Rear Wheel Needle Bearing Failure ( axle / hub / clicking / noise / swingarm )

205443 Views 1384 Replies 200 Participants Last post by Ericredsl, 12 mo ago

WingShot

Discussion Starter · May 2, 2015

Thought you guys might want to keep your ears open for noises in the rear end, I noticed mine at 4K when it started a rubbing sound that I could hear when I coasted up to a stop, The noise would increase with the speed and then it went away for awhile then came back stronger. I hope Shack can post the video I made of the noise.
I took it into Cycle Springs and Noel got me right in and had it fixed in a few days, Polaris shipped the parts right away. It pays to have a good dealer that knows how to get the job done. There are 2 sets of bearings in the axel housing, and one is American made and the other was same company but stamped Japan ,It was the Japan one that failed on mine, but both replaced. The American bearing ,top pic was the big

ger of the two.

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wjfyfe

· #218 · Jun 30, 2015

ghost rider said:
for who are a bad rear wheel bearing ,do you ride in the rain or do you wash your SS with pressure washer?
maybe the seal of wheel bearing it's a crap ?
saw in owner manual page 78

Thanks ghost rider, something to keep in mind.

Bill and Justina

wjfyfe

· #327 · Jul 31, 2015

SlungLow said:
Combine BRAND please ? I would like to have a spare set of bearings NOW ! Lol

I am having a real tough time believing that Polaris is the sole source for this bearing and that there is no way to cross reference this bearing to purchase elsewhere? Has anybody copied down the part number off of an installed / removed bearing??

Bill

wjfyfe

· #933 · Sep 10, 2015 (Edited)

Mr. Clean said:
BMW never did admit there was a problem Perhaps the new bearing is an improved design. You are correct, Polaris like most big companies will not admit to anything.

With so many folks just itching to sue somebody, and lawyers just as quick to accommodate, can you really blame them?

WE have no doubt that Polaris is putting their best effort to finding a solution to this "problem" and we are just looking forward to Polaris finding that solution before we have a "problem."

Bill and Justina

wjfyfe

· #949 · Sep 11, 2015

We agree StingrayHawaii.

OK, listening to you guys finally got us concerned enough that I called our dealer concerning this issue, mostly because I was just going to order a bearing to "put on the shelf "just in case." During a somewhat lengthy conversation I was reassured that a couple of owners have returned their SlingShot to have them checked out where the dealer completely disassembled, cleaned and inspected the unit, reassembled using the recommended Locktite, (all work done under warranty), and that they have yet to witness any failure of the bearing itself. After this service no units have been returned with any related problems. I was further reassured that if we do happen to get the clicking, or the nut backs off, just to bring it in and they would make it right by us.

Bill

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wjfyfe

· #959 · Sep 12, 2015 (Edited)

sooey2u said:
Rick , you really need to attend Wjfyfe's seminar on positive thinking. It will change your perspective forever.
Robert

Our experience has shown us that folks that associate with a business with a friendly positive attitude usually leave happy and satisfied. Those that go in with a piss poor attitude expecting the worse usually get what they expect, (deserve?)

Waiting for wiggly's finger!

Bill

wjfyfe

· #1,033 · Oct 9, 2015

Coming up on 4000 miles and the nut has not moved.

Which comes first, the nut coming loose or the bearing beginning to fail? If the later, re-tightening the nut is not a solution.

If a nut torqued at 250 ft/lbs is loosening I have doubts that a device only using friction is going to to keep it from loosening?

Bill

wjfyfe

· #1,124 · Nov 21, 2015

Frank the Tank said:
Thanks for quick response. I had just checked axle nut torque about a week ago. 250 ft. lbs., did not move.. First time I had checked. I will re-check tomorrow. Will follow your recommendations from there. Also, I need to learn to use spell ck.......and ck my sentences.

I will apologize ahead of time if this has already been addressed and I simply missed it. Our SS is coming upon 5,000 miles without any bearing problems, I did mark the nut immediately after purchase, (it has not moved), but have never checked the torque on the nut, which makes me curious of how many folks suddenly have had problems with the rear bearing after checking the torque and having the nut move, (is the given torque setting possibly too high?)

Bill

wjfyfe

· #1,243 · May 15, 2016

StingrayHawaii said:
Everything I have read about this bearing issue talks about clicking and noise! Has anyone actually had it get so bad the sling was disabled?

Wondering how bad it gets before it totally fails and things start coming apart?

Many irs cars with carrier bearings have similar problems but they get really noisey and drag very heavily before they actually fail and the axle shaft breaks and a wheel comes off! I have seen that happen on a Corvette, but one would have to be a real DA to not realize that it was that bad and keep driving it !

Has anyone broken an axle shaft or melted bearings and damaged the swing arm assembly?

Working on what StingrayHawaii has posted, why are some folks going through multiple bearings while others, (like us), appear not to be having any problems at all, what is the common denominator behind the failings?

Bill and Justina

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wjfyfe

· #1,311 · Aug 1, 2016

Just a quick note that the clicking from our rear end apparently was not the bearing:

Rear axle double nut mod/Bearing failure?

Bill and Justina

wjfyfe

· #1,317 · Sep 2, 2017 (Edited)

shamblin said:
took my '16 Slingshot in with a rear axle leak. The dealer changed the seal. While it was in the shop, the tech said the belt was loose, so he tightened it to factory specs. Now I have aloud high pitch howl coming from the rear. The tech said i need to run it until the belt stretches and the sound will go away. I put 200 miles on it today & its still screaming & even louder. Any ideas???

