hey guys/gals

so after some reading here, it appears that the '06 chains were not so good
so to avoid on hill carnage, I am going to replace the chain (original still on and sled has 1000 miles)
It seems a lot of dudes were upgrading to the 15w, in lieu of the stock 13w

According to the OEM parts list, this sled has a 74 link chain
If upgrading to the 15w and maintaing the 21th top gear, will the 74 link chain still work?
It should, as I am not changing the gearing ratios.......

Also, any reccomendations on type of chain to buy (after market vs OEM)
More than likely aftermarket, as I get cost on parts, so what have you used
I have used D.I.D on my street bikes, do they offer a chain for snowmobiles that will work?

Found this LINK to be somewhat helpful
Apparantly there is a spacer collar from the top gear that has to be changed out, when going to the 15w chain and gear

Part numbers as follows:

Part# 504093400, is 5/16" wide
Part# 504152398, is 3/8" wide

dude never confirms which one he used.......

Any other help in this matter, would be greatly apprciated
Normally I Have my bro in law to help me out, but he's in Calgary and I am in Saskatoon - so I am tackling this on my own
We have out 1st trip planned for end of Nov. - if i show up, we tackle it and break something, I am a week for parts and will miss out on our annual trip
I feel confident I can do this job, just want to ensure I have the right parts

Any special tools needed (for the chain etc..)

Thanks again

enis

I put a 15 wide with the new top gear, first one blew at 300 miles. Second setup make it 1000 miles and found part of a link when changing oil. I just put new hyvo gears and chain .Will see how long this last lost faith in the standard 15 wide fix.

You will have to use the narrower spacer behind the top gear as the 15w is of course -wider-. I dont remember the part number but think it is off of a mxz. You can run the stock 13w bottom gear as the 15w chain will center itself on it. Use a straight edge to check that the gear faces are flush with each other. I had to mill an extra.025 off of the spacer to ensure that the gears were flush.

ok, so I guess this topic has beat beat to death - similar to the whole y-pipe bolt disaster
sorry guys.......

but I did find a TONNE of great info I will add to this post, so that anyone looking in the future can look up

when changing to the 15w top gear and 15w chain, it requires the 440 spacer
this part number is kinda hard to find, but here it is: 504 093 400
always a good idea to change out the cotter pin as well, part #: 371 006 300
while your in there, the o-ring can be changed, part #: 415 046 400

also found some great info from BJ (Big John) regarding gearing:

Here is a cut and past from Big John or one of the Doo performance guys just for your reference.

Using the right spacer behind the top gear one doesn’t need to buy the spendy DOO gears...

144 Summits
21/45 stock....OK for 4-9000'
22/45 (new 22 gear/shim $50 shipped) for 0-3000'
20/45 (new 20 gear/shim $50 shipped) for 9,000'+

151 Summits
21/45 stock...OK for medium elevation riding 3-6000'
22/45 (new 22 gear/shim for $50 shipped) for elevations 0-2000'
20/45 (new 20 gear/shim $50 shipped) for elevations 6-9000'
19/45 (new 19 gear/shim $50 shipped) for elevations 10,000+

159 Summits
19/45 stock...OK for elevations 4-8000'
20/45 (new 20 gear/shim for $50 shipped) for elevations 0-3000'
19/46 (new 46 bottom $70 shipped) for elevations 8-11,000'
19/47 (new 47 bootom $70 shipped) for elevations 11,000' +
IF you weigh 250 lbs or more go to the next higher elevation gearing to compensate...

Thinking about going w the 20/45 gearing when I do this swap (w my stock 9th drivers)
I read somewhere that keeping that ratios @ 2.14-2.25 (or so) is the ideal gearing for the Summit
20/45 would give it the 2.25 ratio

Man, this site is so useful
I was going to change my chain case oil this weekend, started to do some light reading and noticed that these stock chains r junk
So I will have some wrenching to do next weekend

Any one else w info, please chime in

so I just wanted to come back to this thread, for anyone else looking to do this same project
on a scale of 1(being easiest) to 10 (being hardest) this was a 2 job (or 2 beer! haha)
Im not much of a mechanic, but this was a really easy job for even me

very basic tools required (also need a torque wrench) and a 1 man job for sure

after inspecting my chain and gears, they were fine
no pitting, no chunks anywhere, very minimal flakes on dipstick - everything was in great shape
I probably could have just put it back together and changed the oil, but I was already in there and had the parts

I replaced the chain w a 15w one and re-geard to 20/45, w 15w top gear, 440 spacer and maintained bottom 13w gear

couple tips for the noobs like me:

*the chain comes in one piece, not two so you dont have to attach it anyway
(make sure u buy the right size linked chain for your job - mine was 74 link)
*after removing the bottom gear bolt and top gear nut, the gears and chain come off as 1 piece
*same thing goes for putting back on, put it on in one piece as well
(you may have to turn the gears right so they match up and go on the shaft at the same time - easy though)
*ensure to tighten bottom gear bolt to 35ft.lb. of torque and the top gear nut is slightly tighter than hand tight, just line up the holes for the cotter pin
(I ordered the OEM cotter pin, but it ended up being too small, so I bought a cotter pin kit from Princess auto for $10 - now I have enough for Life!! haha)
*I used a small amount of blue loctite on the bottom gear bolt, just to be safe
*make sure you take parking brake off BEFORE you adjust the chain tension
*check the rubber seal around chain case cover, mine was fine but if yours is shot, its a $4 dollar fix
*DONT FORGET to put new chaincase oil in, when your all finished up

and that's it
I have the "how to" from the race manual
if your doing this job, PM me and I can send it to you

If you're looking for gears....contact MicroBelmont in Grand Rapids Michigan. They make them for nearly everyone else including some OEM's.
They also can balance your clutch for you. Tell Gary that Chuck sent you.