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Crossfire skid into a 96 ZRT

53K views 43 replies 16 participants last post by  OhioCatFreak 
#1 · (Edited)
Last year I did the AGLT mod on the front suspension. A true 13" of usable travel up front. It truly is what everyone was saying. "Awesome"

This year I thought I would do an 07 Crossfire skid into it and see how this works out.

I would like to give a special thanks to Kev and Leighthomas for answering questions and doing some testing of a 136" Pantera skid and a Crossfire and make some comparisons for me. They took the time for a rough install and test. This sent me in the right direction. Thanks guys.

OK, here is what I did:
First I purchased a skid off E-bay. I disassembled it and repainted everything I could.
 

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#2 ·
Next I sand blasted the skid and painted it with as close to Cat green as I could get.
 

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#3 ·
I even took the time to add some grease fittings to some of the places that seemed dry when I took everything apart.
 

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#4 · (Edited)
I had found out that these skids have had issues in the past with the front arm breaking so I welded some gussets in place. Hard to see in the pic but they are there on both sides. Top side is fully welded and the bottom spot welded. I didn't want too much heat in this area and weaken it.

I had some 1" diameter solid rod cut down to 1/2" thick and drilled a hole for the bolts for spacers and added them to the sides. The Crossfire skid is 1" narrower than the older ZRT skids. I also used grade 8 bolts and new nylon lock nuts.

For the back of the skid, without getting crazy and removing the rear bracket and drilling and putting a new one in and making a mess on the tunnel, I decided to make an adapting bracket 8" x 1 1/2" x 1/2" out of aluminum flat stock and drilled the holes that the current mount had and adapt the new brace to it with 2 grade 5 bolts. I then measured and drilled the rear hole 31" from the front existing hole from the upgraded newer torque link skid mounting holes. I never touched the holes for those, just installed it there. I did check and coincidentally it lined right up perfectly.

EDIT: I had problems with the studs just kissing the rear heat exchanger so I had to move the rear mount hole below the boards. You can see in the pic. its almost inline with the other 2 bracket holes. Its not quite even with the other holes but if they were that wouldn't hurt either. I then raised the sled's front end by increasing spring pre load on the front shocks. All seems well. I will run some more and give a ride review. I also added 6 3/8" wheels to the top right next to the torque link in pic 4. This will keep the track from rubbing the top of the aluminum link and the link from putting a mark all the way around the track. Why Cat never put a taller wheel in those Crossfires I will never know. I used some off an old skid. If you want new, the part number is #1604-685.

One thing I did do was to take out (all) the suspension springs. I then reinstalled the shock and skid back in and collapsed the suspension till the front and back were bottomed out so I was sure there would be nothing hitting or rubbing in the tunnel. This is how I achieved the proper hole height on the front and back suspension/tunnel holes. The front has 1/2" clearance with this track/stud combination in the old front holes and the rear has approx. 3" with the rear angled upward slightly. ---- Keep in mind that I used the front holes for the upgraded torque link skid and these holes are the ones I used. Not the original front holes for the 96 non torque link skid.
 

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#5 · (Edited)
If anyone is interested I have the paint codes that is just about perfect with Cat's paint. I had gotten this years ago. It works great!!
 

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#6 · (Edited)
I knew the type of riding I do that I wanted a 1.25" ripsaw. I also knew that I wanted studs. I went with the fully clipped ripsaw and 189 stud boy studs, 1.375" just down the middle. Never had them just in the middle so I'm gonna see if I like it. Stud boy tells me to run the "V" pattern reversed from the old days. So this is the ginny pig. We will see !!!!

I got the best deal on stud boy studs from a place in Lafayette Indiana called Ultimate Sports Inc. (USI). I found them on the web and called for pricing. They also sell on E-bay. They are a ton cheaper than anyone else hands down. Very accommodating too.
 

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#7 · (Edited)
On my 96 zrt I knew I didn't have a ton of clearance with the studs to front heat exchanger (about 1/2" to 5/8") with the stock track and studs so I had to change the front drivers from 9 tooth to 8 tooth if I wanted to get the 1.25" Ripsaw with studs in it. Auggie recommended me to have the drivers chucked up in a lathe and turn them down for even contact on all. I think I took off around .030-.045 thousands is all. Auggie helped me through some stuff over the years and is a wealth of knowledge. Thanks Auggie! I then bought a 26 tooth top gear and a 74 pitch chain to get the gearing as close to stock as possible since changing to an 8 tooth from the 9 tooth. Only because I had a very nice clutching set up and didn't want to ruin that after all my hard work. One last thing was to take out the auto adjuster and put in a manual adjust. This holds the chain better for the longer 74 pitch chain.

