front suspension broke X1100C

That's terrible Aurthuritis ! I'm so sorry to hear this. Hoping you were able to get it back to the homestead without too much grief .
 
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thanks collie. i left it in the pasture for now. i can use the 07 1100 to fill in chores while i wait for messiks order to arrive with parts. i think i can replace the broken strut right there in the pasture. the part number has been superseded so i recon the new ones to be of different design. i will advise as i progress cause this could be significant for those with older machines that use plows and such on the front.
 
finally got around to fixing this today...... got the old broken strut out from under the front in about five minutes and the new one back in it's place in about 20 min. the funny thing is that the old strut wasn't broken. the eye on the top end of the polish rod in the shock absorber just cane un threaded from the eye!!!!! now what would cause that?
 
aurthuritis said:
nothing broke!!!! the end just came unscrewed!!! a little locktite and i can re install.
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Is there anything up in the shock that would prevent that shaft from rotating? I've never taken on apart or seen a diagram for one. But it sure seems like the only way that could have come unscrewed if the eye was intact. Do you have an angry ex-wife or girlfriend? I am just wondering if sabotage is another possibility. In all seriousness, glad you were not hurt and glad the equipment did not have additional damage.
 
Ohio_Pawpaw_Grower said:
Is there anything up in the shock that would prevent that shaft from rotating? I've never taken on apart or seen a diagram for one. But it sure seems like the only way that could have come unscrewed if the eye was intact. Do you have an angry ex-wife or girlfriend? I am just wondering if sabotage is another possibility. In all seriousness, glad you were not hurt and glad the equipment did not have additional damage.
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no ex wifes or enemy that i know of. the eye on the end is captive and can't rotate when it is installed in the rtv. the polish rod would have to rotated for some reason but i can't figure why???? the threads are perfect on the rod and on the eye and you would think at least the threads would be damaged???? i can't find a trace of thread locker either so maybe it just a mfg error??? but it made it almost 7000 miles. no girlfriend either.
 
aurthuritis said:
no ex wifes or enemy that i know of. the eye on the end is captive and can't rotate when it is installed in the rtv. the polish rod would have to rotated for some reason but i can't figure why???? the threads are perfect on the rod and on the eye and you would think at least the threads would be damaged???? i can't find a trace of thread locker either so maybe it just a mfg error??? but it made it almost 7000 miles. no girlfriend either.
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That is really strange that this happened. Maby over the last 7,000 miles every time you go into jounce/rebound the shaft tends to rotate ever so slightly? Especially if there is no locking device on the rod. You can't blame the Eye for this, probably, the shaft.
 
it is a strange thing. the threads in the eye are perfect as are the threads on the rod. you would think if this was gradual ove time and miles that the last few threads would be damaged. i agree though that the only part that can rotate is the rod itself. the only thing i can see or think of is that as the coil spring cycles through compression and decompression it must add some rotational force of some kind. but there is no evidence from wear patterns that anything like this was happening.
 
update update. i changed out the other side that wasn't broken today so i would have two new struts on the front. took maybe 30 min to do so it is easy. now here is the interesting part---- when i got the other side strut out i was looking it over and i just grabbed the top eye with my fingers and threaded it right off without even an effort. i looked and there wasn't any thread locker on the threads that i could see but it looked like there might have been some waaaaay down in the bottom of the eye. so here is my opinion if anybody cares---- when the strut is compressed there is a very slight torsional twisting movement by the spring because of it's helical design. and probably over time the friction between the plastic shroud and the polish rod must have little by little unscrewed the rod from the top eye. i think a dab of red thread locker and i can reassemble the old struts and they will be good as used. now for the problem???? do i take out the new struts and check them for the same problem???? YES
 
I have only seen that once before on a highly modified Jeep the shock piston worked itself loose from its eye, we figured the extreme angles and articulation plus vibration was the cause. we reassembled the unit it some blue loc-tite and it lasted years with no issue. Probably still in one piece today.
 
i am going to drive it as is for a while and order some new bushings. then i will check the top eye for looseness when i change out the bushings. if they are loose i will locktite them real good and go about my day.
 
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