If you care to do a search you will discover a multitude of theories and home remedies for this common "complaint" that is "normal" for the SlingShot. We have already tried the Royal Purple remedy with no success. As soon as the air quality here gets back into some simulation of normal breath-ability I am going to attempt altering the belt tension next just to experiment to see if I can find a unique "sweet spot" for our trike.

You may want to invest in a belt tension gauge:

Bill

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wjfyfe

· #1,326 · Sep 3, 2017

JerriEric said:
Sorry it's the swing arm not the angel drive my bad. Washed the belt really good and the thing still squeals like a pig when taking off.

You may want to purchase a gauge to check how tight the belt has been adjusted? The gauge is cheap and the process is easy.

Bill

wjfyfe

· #1,328 · Sep 3, 2017

JerriEric said:
Link?

Here is just one of several options:

Amazon.com: Motion Pro 08-0350 Belt Tension Gauge: Automotive

Bill

wjfyfe

· #1,330 · Sep 3, 2017

If I may add my recently new experience with adjusting the belt? When the Grasshopper was returned to us after the swing arm repair the belt adjustment was a wee bit tight, (0.4"), with a wee bit louder and higher pitch. Well, I just finished my first attempt at adjusting the belt and not believing in making large changes, I did loosen the belt from the 0.63" spec to 0.7", and then took it for about a 10 mile ride at 95 degrees OAT. Results are a quieter ride, (YEA!), but I also noticed that the drive belt alignment had moved from being fairly tight against the inside of the rear pulley, to more center. Could this also be a possible reason for the quieter ride?

Bill

wjfyfe

· #1,331 · Sep 10, 2017

wjfyfe said:
If I may add my recently new experience with adjusting the belt? When the Grasshopper was returned to us after the swing arm repair the belt adjustment was a wee bit tight, (0.4"), with a wee bit louder and higher pitch. Well, I just finished my first attempt at adjusting the belt and not believing in making large changes, I did loosen the belt from the 0.63" spec to 0.7", and then took it for about a 10 mile ride at 95 degrees OAT. Results are a quieter ride, (YEA!), but I also noticed that the drive belt alignment had moved from being fairly tight against the inside of the rear pulley, to more center. Could this also be a possible reason for the quieter ride?

Bill

OK, to add on to my previous post, our SlingShot is definitely quieter, if it is because I adjusted the belt from 0.4" to 0.7", or that I aligned it to being more in center of the rear pulley, I am not sure. But, this does raise the question of how critical is it if the belt is not adjusted to the inside of the rear pulley?

Thanks,

Bill

wjfyfe

· #1,333 · Sep 11, 2017

Solow said:
The service manual states that if the belt is too far to the inside of the pulley, there may be a noise on acceleration. If the belt is to close too the outside of the pulley there may be noise on deceleration. So apparently there is a "sweet" spot .

I seem to recall somebody equating adjusting the drive belt to the likes of tuning a violin?

Bill

wjfyfe

· #1,356 · Sep 25, 2018 (Edited)

Ulflyer said:
Might it be the slack in the drive shaft? Both of mine make a slight "click" when put in gear, clutch let out, drive line slack taken up. sometimes I hear it beyond 1st gear or reverse, but usually other motor noise drowns it out.
Far as I know, this is perfectly normal.

You are going to find that the SlingShot is capable of all sorts of little noises and rattles that all are perfectly normal. You are hearing them mostly because the SlingShot has the lighter construction of a motorcycle and you are not enclosed in a sound proofed cabin. I am with Ulflyer, I wouldn't let that lil "tic" cause me any concern.

Bill

wjfyfe

· #1,378 · Jun 20, 2020

Our story is that we are now approaching 30,000 miles where the one way trip to the dealer is now nearly 200 miles, so fortunately, like BKL, we too have had very few issues with our SlingShot. The initial problems with the rear bearings, (including ours), way back when, apparently came about with the single nut becoming untorqued and then thrashing the bearings, (fortunately we caught ours before bearings were damaged.) This was at the time the single nut was replaced by a double nut system and the failures, at least the complaints here, became dramatically less since. But, being mechanical, no SlingShot is totally immune from having issues now and then. If I may say, we have treated our dealer(s) with understanding and respect, where they have returned the kindness with great service. Every issue we have had arise with our SlingShot have been quickly and satisfactorily satisfied solely by the dealer without complaint, we have never had to contact Polaris themselves. With this experience we have concluded that Polaris depends on their dealers, and if you happen to be unfortunate enough to to happen to get on the bad side of a dealer, or, even worse, have a bad one, the dealer's response may be to just pass you on to Polaris themselves. At which time your probable only recourse is to try another dealer.

Bill

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wjfyfe

· #1,383 · Jun 8, 2021 (Edited)

Here would be my train of thought. The usual cause of a pulsating brake pedal is warped rotor(s)? A second remote possibility may be a malfunctioning anti-lock brake system? (where normally operating anti-lock brakes cause the brakes to pulsate, but only when excessive pressure is applied?) With this in mind, my first thought would be to have the dealer demonstrate how the axle bearing is defective and how it is causing the brakes to pulsate?
Bill

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