Front Wheel Toe-Out - Polaris 1999 Sportsman 400 Service Manual

80
close att ention to the tie rod s, steering s ha n an d
fro nt struts. Som e sugges ted indi cato rs of damage
arc :
a. Bent or broken componen ts. Especia lly check
areas where pai nt is flaki ng or missin g.
b. Loo se fas tene rs or lockn uts.
c. Exce ssiv ely loose co mponents .
d. Stiff
or frozen co m pone nts
that normally
move freely.
3. C hee k the hand lebar holder ( Figu re 73) bo lts for
tigh tness. See Tab le
5.
4 . Make su re the front wh eel lug nut s are tight. Sec
Table 5.
5. Ma ke sure the cap is in place on both front hubs.
6. Ma ke s ure the front hub nut is tigh t and that the
cotte r p in is in place . See Chapter Ten .
7. Cheek steering playas foll ow s:
a . To chec k the steering sha ft fo r radia l play,
mo ve the hand lebar from s ide to side (without
attem pting to tum the w heel s). If pla y is ex-
ce ss ive , th e upp er benrin gs are p robab ly wo rn
and should be rep laced .
NOTE
Figure
74
sho ws the tie rods removed
10
better show the cotter
p i ll
and nut .
b . To chec k the steer ing shaft for ax ial (vertical )
play, lin up and push down on the han dle bar.
If ex cess ive play is noticed. check the nut and
co tte r pi n (Fi gu re 74) located at th e bottom of
the steering shaft. If the nut and cotter pin are
in place and in good cond ition, check the
th rust bea rings locat ed at the lo wer end of the
steering sha ft.
8 . Turn the hand lebar qu ickl y from s ide to side an d
noti ce the following:
a .
r
f
there
is
appr eciab le looseness at the tie
rod
ends, the ends may be worn.
b. Obser ve the j oint between the lower end of
th e s tru
t and the
A-an n .
Noticeable loosene ss
may indicate a
worn
ball-jo int.
c.
Obse rve the joints at the inner ends of the
A-anTIS. No ticeable loo sen ess may ind ica te
worn bushings.
d. Ch eck for missing cotter pin s and loose or
missing fasteners.
CH APT ER THREE
Fro nt Wbeel Toe -O u t
Toe-out is adju sted by placin g the front of the
tires farther a pa rt than the back. Thi s is acco m-
pl ished by cha ng ing the length of th e tie rod s.
C heck and adjust the toe-out periodi call y o r whe n
the steering is imprecise or unpredictable. Inspect
the steering asse mbly
for
damage and wear before
adju sting the toe-o ut. Inflate the tires to the pressure
listed in Ta ble 2, then chec k the tires an d w hee ls for
damage. If a whee l app ea rs bent , rai se tha t whee l off
the " round and rotate it to chec k m ore care fully.
"
To check the toe adjustm ent. proceed as fol lows:
1. Position the vehicle on a flat, smooth surface and
se t the handleba r stra ight ahead .
2. Raise one
front whee l. rotate the tire and lise
chalk
to
mark the ce nterline a ll
aro und the
tire .
Li ft
the
ot her fro nt wheel and
mark
the ce nterli ne
o f that
tire in the same way.
3. Use a tap e meas ure to measu re the d istan ce be-
twee n the ce nterline at the
front. then at th
e
rear o
f
the
tires. The
d istance
between the
cent crlines o f the
tires should be 3. 18-6.35
01111
( 1/8- 1/4 in.) m ore at
the front
than at the rem.