Steering issue?

24680 Views 38 Replies 10 Participants Last post by cumminsdieselgt, Jun 3, 2014

Scoundrel

Discussion Starter · Apr 13, 2014

When I started riding yesterday, I noticed that the steering wheel was cocked a few degrees to the right.
When I straightened the steering wheel, the ACE drifted to the left. The service road was level.

Later in the ride, I noticed that the steering wheel was now cocked about 60 degrees to the left, and the ACE was going straight.
Straightening up the wheel made the ACE want to turn to the right in a noticeable arc. Again, the service road was level.

I hit a lot of rocks and roots and stumps on that ride. No more and no harder than I have done in the RZR though, without the same effect.

Driving on the pavement at my house, the wheel is still cocked about 45 degrees to the left, while I am straddling the crown of the road.

It does not pull in either direction when I take my hands off the wheel unless I move off of the crown, then it drifts in whatever direction the slant of the road takes it. The steering feels tight and responsive, and when I jack up the front end, I don't feel a lot of slop in the wheels or when I turn the steering wheel.

I'm going to bring it to the dealer to have them check it out and hopefully fix it under warranty, but was wondering if anyone else has experienced this and has any ideas about what is going on.

1 - 20 of 39 Posts

Helrazr

· #2 · Apr 14, 2014

Alignment not checked during pdi.

Scoundrel

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 14, 2014

Helrazr said:
Alignment not checked during pdi.

That's what I thought at first, but then it CHANGED on me (a few degrees to the right at first, now a bunch of degrees to the left).
So if it were just that the alignment was wrong, it would have stayed wrong the same way.
I am concerned that something is loose.

caimin74

· #4 · Apr 14, 2014

Has not happened to me that I have noticed. I will check tomorrow when I unload it. I rode it pretty hard the last two days and hit some good size rocks and tree roots.

Hope whatever it is, it's covered.

billbo

· #5 · Apr 15, 2014

i noticed a couple weeks ago my steering wheel was off to the left when i got it back from the dealer when they replaced the speed sensor, so i stood in front of it and the right wheel
was turned to the right while the left wheel was strait. i called the dealer and asked him if someone had hit something when they test drove it, he said no no one had hit anything.
i took it back and they alined the right wheel, and the stearing wheel was back to strait. he said it must not have been right from the get go. i dont know maybe i missed it, being
that it was new and i was so execited about having it. every thing is good now, and i have been on a few rides hitting the normal rocks and roots.

Scoundrel

Discussion Starter · #6 · Apr 15, 2014

billbo said:
i noticed a couple weeks ago my steering wheel was off to the left when i got it back from the dealer when they replaced the speed sensor, so i stood in front of it and the right wheel
was turned to the right while the left wheel was strait. i called the dealer and asked him if someone had hit something when they test drove it, he said no no one had hit anything.
i took it back and they alined the right wheel, and the stearing wheel was back to strait. he said it must not have been right from the get go. i dont know maybe i missed it, being
that it was new and i was so execited about having it. every thing is good now, and i have been on a few rides hitting the normal rocks and roots.

I think that's what went on with me. I brought it in and they're going to look at it. I'm going somewhere with the RZR this weekend anyway so don't mind the ACE being in the shop.
I think the reason it seems to be off to the left on one road and the right on another is just depending on which tires is being "dominant" at the time, because they don't point the same direction.

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Scoundrel

Discussion Starter · #7 · Apr 17, 2014

Dealer says I smacked the A-arm pretty hard, and probably messed up the steering that way.
They say they adjusted the toe, and it drives straight with the steering wheel straight, so I probably don't need to replace anything.
I guess they're probably going to charge me for this. Going to pick it up now.

cumminsdieselgt

· #8 · Apr 17, 2014

Oh, man! Sorry that happened. I guess it would be pretty easy to do, however, they must be pretty tough if you hit it that hard and it only made the steering wheel go off to the left, but would still go straight down the crown of the road! I hope they got it back to original for you and ready to roll again...

Scoundrel

Discussion Starter · #9 · Apr 17, 2014

Yeah, I'm a little disappointed, actually. But I will reserve final judgment until I pick the thing up and inspect it.
I'm no stranger to bending A-arms. I've done it on Kawasakis, and my Grizzly.
But when I've bent them before, it was a really hard hit, and I knew that something bad had happened.

I will not deny that I have treated the ACE a little rough and hit it pretty hard on some rocks, but I didn't roll it, and I did nothing that knocked the wind out of me or made my ears ring, which is what happened the last couple of times I have bent A-arms. It seems to me that if the A-arm is bent, well, then it's bent and that's kind of my fault. But if I didn't hit it as hard as I've hit stuff with my other ORVs, and it bent, then maybe it's weaker than my other ORVs and that would be disappointing.

I'll definitely be keeping my eyes out for a supporting vendor to make full underbody and control arm skids though. Smacking the A-arm can change from a bending incident to a not-bending incident if the UHMW skids gouge a little and slip over the rock instead of the metal A-arm digging into the rock and absorbing all of the energy.

And I guess I can slow down a little when going over large rocks.

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Scoundrel

Discussion Starter · #10 · Apr 18, 2014 (Edited)

OK, I have inspected the ACE, and the verdict is in. I abused it.

Both A-arms have evidence of major impacts, and a straight-edge shows that the A-arms are bent, with the apex of the bend sitting right where the biggest impact marks are.
In the second photo, you can barely tell, but there is actually a dimple in the bar where I collapsed it slightly.

