srx w arm cracked AGAIN!!!!!

blueblooded

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Joined
May 16, 2003
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856
Age
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Location
Lockport ny
Okay looking over my sled again,cleaning it up ,cleaned the power valves ,while greasing my suspension i find another small crack in the w arm!I had this arm welded up the first time and also had it gusseted with chromoly steel.It broke a second time and i had it welded agin,this is the 3rd time!!!!I weigh 190 lbs and i dont beat on my sled when the trails are rough,so why does this thing keep breaking?Is that reinforced w arm from maximum worth the money(260.00)?Maybe its the bender ts3 transfer rods causing this?
 

Possibly, your description of "beating on your sled and the "W" are's are two different things. If you have transfer rods and you don't keep them in the more closed position you will bust that arm. You should also keep more preload on the middle (front) shock and let your limiter straps out. You will loose some top speed and some steering response but you will stop bottoming out. You did not say if you bottomed out but, that is the only way you can bust one. The skid has to go to full travel before you can put enough stress on the arm that it will bust. Your SRX has very little travel and it does not take much. my 160# friend who does not ride hard at all has cracked 3 of them. He likes a softer ride and that causes the arm to bust. Doug
 
Take the bump stop out, those damn rubber stops are why the w-arm breaks, with the stops out the it will bottom on the shock before it hits the rails anyway. Be sure to check suspensions settings as well.
 
More Metal

I broke my W Arm once on my 2000 SRX and 2 buds each broke theirs once on their '98 SRXs. I say once because I welded the crap out of all three of them and they have been fine ever since (at least the 2 '98s are - I don't have mine anymore). Regardless, I got some 1" flat stock and welded that along the entire length of the outside of the W Arm. I also wrapped the 1" flat around the top where the square part meets the round and welded the crap out of that. I seal welded all the stock stitch welds and probably doubled the weight but I guarantee the rails would break before the W Arm. May want to try that.
 
The problem could be that you have your limiter strap sucked way up and you have the pre-load way too high. all that load is right were the cracks are. If you leave the pre-load jacked way up, you will break every one you put in. Set your suspension per the manual and it will lessen the chances of the arm breaking. Most people don’t know the proper way to set up a suspension correctly, especially the center shock.
 
I did the same thing with mine as Yamadogger did.....I replaced that chincy 1/16th inch reinforcement plate on the bottom of the w-arm with 1/4 inch flat stock and ran solid beads of weld the entire length of it instead of just tack welding like the factory does. Since doing this....no problems....and I imagine its a little lighter than 1 inch flatstock as well.
 
I had mine beefed up on the bottom with 1/4 chromoly steel plates,then it broke at the top,had that welded,now its broken in the middle-i cant win.
 


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