2018 X1100c and just broke my 3rd front axle

J

JasonN

New member
This is getting ridiculous. The machine has about 600 hours and every couple of years I break the right front axle usually always during plowing snow. Last night same thing happened while plowing deep snow. The original broke then two aftermarket ones after that. I found one by demon powersports that claim heavier duty than OEM and I’ll try it if I can get it fast. I need my plow as snow continues to drift.

It must be the fact that people normally plow with the blade angled to the right putting more stress on the right cv joint. I don’t see anything wrong. I do have the front springs on the firmest setting due to the weight of the plow but the angle doesn’t look steep.

Anyway, Demon or OEM is what I’m looking for whichever one I can get the fastest.

Anyone have anything to add from their experience?
 
There has to be a weak link in any system. Maybe axle failure is better than crown gear and pinion? Or further up the drive train.
 
Interested is this topic as well. I just broke a front left cv axle on my 2023 X1140 a few days back and honestly I have no idea how. Was just out casually driving in the snow and heard the left front cv axle start clanking around. It broke at the joint nearest the front diff. Pretty disapointing for a machine with less than 350 hours. I ordered the Demon Heavy Duty axles for all 4 corners as i figure I might as well do them all at once. They are supposed to be delivered today. I imagine my 2" lift and 30" tires did not help the OEM cv axles but hopefully the Demon ones which are supposed to be stronger and can handle higher angles will help. I was surprised to see in the WSM that the max angle for the OEM cv axle was 25 degrees and they advised to not exceed 25 degrees even when handling or installing them! The Demon axles state 40 degrees. I will find out and report back when I get the work completed.
 
Wonder what's going on there? Mine is a 2021 and I had a Boss vee plow the first few winters, now on my second winter with the snow bower on it and I haven't had any failures so far. And until I put the snow blower on, I used to use it all summer for trail riding.
 
I will post up a pic of my failed axle sometime this weekend when I get it removed and the new ones installed. It's hard to tell what really happened to mine but from just looking at it still in the machine, it looks like the inner joint failed by the cage rotating over the bearings if that makes sense. The inner boot is twisted around the shaft several times it look like. The boots were in perfect shape and not ripped or punctured prior to this. To me it looks as if the front diff was providing power to the front wheels and the front left wheel was stuck on a log or something. The power from the engine was not able to turn the wheel but was able to turn the inner housing over the inner bearings and twist the boot up like wringing out a rag. I will get pics before I remove it as well. Might be Monday before I can get any pics posted.
 
You're probably right about angling the plow. That side load, combined with a tire spinning in the snow and then suddenly grabbing traction, is what usually snaps them. It's a common issue when plowing. I know it's slower, but trying to take smaller bites might help the next axle live a longer life.
 
Well, here's the pics of my left front CV axles tha broke. It appears the cage that hold the ball bearings failed. Removal and installation went quite smoothly. Both front axles popped right out. I did weld up a home made slide hammer to some vise grips to pull the broken one. Only took 2 yanks and it popped out. The other front I just grabbed the shaft with both hands and gave it a good yank and it popped right out as well. The rear axles were a different story. I yanked and pulled and hammered and yanked some more. They would not budge. I finally gave up and just put them back together and left the OEM axles in the rear. I figured they would be easier to remove when they eventually break. I'll just keep the 2 new Demon rear axles on the shelf fpr when they do break or the boots fail.

One thing I found interesting is that the Demon website while ordering, as well as Messicks, say that for the front axles there are different axles in the machines based on serial number. The Demon website says their front axles fit the 2023 X1140 with serial number <=13023. To me, that means serial number less than or equal to 13023. My serial number is 64278. I knew there was a chance they would not fit but they fit perfectly. Messicks say the same but it seemed to me that both serial number ranges, even though there was several part numbers for both ranges, eventually led me to the same part number. I couldn't make sense of it and just ordered the Demon axles and hoped for the best. For whatever reason, the front Demon axles fit perfectly in my machine.For what it is worth, mine is a 2023 with 342 hours on it. The turbo kit, lift kit, and 30" tires were installed with 40 hours on the machine.

As an edit, I think I made a mistake saying it was the front left that broke. It was the front right that broke, if referenced from the drivers position.

Here are some pics of the machine, the broke axle in the machine, and a pic of the broken axle parts.
 

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aurthuritis said:
30 inch tires? Lift inches? Shaft angle? Turbo
Click to expand...

Right! The CV's lasted 300 hours of pretty hard use. That is why I went with the Demon axles over OEM. OEM axles in the WSM said not to let them go beyond 25 degrees even when handling or installing them. Demon axles say they are good to 40+ degrees. I will say the Demons were visibly larger in diameter, had bigger and heavier housings, and were a good pound or 2 heavier by holding them in each hand. The fit and finish of the Demon axles were top notch. The castle nut machining was the most sophisticatedly machined castle nut I have ever seen. We will see how they hold up.
 
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