New SRX owner, need a little help/advice:)

I decied to leave everything alone and ride again today and see what the plugs looked like after an hour or so. All looks to be fine.

I had the older yamaha belt on it after doing the carbs and what not and this morning I switched back to the new belt, which is a Dayco brand, and the sled seemed to go to a higher RPM,8500-8600 a couple times on flat packed snow. Not sure if the belt is the reason for better performace or if I am just blowing the cobb webbs out of the motor. Anyway despite the vibration still somewhat being present, it really seems to be running well:)

Really not sure what else I can do to fix the vibration, short of throwing parts at it. Nothing seems to be worn or broken, from what me and my buddy can tell anyway.
 
Check your skid over closely for cracks, breaks or previous repairs. It may not be riding perfectly straight in the tunnel. This could make your track clips rub the hyfax sides at a point. Also check the rear of your hyfax for length. They may be catching the clips at the back as the track rotates around the rear idlers if they are to long.
Try riding at low speed and climb the road banks as you would to lubricate the hyfax while road running. See if the vibes get deeper. Do it on both sides.
If I climb the banks on my right side, it gets to almost a rumble.
Something is tweaked on my skid and I have a hard time adjusting my track to run centered. I believe it's causing vibes on mine.
I backed off my track and checked my drive bearings after the last four rides and everything is good. All new bearings on the entire sled and I still have vibes.
I dont let it bother me while I ride, but I'd like to know for sure what it is.

I too thought it was my studs getting into the cooler so I painted the cooler and run it wide open a few times using different deceleration methods and found no marks on my cooler. Although it is mangled from previous owners.
 
few things id check would be,idler wheels,track tension,front rails to the skid,make sure your not long on the new hyfax,lastly i know its silly but measure distance between the rails for the same width,i had a shop mess up position of the spacers and shims(washers) front of the skid was toed in 1/2" more than the back,my tracks fully clipped and was rubbing on the back end that was too wide,spin the idlers youll know if ones shot,put the back end up on a 4x4 or chainfall and gently spin the track,have a buddy listen and look while the track spins,4200-4800rpm just past clutch engagement(dont pin it)listen for the noise youll find it,improper track tension=too tight or too loose,if its too tight and one side is tighter than the other,with studs you get aweful noise due to the track shimming left to right from being too tight on one side(youll see this during the rev up /track off the ground listening for noises)and from sitting, there are about 9 zerc fittings that need some grease,could even be an inner wheel rusted to the rear axle,and your transfer rods will thank you!!jmo~smoke 95 you should check yours for space too..1/4' washer x2=1/2 in outa whack.and free studding- i call it, can add extreme weight to one side and cause noises,poor handling.if track wasnt pre drilled or someone dident use a guide.all sorts of issues....
 
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98SRXDAN said:
I decied to leave everything alone and ride again today and see what the plugs looked like after an hour or so. All looks to be fine.

I had the older yamaha belt on it after doing the carbs and what not and this morning I switched back to the new belt, which is a Dayco brand, and the sled seemed to go to a higher RPM,8500-8600 a couple times on flat packed snow. Not sure if the belt is the reason for better performace or if I am just blowing the cobb webbs out of the motor. Anyway despite the vibration still somewhat being present, it really seems to be running well:)

Really not sure what else I can do to fix the vibration, short of throwing parts at it. Nothing seems to be worn or broken, from what me and my buddy can tell anyway.
Click to expand...

maybe just tighten up the track some, with it on a rear bumper stand, adjust it till you have about 1 inch of gap between the center of the skidframes hyfax and the top of the track clips in the middle, this will be tight enough to keep it from hitting the tunnel guards up under the gastank or the heat exchangers, see if the vibration goes away., let us know.
 
Hi Guys, I ended up running the sled last year about 300 miles or so. So now that we have enough snow here in MN I took the sled out and was checking everything over. I noticed something that wasn't there last year when I was trying to diagnose the vibration issue coming from the track or bearings. On the left side front of the skid where it curves up just past the end of the plastic slide, the rounded plastic piece at the top of the curve is being sliced away by the track nubs on the outside of it.

What would cause this, I had all the bearings inspected and what not, everything was good. Could one side of the track be tighter then the other or maybe the whole track is too loose? The other thing I notice which may just be a normal characteristic, is the feeling that the track is kind of sliding lateral when going over certain terrain. Like there is some slop in it. The track when up on a jack stand does not visually look loose.

Any thoughts? I appreciate it!
 
This could be the cause of your phantom vibration....Just took some miles to present a clue. 2 things come to mind. A. Skid or rail rail is bent causing tip of rail to be further to the left than it should be. B. Track is out of adjustment (one wheel/adjuster at the rear of skid) is much tighter than the other causing track to try and walk to the right hand side of skid. When you look threw the windows at the rear of track does it look centered on the skid? Does the right hand rail have similar issue on the inside of tip? You can measure the widths of the rail as it goes up into the arch (side to side) If it gets larger all of a sudden I suspect rail is bent.
 
X2 - If the skid has never been pulled and fixed/tightened, it's way over due. It's probably moving around on accel/decel. Search "tighten yours" by BeTheViper.

