Warning...critical maintenace info

We had a recent thread where we had some dissagreement on running non OEM wheel offsets and bigger tires...etc. This thread is not meant to convince you to not run big wheels or funky offsets. This thread is to recommend the following critical maintenance YOU SHOUL PERFORM that could keep you from damaging expensive Rincon parts or even more expensive human body parts.

Here is how to check your rear suspension out.

To eliminate rear end bag pipes sound.

1) Remove your seat and push rear suspension up and down and listen or feel for which side is making the noise. Noise comes from “dry” upper shock bushing 90% of the time. You can feel vibration in shock from the side that needs attention or you can just do both sides. Mine never does it on both sides at the same time, so I just fix what is squeaking…and do only one side at a time.
2) Place jack under rear in center of trailer hitch. I do this repair without removing the wheels which makes it quicker. Before lifting, use ratchet on head of bolt (under seat) that is at top of shock and box wrench on the backside of shock head on the nut. Remove the nut; leave the bolt in for now. Sit with your crotch against rear wheel and one leg in front of and behind the wheel. Slowly raise screw jack while pushing on bolt, when shock is at sweet spot and has no load in it, the bolt will slide right out.
3) Let top of shock rotate down toward rear end and then remove inner shaft (hollow cylinder that shock bolt goes through) from top of shock. You may need to drive it out which requires rear wheel and shock removal. If you keep up with this maintenance 1 or 2 times a year the inner cylinder will just slide out. The friction is occurring between the cylinders outer surface and the inner surface of the shock bushing…NOT BETWEEN THE BOLT AND THE CYLINDER. When you look at the cylinder removed from the shock head you will see the polished areas that are squeaking.
4) Clean up the outer surface of the cylinder and the inner surface of the shock bushing with light Emory cloth or similar. Grease up everything, even the bolt which can run dry, so all will be quiet.
5) Slip cylinder in the shock head and reposition shock back up between the ears of the mount. Bolt should slide right back in with minimum of fuss because it’s still lined up from the jack you still have under the trailer hitch. Tighten bolt to 25 ft-lbs (I think, check book). Rear end will be quiet.
6) If all you remove and grease is the bolt….you didn’t correct the issue. The bolt should be torqued, if you loosen bolt some to “correct” squeak all you are doing is letting shock rotate at the wrong place and you can trash the shock mounts.

Now, while you are at it, check the next thing that WILL wear out on the rear end. If you run offset wheels or heavy wheels this place will wear even quicker. The place I am referring to is the upper knuckle bushings that the long shaft that goes through the upper A arm and the lower shock bearing rides in. Mine unfortunately is toasted badly on the left, the right side feels like new but has been previously replaced. So I have new knuckle pivot bushings, inner, and outer grease seal on order. I may even need a lower shock bushing too, which I will order if available. To check this pivot quickly and easily, jack rear end up until wheel is hanging about ½ inch above floor. Grab tire at 12 and 6 position and twist it up and down. The play you feel is this pivot or the wheel bearing. You may need a friend to rock the wheel while you check where movement is occurring. It won’t be hard to identify. None of the pivots should have any lateral or radial play…they should just rotate.

The last time I did this on the right, I was able to get the old bushings out without removing the knuckle, thus leaving the wheel hub and axle installed. I will finish this write up later in the week with pictures of the knuckle bushing repair for my Rincon friends.

The next place to check is the front upper a arm bushings…particularly the rear one of the pair. These wear out about every 3000 miles. The lower front shock bearing should be replaced at about the same time. Check just like the rear…jack up quad without weight on front wheels and just pull and twist on things to look for play anywhere. A little play at the upper a arms is OK, you be the judge how much is too much. This repair has been detailed by myself and others so I am skipping the details on this one for now. You can even install a grease zerk on this a arm if you like, I just regrease mine annually by removing the bolt.

And lastly…check both the inner and outer tie rode ends.

My experience is the rear knuckle bushings will go south at around 5000 miles. The front upper a arm bushings at around 3000 miles. This is on a quad with stock wheels and 25 inch big horns that almost never goes under water and rarely gets mud bogged. I do ride fast and that is what hammers the suspension on mine.

My rear knuckle is bad enough right now that the ATV is out of service except for yard work until I get my bushings in and R&R them. Last fall when I checked it, the bushings were just a little worn.

Ride safely, and don’t let your wheels fall off and pass you up going down the trails.