bringing to welder... replacing idler wheels... new shocks.. and whatever else is busted in here)... I'd rather just cough up some good money for a brand new skid.... plug and play? Doubt they sell the whole thing nowadays for a 20 year old sled?
 
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i do not think you can buy it whole from the dealer.

it should hold up with the new shocks for at least a season only ice fishing. trail riding, no promises. i had a rail that some one welded one of the suspension lugs back on. it broke next to the weld and i did not find it until i was transfering all the parts to a set of 144" rails i scored for that sled.

there are bushings with a flange for in the blue circles. i have broken/cracked a few going together but have taken out a few with no flange left.

in the red circles there are plastic bushings with a steel sleve inside. they tend to wear out to the back of the eye bolted to the rail. i have modded a proaction by adding a long grease nipple there between the webs over the rail to the rear and it helps it last longer.

i think the skid was the same until they discontinued the 600 tripple venture around 2008 here in canada as your pic of the rear mount is the same as my dads 05 sx venture.
 
Maim said:
i do not think you can buy it whole from the dealer.

it should hold up with the new shocks for at least a season only ice fishing. trail riding, no promises. i had a rail that some one welded one of the suspension lugs back on. it broke next to the weld and i did not find it until i was transfering all the parts to a set of 144" rails i scored for that sled.

there are bushings with a flange for in the blue circles. i have broken/cracked a few going together but have taken out a few with no flange left.

in the red circles there are plastic bushings with a steel sleve inside. they tend to wear out to the back of the eye bolted to the rail. i have modded a proaction by adding a long grease nipple there between the webs over the rail to the rear and it helps it last longer.

i think the skid was the same until they discontinued the 600 tripple venture around 2008 here in canada as your pic of the rear mount is the same as my dads 05 sx venture.
Click to expand...

thanks for the assistance! I'll try and get some parts together and rebuild this skid... seems like a job but getting more do-able the more I learn about how everything fits together. Are the idler bearings replaceable in these sleds? Any idea where I can get the right size bearings if so?

Get the rails welded (oh boy)
New shocks x2
New bushings
New idler bearings (source?)
New hyfax
Check the slide rail end caps
 
need a better pic of the wheels as some in that era did not have replaceable bearings. royaldistributing is where i get my skid bearings as i buy them a sleeve of 10 at a time. usually need 6004 and 6204 for most yamaha skid wheels but there are a few that need 6205. as to the slide plastic, the stuff royal sells is good enough for ice fishing as i can get 3-4 season out of a set of it.

bushings you have almost no choice other than yamaha. there where people like pioneer performance that had kits that did the whole skid/sled.
 
Baby steps. Rails are in for welding.

Have the front and back shocks out.... Royal distributing only has the back shock... 100 something. No idea where I'm going to find another front one. Can't rebuild the stock shocks?

Tonnes of worn bushings... Really wish there was a kit. Was at a Yamaha dealer in Barrie trying to order all the bushings and they told me off... No money for them in the old sleds I guess the money is in the new ones. Won't be going back there again.

Someone selling an 04 warrior skid that I'm hoping will fit in instead of the rebuild. So some options moving forward hopefully.
 
i would have to look more to see if some one has stepped in to make the kits again.

the war skid should work but the rear shock and relay rods are longer than the stock venture ones if memory serves.

the front skid shock is the same as an sxr, sx viper, rx1 and venture. the stock venture ones are not rebuildable steel bodied hydraulic shocks. according to the royal book you need an 04-461 for the front of the skid and a 04-462 for the rear of the skid. for ski/trailing arm shocks the book says to use 08-161 right in the 2020 winter catoulouge.


make a list up of all the bushings you need from yamaha's online fiche. i like using port yamaha's fiche to look up the parts. apparrently my dealer set it up as well so that stuff can be looked up and ordered. i usually just send them an email or parts request ( https://www.playpowersports.com/request-parts-atvs-motorcycles-boats-dealership--xparts_request ) and call to make sure it has been ordered the next day and pay over the phone. tell them cameron sent you.

do not go to man services for parts as the service guy treated me like crap and that i knew nothing about sleds. if h they had not been 1 of only 4 places in canada with the sled model i wanted, they would have been told to pound sand as they changed the deal in the 20 min it took me to call back to put the deposit on the sled. not happy with them at all.
 
Thanks! Noticing the replacement gas shocks do not come with coil springs - do I need to buy new ones/transfer over the old ones or do I need the coil springs? Seem like tasks just keep mounting - but learning a tonne through this!

Also perplexed on how to 1) get the inner idler wheel bearings off of the shaft and 2) the upper small idler wheel bearings as well.
 
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need to transfer your old springs to new shocks.

learn stuff all the time when i fix stuff.

here are some links i found for bushing kits:
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/YAMAHA-VMAX...604157?hash=item58e70e6c3d:g:p30AAOSw4GVYF7iq

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/YAMAHA-VMAX...rsOtherItemsV2&_trksid=p2047675.c100047.m2108

that is the shaft behind the scizors right? i usually pull any snap rings on the shaft and hit the inner race with a punch until they slide off of the shaft. the upper wheels come off pretty much the same way. i usually re-install them so that the wheel snap rings point to the centre of the suspension so that the next time i need to do them, i can get the wheel out of the way to hit directly on the bearing.
 
So update on what I have here

Rear shock seems to have been already replaced with a Kimpex gas shock04-288N7 and a coil somehow squeezed over it, fitting poorly, and rubbing the back of the shock since
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Front shock seems like the stock yamaha one:
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Upper idler wheels with c clip
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With c-clip removed still no idea how to get this off. From the back view I can see the larger c clip holding the bearing in place, but it has to come out off this big aluminum anchor piece

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that front shock is the stock hydraulic one from the snail cam adjuster.

looks like the plate by the eye is bent on the rear shock but i cannot zoom on those pics.

as to the upper support shaft (one you have in pic), pull the large snap ring and remove the wheel from the bearing. then you can hit on the bearing to knock it off for replacement with the end of the shaft on a board to save the threads. i have done them that way in the past but now that i set up my vice in the garage, i tend to use a board on the end of the shaft and hit the shaft out of the wheel and then out of the bearing.
 
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