EDIT UPDATE:
After riding the sled and doing lots and lots of research I discovered I could not use the 8 tooth drivers mentioned above. I had to get Wahl 8 tooth anti-ratchet drivers. Reason being that with this type of track (1602-865A) it is the quiet track ripsaw Cat installed on the 06 Crossfires. When you go to the anti-ratchets they recommend 2 wheels and no need for all 4. The track has nubs molded into it, and in combination with the 1.25" lugs and studs of the track this sled hooks so hard I could not keep it from ratcheting so I had to go with the anti-ratchet drivers. I got to 1/2" sag with a 20lb weight hanging and it still did it. Suppose to be around 1 3/4" sag. I think if you used any other track you would be fine with the standard drivers from all that I have researched. You can see what I had and what I put in in the pic below.

One other thing to add is the speedo will be off when you go to the 8 tooth drivers from the 9 tooths. This will make the speedo show you are going faster than you really are and really rack up the miles on the speedo!! You will have to buy another speedo drive adapter part #0620-031. This is for an 8 tooth. Got mine off ebay. Part #9 in the third pic.
 

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#8 ·
I have read numerous things on the cooling of triples the last few years. Although I don't think this is totally necessary, I do a lot of hard pack riding and sometimes cooling does become an issue. I think if anyone does the cooling mod they should look everything over first and proceed with caution. Measure twice and cut once so to speak. And yes, I did cut off the pretruding screws so the track doesn't hit them.
 

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#9 ·
I would recommend that if anyone does this mod they can use the plastic barbed elbows with 1" rubber tubing I purchased at the local NAPA store. I used copper tubing fittings because its what I had and this is kinda a test bed thing.

I cut a section of tubing I had from the aluminum supply lines (since I would have to add rubber hose) and cut them at a 45 degree angle and tig welded them together to make the 90 degree elbows needed for the project. I bought the heat exchanger off E-bay and had it sent to my door for $30.00. The reason the white lines are on the exchanger are for the alignment of the elbow to be welded.
 

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#10 ·
If you do this mod you will have to cut the seat. Do not install the coolant lines toward the front of the sled. If you do you will have them position under the gas tank. They need to face the rear of the sled as pictured.
I modded the seat with a Dremel tool. I had to supply clearance for the tubing and exchanger to fit into the seat bottom. Sorry guys. No measurements were taken. I just lifted the seat bottom and did my measuring that way.
 

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#11 · (Edited)
I wanted the rear of the sled to look like it was made that way. I installed the rear bumper so it had the factory appearance look. No small feat with the extension I used. Seems they didn't add enough to the bottom and I had to add on to that so I could mount the bumper to it 5 1/2 hours later. I also got a good deal on the mountain cooler extension cover off E-bay too. I used self taping stainless screws that go through the tunnel to hold it on. As for the wiring, that was straight forward. Plenty of wire under the seat to stretch to the rear hook ups. The cover over the existing hole in the seat where the tail light used to be was made out of .090" aluminum and painted with black Rustoleum paint.
 

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#12 ·
Here are a few pics of it completed. I can't wait for the snow.:sno:
 

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#13 ·
Nice write up! On my 95 zrt I found my ripsaw hit the tunnel protectors near the front. It took me a couple seasons to figure out what the annoying high speed vibration was. I noticed the wear in them last fall and removed them, but I'm not running studs either. Not sure if the 8 tooth drivers will be enough to fix that issue? Something to keep in mind anyway.

I finally have started the crossfire skid into the pantera project. So much to do. Got all the AGLT to do on it and clean up the wiring from converting to batteryless efi. I picked up a sewing machine that can do the heavy vinyl for the seat cover it needs. That cost more then the original sled was. I guess that's what happens with projects. lol

I just took out the tunnel protectors today on the pantera and they have a screw that holds them into the rear exchanger. I recently got an impact driver for Father's Day and couldn't believe how easy those screws came out using that. My good screwdriver with good bits, would bite but I couldn't turn it. Impact driver took less then half a second. Great tool I didn't even know I needed. lol
 
#14 ·
Nice write up! On my 95 zrt I found my ripsaw hit the tunnel protectors near the front. It took me a couple seasons to figure out what the annoying high speed vibration was. I noticed the wear in them last fall and removed them, but I'm not running studs either. Not sure if the 8 tooth drivers will be enough to fix that issue? Something to keep in mind anyway.

