1981 340 trailfire track needed or conversion question pls h

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whitdawe
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Joined: Fri Feb 28, 2014 5:23 pm
Location: Grand Bend Ont. canada

1981 340 trailfire track needed or conversion question pls h

Post by whitdawe »

I am pretty new to snowmobiling just bought this 81 trail fire for my son and I to ride. I got the sled ruining and within 5 mins blew off the track. Upon doing alittle research I have been tol that this year of sled is not interchangeable with over tracks. Wondering if anyone knows where to gets track or how to do a conversion for all rubber track. Any help wood be greatly appreciated
harleysportster
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Re: 1981 340 trailfire track needed or conversion question pls h

Post by harleysportster »

The 79-84 Trailfire and the 80-81 Sportfire share the same track.
All cleated track Trail (79-84) and Sportfire's (80-81) can be converted to the 80-84 Liquifire,/82-84 Sportfire or aftermarket rubber track with either a track drive sprocket swap, or drive axle ass'y swap. Rubber track approx. dimentions: 116" X 15 with a 3.29 drive lug pitch.
Finding good used tracks is getting hard. It may be better to consider buying a parts sled, using what you need and sell off the rest of the parts. If you convert the Trailfire to a rubber track, it is best to install the complete suspension from a 80-84 Liquifire/ 82-84 Sportfire as well. There are extra idler wheels on those suspensions.
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whitdawe
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Re: 1981 340 trailfire track needed or conversion question pls h

Post by whitdawe »

So if I do convert the track to either liquifire or sport fire are these tracks any more readily available the the trail fire track I have now? I do like having a john deer sled, however I bought this sled to ride not to restore and if tracks will always be a problem I may need to reconsider. Enjoy working on this sled it is something I do enjoy and want to learn about but there aren't many around. Also the post about the Polaris conversion, is that track more readily available. Thanks again
ljm
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Re: 1981 340 trailfire track needed or conversion question pls h

Post by ljm »

The Liquifire/Sportfire tracks are getting hard to find. The good news is they are almost indestructible.

About all they need are some clips replaced now and then.

They do require some changes to the Trailfire to work. If you making changes to a sled that you ride. Almost any track and suspension could be made work
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JoeRainville
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Re: 1981 340 trailfire track needed or conversion question pls h

Post by JoeRainville »

whitdawe wrote:So if I do convert the track to either liquifire or sport fire are these tracks any more readily available the the trail fire track I have now?
Whitdawe,

The Trailfire and Liquifire tracks share some basic dimentions, like drive sprocket and slide rail center distances. Length is very close, at a nominal 116" for both. To use a rubber 80-84 Liquifire track in a Trail or early Sport, you need to either swap the drive sprockets over, as the cleated track has a 2" drive lug pitch vs. a 3.29" pitch for the rubber track. The easiest way to do this is by swaping in a complete LF track drive axle.

You can use the Trailfire suspension, but using one from an 80 Liquifire gives you a full wheel kit. The best way to do that is to swap a Trailfire rear arm and shock onto the Liquifire skid.

As for track availability, Deere built about 9,000 Liquifires in 1980, so there are lots of those tracks out there. For being 30-34 years old, they are pretty tough. And, a 340 Trailfire is easier on them that the original 65 hp Liquifire would be. Kimpex also made replacement tracks for the Liquifire up until about 2008, and they still turn up for sale now and then.

In general terms, Deere's are not too bad to get parts for. Mikuni carbs and fuel pumps are easy to get parts for, Comet clutch parts are available again, WISECO makes pistons and you can get the jugs nicasiled if needed. Sliders and idlers wheels are available new, so for the most part, Deere's can be kept on the snow with a little effort. But, it's not as easy as walking up to the parts counter anymore.

I hope this helps,
-Joe
Honorary Tech Editor

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