Tire Changing - Polaris 1999 Sportsman 400 Service Manual

F ROr-:T SUS P ENS ION
A ND STE E RIr-:G
Ins pect ion
L Was h all parts in solvent and dry thorou gh ly.
2.
Inspect the steering sha ll carefully. Check the
bushing areas of the shaft for wear. Check the shaft
for being bent, espec ially if the vehicle ha s been in-
vo lved in a
collision
or sp ill. If the sha ll is bent or
twisted in any way, it must be replaced .
A
bent sha ll
will ca use rapid and excessive wear
to
the bushings
and may stress other components in the frame and
steering system. Cheek the shaft between V-blocks.
3. Inspect the tic rod attachm ent ho les in the two
plates on the base of the steering sha ll. Cheek the
hole(s) for elongation, cracks or wear. Check the
two steering shaft plates for bendi ng. Replace the
steer ing
sha ft if
necessary.
4. Inspect the upper bushing blocks for the foll ow-
mg:
a. Worn or damaged beari ng block halves.
b. Bent or damaged bolts or clamp s.
5. Inspect the lower steering sha ll threads. If se-
verely score d or damage d, replace the steering sha ft
and the bushing assembly.
6. Inspect the steering shaft washers and bushin g
asse mbly. If the bushing is sev ere ly wo rn or dam-
aged, replace the bushing block as described in this
chapter. If the O-r ings arc worn, flatten ed , cut or
swo llen, rep lace both O-rings during re-assem bly,
Steer ing Sh aft Lower Bushing Re pl acemen t
All models arc equipped with an upper bushing
and lo wer bu shin g. The uppe r bushing is a split
35 7
block as show n and the lower bushing block is riv-
eted to the fra me .
1. Remove the steering shaft from the fram e as de-
scribed in this chapter.
2.
Drill out the rive ts attac hing the bushing
block
to
the fram e, and then remove the bushing block .
3. C lean the frame bush ing mount ing area thor-
oughly.
4 . Install the new bushing block using new hard-
ened rivets.
5. Complete asse mb ly by reversing the remov al
procedure. Coa t the bu shings with grease before as-
sembling, then grease the bushings as de scribe d in
Chapter Three after asse mbly.
T IR ES A Nn WH EEL S
The vehi cle
IS
equi ppe d with tube less.
low-pressure tires designed spec ifica lly for off- road
usc only. Rapid tire wear will occur if rid ing the vc-
hiclc on paved surfaces . Due to their low -pressu re
req uirem ents, lise a hand-operated air pump to in-
flate instead o f an a ir co mpresso r.
CAU TION
Do
110 t
overinflate the tires, as they
will
be p ermanently distorted and
damaged.
NOTE
Additional inf lation pressure in the
II
original eq uipment tires will
1101
im-
prove the ride or handling character-
istics oft he vehic le.
T ire C ha nging
Th e front and rear tire rims used
011
all models
have a deep built-in ridge (F igure 56 ) to keep the
tire bead seated on the rim under seve re riding con-
dition s. T his fe ature a lso tends to keep the tire on
the rim du ring tire removal.
A spec ia l tool is required for tire changing on
these mo dels. A typi cal louI is shown ill F ignre 57.
I. Mark the tire with
3 11
arrow indicatin g the direc-
tion of forward rotation. Also mark the tire and
whee l to ind icate its location on thc vehicle,
2. Rem ove the va lve stem cap and core and deflate
the tire. Do not rei nsta ll the core at this time.
3. Lubricate the tire bend and rim flanges with a
liquid dish washing detergent or a rubber lubr icant .