I re-drilled my holes a few years back to install the newer style torque link suspension. It was mounted a few inches lower than the stock (96) location was for the front holes. Maybe this is why mine didn't hit the wear stripes ??
 
#15 ·
That is one of the nicest sleds I have seen in a long time! Good job man, it's awesome.
 
#16 ·
Last year I did the AGLT mod on the front suspension. A true 13" of usable travel up front. It truly is what everyone was saying. "Awesome"

This year I thought I would do an 07 Crossfire skid into it and see how this works out.

I would like to give a special thanks to Kev and Leighthomas for answering questions and doing some testing of a 136" Pantera skid and a Crossfire and make some comparisons for me. They took the time for a rough install and test. This sent me in the right direction. Thanks guys.

OK, here is what I did:
First I purchased a skid off E-bay. I disassembled it and repainted everything I could.
sleds looking good guess i should get a move on and get my 95 done or get sume pics of what i got done so far which is not much dont think it be done this year but hope by next year well hope the skid works out for you
 
#17 ·
Great write up. Lets get this pinned so we don't lose it.
 
#18 ·
Absolutely!!!!!
 
#19 · (Edited)
Wow, thanks guys!!

EDIT: 3/23/2013

OK, got around 1100 miles on the skid now and really didn't want to give a ride review until I could honestly give some straight forward answers. As most of you know last year we didn't have much snow so with only 81 miles it was kinda hard to see what was really going on with it. As of right now I have about 1100 miles clocked on it. This is what I have found to work, at least in my 96 ZRT anyway.

First off the sled pulls great. Didn't think I would have to re clutch but I did. May not of had to, but wanted the peak performance. I am running 23/39 gearing, and I put the 72 pitch chain back in. The Ripsaw track is Awesome. Hook is great even in the powder! I honestly don't know if its the suspension aiding in traction or if its all the track but I am more than pleased with it!! I found that with my weight 230lb ride ready that I ran the front shock on the rear suspension at 3/4 of the way all the way up and the rear springs set on #2 position with the coupler blocks so there is 4 hash marks facing forward towards the rear suspension arm. This will couple the suspension sooner and make the ride quality better. Ski lift is approximately 2" or less. This gobbles up the harshest bumps at the speed I take them. If a guy was to go crazy fast I'd recommend to crank up the front skid shock all the way and the rear springs to the #3 position. Rear springs are too hard on the #3 position in my opinion for the kind of riding I do and the ride is more plush on #2.

The ride is Amazing because you can take corners 50% 60% faster with the AGLT up front. Its like its on rails. No tipping. And yes, I am running the sway bar. It won't go around the corners as well without it at speed. Your call. Depends how you ride. I have blown away lots of sleds on the trails with ease. No joke, you can really utilize the power under the hood with the front and rear suspensions. If I had to change anything with this sled it would be nothing. That's how pleased I am with it. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine and old sled like this could skate by brand new sleds and out power virtually anything on the trails. (I'd really like to run a new 1100 turbo in the trails with this.) About the only thing better would be to add more motor like 1000 jugs on the 800 base but at age 48, my mind is smarter than my body. I can see how a guy could get hurt riding something like this. You need to have respect for a sled than can hammer the trails and sail over the largest of craters! Not to mention others on the trail too. This rear suspension is more than just an upgrade. It allowed me to turn my old iron into a more modern ride and for the cost of everything invested it didn't make sense to buy a new sled. The new ones don't have the travel up front that this does and the ride in the rear is great! If anyone is contemplating this mod, pull the trigger and don't look back. You won't be sorry!!
 
#38 · (Edited)
(( About the only thing better would be to add more motor like 1000 jugs on the 800 base but at age 48, my mind is smarter than my body.))

LOL. Who are you trying to kid?? We know better.:chug:
 
#21 ·
Mounting the extensions should be pretty easy. Just a bolt up application. May need to drill a hole or two. I haven't done that on mine. I put the whole skid in. As for mounting the skid in the tunnel it will have the same mounting hole location as it did before. Just the rear of the skid will be longer to accommodate the longer track.
 
#25 ·
A G is the guy that invented the mod. The "LT" part stands for long travel. AGLT.

It is a collection of older Cat parts bolted on to get you 13" of useable travel and a wider stance to handle the corners better. PM me if you need more help.
 
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