Track rubbing on suspension - 80 Liquifire

[NorOnt_JD]

Hey Guys,

I have a 1980 Liquifire that I have been playing with and trying to clean up and get on the snow. I had the rear skid out to replaced the drive shaft bearings as they were done. I broke down the rear suspension, cleaned it up, threw a coat of paint on it, reassembled it and put new slidders on. When I first took the skid out I noticed that the track had been rubbing on the top of the rear arm on the loop that is there and has worn a groove into the track. Is there something I'm missing? I did notice on some pics of other rear skids the rear shock is mounted to a cross shaft not the bottom of the front arm like mine is.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I attached a couple pics to show what I am dealing with.

Thanks,
Ian

[webman]

The shock is not on right. The bottom should be on the slum bar just in front of the lower mounting position.

[NorOnt_JD]

It appears that the previous owner may have changed the shock and that cross shaft, looks like a "Farm Fix" I would say.

I assume I will have to pound out the bushing and find the appropriate slim bar for it or have one made. Will that lower the rear arm enough to miss the track?

[harleysportster]

Hey Guys,

I have a 1980 Liquifire that I have been playing with and trying to clean up and get on the snow. I had the rear skid out to replaced the drive shaft bearings as they were done. I broke down the rear suspension, cleaned it up, threw a coat of paint on it, reassembled it and put new slidders on. When I first took the skid out I noticed that the track had been rubbing on the top of the rear arm on the loop that is there and has worn a groove into the track. Is there something I'm missing? I did notice on some pics of other rear skids the rear shock is mounted to a cross shaft not the bottom of the front arm like mine is.

Any thoughts or suggestions? I attached a couple pics to show what I am dealing with.

Thanks,
Ian

The loop rubbing the track is normal for the 80 series Liquifires. The original style shock had the lower mount on the aluminum bar which minimized ski lft. It's not uncommon to change the shock mount to the tabs welded to the pivot tube. That setup is used on the Sportfires.

[TOYMECH]

Ian,
I encountered that with my 80 LF as well when i had the skid out and gave it a refresh. In fact, the loop was worn through from the track rubbing it and i had to make a new one up and weld it in place of the worn one. Like Harleysled pointed out, this is normal for them. Be sure not to have your rear springs jacked up so much that the rear of the skid cannot move. When the suspension compresses, you will see that the top of the rear control arm pivots and the loop will move away from the track. Have someone sit on the sled while you observe the suspension and you will see how the rear control arm pivots and the loop moves downwards or away from the track. The loop is in place so that when the suspension is at full extension, the track will not contact the upper shock mount. It looks as if you have the aluminum bar in place from your pictures - I may be wrong (at work here and have not got my sled to look at). Normally, the shock is mounted on this bar with no bushings and 2 spring pins (roll pins) on either side of it to keep in in place.
Hope this helps.
Greg

[NorOnt_JD]

Thanks for all the info guys. I would assume that the shock is a replcement as the lower bushing has been cut on either side to fit in the tabs on the shaft. Also that slim bar must of been mounted in the holes forward of where it is now but came loose as the mounting holes in the rail are ovaled out. I guess I will just run as is for now and try to track down some original parts for the future as I am hoping to do a full resoration on the machine.

Does anyone have any suspension parts they are looking to get rid of, cross shafts or slim bars whatever they are called?

Thanks again

[JDGuy]

The lower shock mount belongs on the shaft shown in your pic and positioned by a roll pin on each side of the shock .....unless......you have the deep snow kit, then it mounts to the front arm as in your pic. The deep snow vs. regular setup have different shocks, apparently to accomodate stroke difference?

[johnnycyclone]

You are correct Ian, it looks like the original mounting holes are rounded out, that's probably the reason the shock is mounted where it is. Something I found out when working on my sled is, the Sportfire shares the same rails, at least the 82 model does. Since Sportfire's mount the shock the same as what you have the holes should be the correct size and undamaged. Hope this helps....Terre

[NorOnt_JD]

Thanks again for the input.

Is there anyway to find out or does anyone have the measurements for the different bars/shafts that are on the rear suspension of the 80 Liquifire? If I cant find originals I could probably have them made up.

Same with the rear shock, a matching replacement for the original?

Ian

[Sprailfire340]

The Parts Unlimited shock is part #10-143