[zacparry]

I just got the z370 (It is an 06.) to stop sputtering and cutting out (thanks to the guys on this forum) and was out ditch banging on my way to the trails and got a surprize from a culvert hidden by a drift. I was ejected and gracefully landed on my back. Thank god for armored clothing and helmets!

Anyway, I don't think that the sled is too damaged. It seems as though the ski took the brunt of the impact, but I am wondering how easy it is to damage the spindle that steers the ski. It may be fine, but it looks like I may have twisted the shaft that runs inside. Although it could just be the screwed up ski making it look like the spindle is twisted.

I plan on getting a new ski tomorrow at the dealer, and I figured I would tap into the knowledge base here and get some feedback and advice. Also, if anyone has any tips for adjusting the steering once I get it back together, please share.

Thanks in advance. I am sure your advice will get me back on the trail very soon.

 

[wbrooks]

I whacked a small tree with the ski/spindle in powder and was not going fast enough to throw me off the sled. I bent both A-arms. If you hit hard enough to damage the ski and toss you off I would bet the A-arms are bent, the spindle is really tough so it may be fine. If you take the load off the skis and get them off the ground and the spindles turn easily and straight you will likely be fine. With the skis on the ground and pointing straight ahead get down on the ground and look at the a-arm geometry, it is fairly easy to see tweaked a-arms. If I had to buy a new ski I would look at aftermarket

 

[zacparry]

Wayne,

Do you know of a good source of aftermarket skis? I looked for about an hour last night and had a hard time finding anything for an 06 Z370.

 

[UECAR]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (zacparry @ Dec 18 2009, 06:31 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Wayne,

Do you know of a good source of aftermarket skis? I looked for about an hour last night and had a hard time finding anything for an 06 Z370.[/b]

Are your skies the "blow molded" ones ?
If so, I would look into buying the machined plastic skis and saddles off EBAY and
retrofit them to your 370. A good used pair with the saddles are probably buyable for 100.00 a pair. I'm sure the molded ones are close to the same each.

 

[joezr2]

I think there were a set from a ZR in the for sale section for 100 bucks the other day.

 

[blasikov]

Ugh, I feel bad for you. My wife did the same exact thing on Monday. She's hurt worse, twisted neck, knee, bruises, but will be OK. She's propped up on the couch this week. The hit threw her off and she banged the handlebars with her knees before tumbling boots over helmet and landing on the driveway the culvert was going through.

The right ski went into the metal culvert and the a-arms took the hit right in the middle - sheared the front bar of the upper arm and twisted the lower one like a pretzel.

It's a 2005 Pantera 600 EFI two-up (read: Heavy) and has the AWS5 suspension (parts are mostly interchangeable with 1998-2002 ZL/ZR/ZRTs, so easy to find used). I took it all apart and ordered a new shock, tie rod, torsion link, upper/lower a-arms, and bolts (I ruined some pounding them out).

The spindle is not damaged, which isn't too much of a surprise as they are thick steel and the only leverage against them is the steering links and an aluminum rod - that took the hit here.

The biggest concern I have right now is that the frame and hood are not twisted. I'm going to take some time this weekend to measure it and make sure it's true/square. If so, well, that's a hard fix.

Good luck!

Al's Snomobile has a really good variety of used parts, by the way.

 

[zacparry]

blazikov,

Sorry to hear about your wife. All that damage sucks. As a chiropractor, I would recommend she get checked out. There are a couple of groups of specialists within chiropractic that I would recommend. First is and atlas orthogonist - specializes in the neck - find one at GlobalAO.com OR an Applied Kinesiologist - specializes in balancing th muscles of the body for better function - find one at icakusa.com .

Hope she heals fast!

 

[zacparry]

Are your skies the "blow molded" ones ?
If so, I would look into buying the machined plastic skis and saddles off EBAY and
retrofit them to your 370. A good used pair with the saddles are probably buyable for 100.00 a pair. I'm sure the molded ones are close to the same each.
[/quote]

I do have the blow molded skis.

I am not too familiar though with cross compatibility (ie. will a ski from a ZR 500 fit my sled?) for retrofitting or if I go aftermarket I have no idea what to look for or what brand is good.

I appreciate all of your help, as I am a new to the world of snowmobile parts and accessories.

If anyone finds a good product and wants to send me the link, that would be great.

Thanks Again!

 

[blasikov]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (zacparry @ Dec 18 2009, 10:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

As a chiropractor, I would recommend she get checked out.[/b]

Our good friend and roommate is a DC, so she's covered! But thanks!

For parts cross-compatibility, I usually look up the OEM part online at places like: Brown's or Babbitt's. They have parts diagrams that reference the part numbers.

Take that part number and plug it in to Al's Snowmobile "by OEM/Part #". That will list used and new parts across all sleds that it fits on.

Same thing for Babbitt's "Quick Part Look Up".

 

[zacparry]

Quick update on the damage. So far I have only found a bent steering column, but the spindles still aren't lining up the same way. THe a-arms don't look bent and neither do the linkages. It does look like there could be a slight tweek in the steering arm on the right side part number 0705-368, but I am not sure because I only have a parts diagram to compare it to.

So, I am still looking for ideas for why the spindles aren't lining up. thanks for the ideas so far.

 

[chuck1221]

I have found that on arctic cats the a-arms bend quite easily. I've been through 3 sets myself from hitting small things such as a smaller rock and stump. I noticed they were bent by seeing a little cracked or missing paint on the arm, you can also see by the distance from the shock spring to the arms sometimes. I've always just compared one side to the other that I think may be damaged. This is on the later model zr/zl's though. not sure if the newer sleds are built any better. Hopefully.

Chuck

 

[asaracing21]

i rolled mine in my back yard hitting a dirt hill not very hard and it bent the **** out of my top a arm bolts we had to saw it off during the off season to get half of it out then the other half finally came out we hit it with hammers and pryed we cracked the frame going to get it welded when possible! dont take much to bend the bolts in the a arms

sent me off to the side of the sled was on a hill so the sled rolled halfway and i kept rolling before it came down on me could of been a lot worse just a big bruise and a good cut thank god

 

[zacparry]

Thanks for the ideas guys. I think I got her straightend out thanks to a free download of a service manual that told me about a handy alignment hole in the frame. With any luck I should be back hitting the ditches in a week when my new steering column gets here.