aftermarket steering stems

[wobble]

I'm installing my modquad steering stem and have run into a couple issues. First, I had to sand off the chrome plating on the spline in order for it to slide through the lower bearing. Took a little while, but finally got it to fit. Now, I'm tightening the upper steering stem bushing. Stock torque is 17 ft lbs on the two bolts. However, when I go that tight the bushing loses it's round shape and looks a little oval. I'm assuming this is because the chrome plating caused the diameter to increase from stock specs. Has anyone run into this? Is this normal for aftermarket stems?

[Krandall]

You are correct. That is because of the extra chrome plating. we ran into this w/ my buddies 400ex when he put his new stem in that was chromed.. Powder coating is usually the way to go since the coating is so much less. I would approach it one of 2 ways.. use a marker and draw on the stem where the horse shoe clamp goes on and sand off the chrome coating there 

Or if you have access to a die grinder try taking a little bit off the inside of the horse shoe clamp. (this is the option we used.)

[Colorado700R]

I would be one horn to Modquad, there shouldn't be any modifications required to fit there parts.


There # is 541-791-2887

[wobble]

Thanks for the responses! I posted yesterday on other forums and didn't get squat!

A buddy suggested shimming the upper clamp so it doesn't cause it to oval when tightening. Perhaps sanding the chrome plating down would work better since the seals and bushings are designed for a specific diameter stem. It took me awhile to sand down the chrome enough off the splines for it to slide in the lower bearing. It would take alot of time sanding to take it down enough for the bushings to fit correctly. Hmmm....maybe I could mask off the rest of the stem and sandblast the chrome plating off where the bushings contact it. Or would that pit it too bad?

I would call Mike at modquad, but since I sanded the plating off the splines, I'm pretty sure I own it now. But he will definitely get some feedback on this problem.

Krandall, do you remember what brand stem that was on the 400ex?

[Krandall]

I believe my buddy's was a Houser

The shim idea would be good, but at the same time. you don't want anything getting around those seals.

Josh didn't much care he just wanted the stem in lol so that's why we took off on the inside.

I'm not sure how sandblasting it would do.. I know youd get the pitting, but more than likely you'd have to sand it down still to get it smooth so there isn't excess wear on the seals.

[wobble]

Thanks alot for the suggestions. I'll try sanding it for awhile where it meets the upper bushings. Maybe I'll use a micrometer and try to get it the exact diameter as the oem stem. I'm also gonna get ahold of modquad and leave some feedback. My buddy knows the owner real well, so I know he'll get the message.

[Krandall]

sweet, good luck man. I'd be interested to hear how much thicker the chrome plated one is compared to the stock.

[wobble]

I'll post back the results once I take a measurement. I could also ask my buddy (he's the one who does the chrome work for modquad) how thick the plating is.

[wobble]

Just talked to my buddy. He said the chrome plating is pretty thick on the stems to prevent rust. He said it's approx .0015 - .005 of thickness. So, that would be an additional .003 - .010 that the bushing is seeing. That's definitely enough to warp the bushing into an oval shape. I'll just sand it down enough to make it fit the upper bushing and seals and roll with it.

Thanks again for the help!