Late 2017 or 2018 Slingshot Angle Drive pics wanted

User Schwingshot over on TDS has been wondering what changes have been made to the angle drive (What changes were made to the newer style angle Drive | Polaris Slingshot Forum).

Here's what I found looking at PartShark's listings -

Based on the parts listings from PartShark, here are the PNs by year -
2015 & 2016 angle-drive pn = 1333003
2017 built to 02/03/17 = 1333618
2017 built from 02/03/17 = 1333909
2018 =1333909
Replacement angle drives for all years are now listed as pn 1333909.

Assuming there is a visible difference in the casting for the new angle drive design (pn 1333909), if some owners of 2018 or late 2017 Slingshots (built after 02/03/17) post some pictures of their angle drive units, we may be able to see any changes. Since most failed angle drive units seem to have experienced failures where the driveshaft connects to the angle drive and across the front of the angle drive towards the drive pulley, pics of those areas may be useful.

Please post any pics here and/or PM them to me and I'll try to get them posted on TDS.

Update from TDS -
@Orangeman pointed out the PN changes could be due to a simple manufacturing source change.

TDS member @Rider posted the he thought he had read that the part number changes were due to changes in the internal components, nothing else.

MY response - Internal changes may have affected the durability of the external casing, but I'd expect Polaris or any other manufacturer to have bragged about any such improvement in their advertising.

TDS member @ulflyer posted - My '18 is much quieter than the '16 was. This may just be luck of the draw, but it seems there have been fewer posts about excessively noisy angle drives in the last year or two. I would like to think Polaris has made some change to the gears, but who knows? Maybe one of you techies could do a survey?

My response - We can only hope confirming evidence appears. Some early owners have really pushed HP levels w/o (yet) experiencing failures, so the angle drive failures seen so far may simply be due to casting failures. Until we know the reasons for the changes in PNs that occurred in 2017, we don't know. The changed PN at the beginning of the 2017 model year build could be due to a simple source change or a design change, but w/o any confirmation from Polaris we don't know. It's also possible that the mid-2017 PN change was also due to a source change, but we are just speculating w/o any confirmation from Polaris. Polaris may have improved the durability of the angle drive, but I'd think any such change would be reflected in their advertising by referring to a new or improved drive-train.

Having experienced two broken angle drives with the exact same break where the driveshaft feeds the angle drive, TDS member SCHWINGshot posted an innovative/interesting possible solution. See - Custom angle drive , modified, photos | Polaris Slingshot Forum. Don't know if it will be effective or if he simply had a couple bad angle drive casings, but it looks interesting, especially for boosted owners seeking a little insurance. Of course, no idea on cost or availability or if it's really needed, but it does look interesting.

Folks have complained about the bearing, but the casting still seems to be a potential weak spot. I wonder if it's possible the casting might flex enough to cause the bearing to have problems? That's why I wrote - "Of course, no idea on cost or availability or if it's really needed, but it does look interesting." I guess if he breaks a third angle drive, we'll have a better idea.

Quote from edwardaneal

I have no experience with this problem and hopefully I never will, but just looking at it from the outside it seems like more of a case of a few units having issues, perhaps due to quality control rather than being a design flaw in all units - I say this because from what I have read some of the failed units seem to be on stock NA slings and there are some very highly boosted slings running that dont seem to have any problems with their stock angle drives

I could be totally wrong, but if it were a design weakness I would think the very high HP slings would be tearing them apart

I agree about not having noticed a failures among boosted owners, but even though we don't know about its efficacy, if the cost is right, it might still be a decent peace-of-mind add-on for boosted owners. If the problem is the casting around the front bearing, it does look like it should spread the forces around the casing and hopefully lessen strain on the bearing area. I know people have bought expensive farkles that to my mind offer only pleasing looks and this might actually help a little. Of course, it also may not make any difference.

Quote from wjfyfe

Like I mentioned above, if this is a problem created by bearing failure, then this extra support is not going to fix the problem?

Bill

It's possible the bracket may not do anything, but until Polaris announces a cause, we just don't know. Lots of Slingshot owners have spent some serious money on mods that may do little beyond please a purchaser's sense of aesthetics. Chances are, most of us will hopefully never experience an angle drive failure, but some of us definitely will.