I need to take it easy on those rocks.
And I need a set of heavy duty aftermarket replacement A-arms.
Or a full set of UHMW skid plates and A-arm guards first, to see if that gets me through without heavy duty A-arms.

The last image gives you an idea of the size of rocks I am dealing with.
Imagine a trail full of those, with no choice but to smack the A-arms on them.
Then imagine me being a bit of a leadfoot on that trail.

The dealer chose not to charge me for straightening the steering, which is weird because I totally deserved it.
But kudos to Premier Polaris in Monroe, WA for great customer service!

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caimin74

· #11 · Apr 18, 2014

Wow Scoundrel...those are some major battle scars! LOL, those rocks look crazy. On a good note, it's nice to know the ACE conquered them (persay), but yeah, you are definitely gonna need something to protect those A-arms. Thanks for info and pics...I now know what to look for. I did get my seat off today, and checked out the hoses..mine have very minor rubbing evidence, so for now, Im just gonna keep an eye on them.

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cumminsdieselgt

· #12 · Apr 18, 2014

That is just amazing!! Those rocks make it look like a war zone. Kudos to you and to the dealer! You did good talking straight up to them, and they did good for you. After all is said and done, it's about developing a good merchant/customer relationship. They won your loyalty and they have an honest, trustworthy customer. You didn't go in denying it, they didn't have to get defensive. What a great dealer. They are very wise, and they won some free advertising across the country. Impressive. .

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Quinting

· #13 · Apr 18, 2014

I ride many trails like that up here in Canada and with the ricochet aluminum skids I haven't had any issue and I ride the hell out of my outlander. I have many large gouges out of the metal and some small dents but no damage to the quad in 4 years of riding. I would recommend the aluminum skids over the uhmw ones but ricochet hasn't started making then yet. They may make them when the ace is released with a larger engine and marketed for more than just easy riders as they've done now. I really think Polaris screwed up the marketing for these as they are not just for the easy riders as this forum has proven.

Scoundrel

Discussion Starter · #14 · Apr 18, 2014 (Edited)

Quinting said:
I would recommend the aluminum skids over the uhmw ones

I guess it's a matter of preference, and I respect your choice, but I have had both and I prefer the UHWM.

In my experience, the aluminum skids tend to "stick" to the rocks and kill momentum instead of sliding over them.
Also, the aluminum ones tend to get pounded and deform into the shape of the frame they are protecting, and then they become very difficult to remove and reinstall.
The UHMW skids slide over the rocks well, somehow while escaping the deep gouges, and they stay straight.

At least, that's how it happens the way I beat the crap out of them anyway.

This is not the worst this plate got, but it's the only set of pictures I have showing the damage:
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cumminsdieselgt

· #15 · Apr 18, 2014

A Arm Skid Plates

Would something like the WARN ATV/UTV Body Armor A-Arm Kits for a Sportsman work to protect your A-Arms? They may not have one made specifically for the Ace at this point, but maybe one is close which could be modified slightly...

I see what you mean about the complete underbody protector....it's heavy duty...

Scoundrel

Discussion Starter · #16 · Apr 18, 2014

Maybe, but I'll just try and take it easy until Factory UTV or UTV Inc comes up with a full set. I really like the ones I got for my RZR.

Quinting

· #17 · Apr 19, 2014

Scoundrel said:
I guess it's a matter of preference, and I respect your choice, but I have had both and I prefer the UHWM.

In my experienced, the aluminum skids tend to "stick" to the rocks and kill momentum instead of sliding over them.
Also, the aluminum ones tend to get pounded and deform into the shape of the frame they are protecting, and then they become very difficult to remove and reinstall.
The UHMW skids slide over the rocks well, somehow while escaping the deep gouges, and they stay straight.

At least, that's how it happens the way I beat the crap out of them anyway.

This is not the worst these skids got, but it's the only set of pictures I have showing the damage:
View attachment 784 View attachment 785

Yeah you make some good points. What's the cost of those umhw skids? Like a full set with a arm protectors and everything

Scoundrel

Discussion Starter · #18 · Apr 19, 2014

Quinting said:
Yeah you make some good points. What's the cost of those umhw skids? Like a full set with a arm protectors and everything

They're not cheap. The ones I got were something like $900 for the set. That included the main skid, front piece, back piece, A-arm guards, rock sliders, and gas tank protector. That was for the RZR S.

Tusk makes a similar one for cheaper, but the main skid comes in two pieces, so there is a seam, which is not as good. That's part of why it is cheaper - shipping cost.

A similar setup for the ACE will cost less because it will not use as much material.

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Scoundrel

Discussion Starter · #19 · May 19, 2014

I discovered today that the dealer didn't do me any favors when they adjusted my steering for me.
I could turn the steering wheel 1.5 turns to the right, but only 1 turn to the left.
So the straight ahead position was not centered on the steering rack.

Also, they did not make my wheels straight, they only made it so that when I was driving, they pulled evenly on both sides. Both were out of alignment equally.
So tonight I had to center the steering wheel on the rack and adjust the toe-in myself.
I guess that alignment job was worth every penny I paid for it.

Reactions: 1

cumminsdieselgt

· #20 · May 20, 2014

That's a bummer. I did that to mine right after I got it. The steering wheel was off center just a bit to be annoying. Jacked up front, found center lock to lock, wheel was straight. Set back down on tires. Adjusted left side wheel to straight position using the string and jack stands. Set right side to straight position. Then adjusted each side to provide 1/16" toe per recommendations. Seems to track great. Sorry you had to redo yours. Doesn't anyone recheck things anymore?

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