Does the speed-o work?
 
Thanks guys! Would it take a pretty nasty spill to bend the skid? or is it more common then one would think?

I will put it up today and check the basics you mentioned with the track alignment and the adjusters etc first and then go from there. I doubt the track and skid has ever been removed. Doing that is probably over my head. I will report back with what I see. Thanks again Guys!

Oh yeah, the vibration is present when accelerating as well, all the way to about 6500 rpm and once some good torque is applied it goes away, but as soon as you let off its very noticeable.

The Speedo works great, seemingly
 
The pivot point bushings are junk and wear-out minutes into the first ride off the showroom floor. The slop created by these worn out bushings wreaks havoc on the geometry and things start to break. Just riding it begins the process.

If your track is gouging the side of the rails at the highfax I'd pull the skid and fix what's broken. You will also be able to have a real good look at the driveshaft and you might as well replace the most abused bearing in your drivetrain while you're in there.

This may not fix your vibration but you'll know what it isn't. If the skid hasn't ever been pulled since new, it needs to be.
 
In your honest opinion, how difficult is it to pull the skid yourself? I am fairly handy with cars etc, just do not have much experience with snowmobiles. Am I better off taking it to someone?
 
Definitely do it yourself, if your handy its all common sense. You'll need some patience getting it back in, but nothing better than getting to know your sled better from doing this yourself. For your first time give yourself a couple hours start to finish. Good luck and just ask if you get stuck.
 
If you have basic hand tools and a warm place to work on it, go for it. Lay the sled on it's side and clean the skid of any snow. Check where the center shock mounts to - looking for worn bushings then the cross brace for cracking at the rails then the front swing arm (W arm) for cracking at the down tubes and gussets.

Once you find they're toast - get together a couple 14 mm wrenches, socket/extention/ratchet, 17 and 19mm socket/wrench and get 'er done.

Having a friend to help wrestle it back in and drink beers comes in handy. If I were to recommend the method for installation, I think laying it on it's side might be the easiest if you're on your own. You're more than likely just as qualified as the kid some dealer owner would give it to.

BTV has a handy write up for doing what you need to do including r&r the skid.
 
X3 on do it your self. Write ups as well as more than a few threads others have started with questions. Come across anything new or can't find an answer...fire away, plenty of Yamaha brothers here to help
 
Thanks Guys! I really appreciate it. I am starting on it tomorrow. I have a heated garage and all sorts of tools. Can't wait to get the vibration gone or at least minimized.

On a side note, tonight my brother just picked up a 2002 Viper 700, 1900 miles on it, in showroom condition. Studs, new carbides, Yamaha Cover/jacket included for $2200. Not sure if that's a decent price or not, but he is pumped about it. I imagine many things are similar to my SRX, so I better get to know mine more, so I can adequately help him as well.

I will report back on how it goes.
 
I flipped it on its side, but started smelling and seeing a little gas by the carbs, is there a certain side to flip on to or is there a gas shut off valve etc? I guess, anything special before flipping etc or is that suppose to happen?
 
The only time I've seen and smelled gas when flipping my SRX is when the fuel vent line came loose from the fitting near the top of the tank behind the airbox/clutch area. The line fitting surprisingly just presses into the flange that is bolted to the tank, and seems somewhat common to work loose at least once in a lifetime. How full was your tank, mine typcially aren't full when I tip 'em, but not empty either. This one time it must have been fairly close to being full though. After I tapped the fitting back into place there were no other fuel leaks.

I've flipped them both ways, and do it often to grease the suspension, maintain the wheels, shocks, etc. How far did you tip yours? I always keep a selection of short sections of 2x4 and thinner boards around for locating under the rear of the trailing arm (at the footrest area). I'd rather have that rear steel arm hub rest on soft wood rather than my garage floor or driveway and get scratched and dinged up. I think the SRX's take a board that is 1" or thinner, can't remember for sure, I just grab the one that I've written "SRX" on. You can usually dig that steel hub into the board a little, to help with the "perfect balance", and the sled is stable enough to do all of the work I've needed to do. Although I haven't tried to R&R the rear suspension this way, it may be more stable since the "tripod" of support (ski, trailing arm, track) is wider when the track/suspension is swung out from the tunnel.

No fuel shut off valve from the factory. Are all your carb vent hoses in place and routed properly?

I'd say your brother did just fine on his Viper in that conditon for that price.
 
The tank is about 5/8 full. I checked on the overflow and that is in place from what I can tell. Should I just ratchet strap the *** end up a ways and work on it that way instead? I tipped it over on to an old memory foam pad that came off my old queen bed, knew that thing would come in handy someday....
 
98SRXDAN said:
... Should I just ratchet strap the *** end up a ways and work on it that way instead? ....
Click to expand...

Give 'er a go! Just keep a sharp eye and nose out for the gas again, since you'll be lifting the tank higher and higher than the carbs/engine. I always let the sled back down after the suspension is out, until I'm ready to reinstall. Also make sure you have a good strap and a good ratchet that won't break or slip, I usually double up to be safe.
 
On it, yeah have two straps hooked up now after installing two heavy duty hooks into the joists. Thanks again!
 
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