steering

[dawnbdk]

this is the first year for my son on his kitty kat and with the negative snowfall we've gotten here in ohio, he's not gotten much ride time. I don't know much about snowmobiling...just getting into it. My friend's ex was helping me out a lot, but since he's gone, i'm left to the message board. Anyhow, my son has a go-kart, so he's pretty good with steering and did well on the kitty, however, this time around he couldn't get it to turn much...big curve rather than turn a corner. when it's idle, I can take the handle bars and it seems to turn....it's always seemed kinda tight to me, but he wasn't having problems before. Anyhow, is that normal for it to be kinda tight? and could it be the type of snow...this was a heavy, wet snow? Purhaps just a little lubrication? I just don't know what normal is. Thanks for any input.

[dantheman]

if you lift5 the machine up and turn it it should move easily, actually a lot of them are really sloppey meaning ytou could steer it with 2 fingers, if this is not the case i would take the bolts out of the top steering plate and drop the spindles out , im sure youll find a bit of rust or something cusing the issue, clean it up put a bit of lithium on it and bolt it back together.
also there are some plastic bushings in the spindles tubes if they have disappeared or worn out that causes the same thing so check those also

dan

[MachJeff]

If it steers freely off the ground but still stiff when it is on the ground, that is pretty normal when sitting still. Once the sled is moving it will be easier to turn. When it is doing the wide corners are the skis turned all the way, or is the child not able to turn the bars? If the skis are turned but the sled is not turning, you may just need to put new runners on the bottom of the skis. They are available new from a Cat dealer, or from one of the guys on here.

[dawnbdk]

thanks for the help....definitely doesn't move freely even when lifted off the ground...I'll try cleaning it up a bit....there's a local guy, probably take it to him so I don't screw something up...lol thanks, at least I know for sure there's a problem

[MachJeff]

Hopefully you check back here first, because there is really nothing you can screw up, you wont even change the alignment.
Simply remove the 1/2" hex bolt from the top of the ski spindles, and you will be able to remove the plates that the steering rods are connected to. Then lift the sled up and the whole ski and spindle rill drop out below the sled. Clean the spindle and the inside where it goes thru the frame of any old grease and rust. Use some steel wool or emery cloth. Make sure your bushings are okay (they are supposed to have a split in them), grease everything and reassemble. If the bushings are toast you can get new ones from a Cat dealer or one of the on-line guys, but they are like $5 a piece (need 4). My plan when I get around to it is to just make my own bushings out of the plastic from an old javex bottle. I dont know how well it will work, but it's a pretty cheap fix.

[Jonn]

It won't help you this year, but we are looking at providing a bushing kit for Fall of 2006. This will replace the OEM plastic bushings with an oil impregnated bronze bushing. Currently we do these in our shop but it's pretty hard to do them for our customers in other states. So the kit will include the drill bit, reemer, bushings and instructions needed to 'do it yourself'. If you ask anyone who has these bronze bushings they'll tell you 'IT'S THE ONLY WAY TO GO'.