By Bill cripe (Bcripe) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Thanks for all of the information everybody has given me. I tore my max apart cleaning it up, etc and have a couple of questions. It runs pretty good but when turning it turns one way much smoother than the other. It looks like the laterals are adjusted properly (from advise on this board). One way it is smooth and the other it is grabby and makes noise. I think Ill change tranny fluid with Dextron III. Is that the best? Also how much oil does the engine take? I was planning to use amsoil synthetic on that. Is there a better oil? Any special tips or tricks that I should know about? My machine is serial number 15248 and is a 450T. What sort of mods should I look at in the future? Inner bearings or does it have them. I didnt look close at them yesterday when I had it apart. How much are solid axles and will I really need them later? I dont have a manual yet but do have one ordered. I was hoping to work on it this weekend since I have time.

Thanks for all of the great advise.
BC

By Fred Sowerwine, Montana's Max dealer (Fred4dot) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

Bill, Where your machine does not have very many hours, I think you need to run it for a while before changing the tranny oil. Your noise could very well be because the factory wasn't using the friction modifier yet. If you are sitting on the left, your machine will turn to the left easier than to the right (more weight with you and the engine both on the left). Try sitting on the right side to see if it makes a difference. Oil, if you change the filter doesn't quite take 2 quarts. About 1 1/2 quarts if you don't change the filter. The Briggs engines work best with regular 30 weight oil (any good brand) IMO, save your money and don't buy the synthetic. If you change it as Briggs says, you should get good life from your engine. Even here where it gets cold, I use straight thirty. My shop stays above freezing - if it was still where it got 30 below or spent a long time outside not running, I would use 5-30 at temperatures of 10 degrees or so and below. I was told that Dextron III has been changed and the factory used Ford ATF now with the modifier. I still have some old Dextron that I use, but will probably switch when my current supply runs out. You should have inner bearings (they happened about when your machine was made). Some of the inner zerks are impossible to get to without taking things apart. If it were my decision, I would not worry about the zerks I couldn't get to and if you ever had the machine apart so you can get to them to grease them then. If you have a failure, you will decide to change greasing intervals, but I have never had a bearing failure to date. Just use a squirt or two on the bearings, a couple times a year - too much grease will ruin the seal and these are low speed bearings. If you are in the water a lot, give them a squirt more often (use a good agricultural or marine grease). Make sure you adjust your chains with the wheels off the ground and adjust at the tight spot - don't run them too tight or too loose either way increases wear. Too tight is also hard on bearings. Keep your air pressure in your tires about 2 1/4 PSI.

Solid axles are not necessary unless you have a problem and then you can install solids at that point. You can have a welding shop dirive a solid bar inside the pipe and have homemade solids. As long as you don't hit something solid at high speed you shouldn't have a problem (even the solids will bend if you hit something hard and fast enough). Anything else, just ask.

By david berger (Davidrrrd) on Unrecorded Date: Edit

bill if you indeed find yours dosent have inner bearings and feal you want to make the upgrade i have found it is posable dispite the pasengers side fraim rail being backwards to the way the factory found they had to mount it when they did the chaing over to inners, the sst flange bearings recreatives sell for the inner bearings will fit an inch in from the end because you need to fill the c chanel fraim rail to give the bearing a mounting point but this isent any problem, i did it already and it's working fine,
if i had my act in gear id already have a "how too" video for you,prehaps an instalation kit as well, i shoped arround and found bearings for less $$ and there american! the chinise ones from sst are twice the cost,
you dont even have to remove your fraim from your vehicle to do it ether!
but you will have to pull the batery and engine to bolt the new bearings up,
if someone lights a fire under me maybe i can produce a rough draft of the "how too video"soon.
the very first inner i used with an axel that had a broken end from extreem bushing where! i did grind down the split end so it would go threw the bearing but because it is 1" in from the end of axel on pasengers side the axel worked perfictly with it,