2016 Kawasaki mule pro FX CV BOOTS

[Jass]

I have a  2016 Kawasaki mule pro FX ,I seem to be replacing cv boots on the inner rear and have tried several different kinds, this unit doesn’t get used hard and has a lift on it 

[Travis]

So they're tearing prematurely?

 

[Jass]

Yes, and it has Elka suspension shocks on it and I’m thinking the CV shafts are at to much angle. 

[cliffyk]

17 minutes ago, Jass said:

Yes, and it has Elka suspension shocks on it and I’m thinking the CV shafts are at to much angle. 

BINGO!--I read this in your first post " has a lift on it " and thought to myself--well there you go...

Contrary to popular web-based "fast &furious" opinion, and every now & then,  the engineers that design this stuff actually do know what they are doing.

[Jass]

So can theses shocks be adjusted to to lower this rig?

This is my first UTV so I’m learning?

[Travis]

Most Kawasaki shocks are adjustable for ride adjustment.

Could you post a picture?

[Jass]

Here’s  so pics of my mule and the shocks.

[cliffyk]

I am not familiar with the Mule, however the angle of those axle shafts seems quite extreme to me--at full extension they must be nearly vertical...

[Jass]

Ok then , these shock that’s on it , would it help to adjust the collar to lower it or go back to stock shocks??

[cliffyk]

I found a couple "rear-end" photos on the web of what are stated to be stock 2016 Mules:

 

Note the angle of the axles as compared to yours. Adjusting the preload of those poorly conceived aftermarket shocks will not correct that. The issue is the overall "eye-oi-eye" length of the shock--I would replace them with stock, or at least 1"-1-1/2" shorter units. However in comparing your and the OEM photos it seems as though the top mounting point of the aftermarket shocks is further outboard then the stock shocks (which would raise the suspension); it may be possible to move that top mounting point inward to the stock position and lessen the ridiculous angle of those axles.

Also, CV joints stop being constant velocity when operated at such extreme angles, whichj can (and usually does) lead to other problems with differential bearing and gears, an wheel bearings.

 

My idiot California nitwit step-son completely fouled up his 2017 Tacoma 4x4 by installing some cheap 6" lift-kit that was nothing but longer struts--screwed up the front and rear differentials, axle shafts and transmission due to the jarring dynamic loads created by the CV joints being at such extreme angles. The good kits relocated the differential housings downward to maintain a sensible axle angles.

 

[Jass]

So it seems that I should get stock shocks back on this and get rid of this high dollar shocks that come with it and it may save me alit of headaches. 

[Travis]

I concur with Cliffy,  appears the angle is too extreme for the boots

[Jass]

Thanks for the in out an help I’ll get this corrected and see how things go. 

[cliffyk]

41 minutes ago, Jass said:

Thanks for the in out an help I’ll get this corrected and see how things go. 

Unfortunately far too many aftermarket modifications are developed, produced and marketed by people with little to no actual engineering knowledge, skills or even ability who really do not know WTF they are doing ("lift-kits" other suspension "mods"seem especially prone to this failing)...

[Jass]

So true and I’m stuck with putting it back right, well it a lesson learned. 

[Jass]

 

[Jass]

Took out the lift bars and put the shock back in the stock position and the cv shafts are better positioned too, much better than before. 

[cliffyk]

Looks a lot better--the boots should do much better now; they were twisted up tighter than my ex-wife's panties.

I suspected there might be something you could remove or reconfigure--just out of curiosity, do you have a photo of the lift bars?

 

[Jass]

I’ll get them posted we I get a chance.

[Jass]

Here are the lift bars I took out to lower the mule back down, it seems just reposition the shocks and it does a lot. 

[cliffyk]

Those are typical of the stuff the "lift kit" people churn out--as I stated earlier engineering is not something in which they excel. .

[Dennis Knepp]

I'm in a couple mule groups on FB, most the chatter on them is lift kits, rims and tire size. Appears most these guys are in a different tax bracket than I, 3-4 hundred dollars a corner adds up. They're putting small pickup tires on em, I wonder how belts hold up, ( you can just smell the power taking off in high range ) Mules are known for low ground clearance, keeps the center of gravity low. Kaw makes sport models too.

[Travis]

41 minutes ago, Dennis Knepp said:

 Mules are known for low ground clearance, keeps the center of gravity low.

And i'm glad they do, i only ever almost tipped my mule once and that was a few months ago,  i was in a hurry and hopped in it, backed it up and turned sharp and my front right wheel  came off the ground, not sure how far but it  jarred it when it sat back down, kind of impressed with ol' 9.5 HP. lol

[Jass]

This rig was fairly new when I got it and the guy that got it new put the lift and shocks on and bigger wheels and tires , it’s nice with a lift for rutted roads and timber but the CV boots get ridiculous replacing , lowering it down was good, it even changed how it rides. 

[cliffyk]

4 hours ago, Jass said:

This rig was fairly new when I got it and the guy that got it new put the lift and shocks on and bigger wheels and tires , it’s nice with a lift for rutted roads and timber but the CV boots get ridiculous replacing , lowering it down was good, it even changed how it rides. 

Sounds like the P.O. was a textbook example of what we used to call "Fast & Furious Magazine Mechanics"(FnFMM)--more money than engineering, or even common, sense. Bigger wheels an d tires do nothing but:

1. Reduce power to the ground due to their larger diameter;
2. Reduce braking power due to 1);
3. Reduce acceleration due to 1) and increased weight = increased rotational inertia;
4. Increase wear of drive train components (CV-joints, U-joints, transmission and final drive gears and bearing, etc) due to 3);. 
5. Worsen "ride" quality due to increased unsprung  weight;
6. Overload suspension components (spring struts, A-arms, ball joints, tie-rod ends, steering gear, etc.)  due to increased mass/altered geometry;
7. Mess up the speedometer and odometer¹ by making them "read" slow;

Huh, seven sins--I really did not set out to do that.

But they "look cool" and will make your fellow FnFMMs  envious--all while making your wallet lighter,

We have already seen (literally) what a "lift kit" can accomplish so I won;t get into that...

Contrary to what the average FnFMM thinks, the emgineers that design these things do generally know what the are doing,,,

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¹ - the odometer thing mat be "good" if you are planning on screwing over a buyer down the road (no pun intended). Let's suppose you put 27" tires on a vehicle designed for 25" tires--that's an 8% increase in circumference. So, the 5,000 miles you put on the vehicle will be recorded as only 4630 miles.

[Jass]

Yes, the stuff that one can put on these units is quite pricey and if you don’t know the out come it can bite you in the butt.  

For the tires on this rig we have some rubbing when turning which is more annoying then then damaging,I just have to keep an eye on it. 

[cliffyk]

2 hours ago, Jass said:

Yes, the stuff that one can put on these units is quite pricey and if you don’t know the out come it can bite you in the butt.  

For the tires on this rig we have some rubbing when turning which is more annoying then then damaging,I just have to keep an eye on it. 

That makes it a bit  better I guess, there aren't actually "7 deadly" downsides--I missed one...

[Dennis Knepp]

I have an 01 3010 pretty much bare bones, just a ragtop when I got it, no odometer, no speedometer, it has an hour meter(1589 on it now) and 2 idiot lights, brakes and heat, and I know the brake light doesn't work, heat light has never come on, it might not work either. It came from the DNR on a trade in for a ranger, it run fine till it warmed up good, shut it down let it set for 5 min. wouldn't restart till it cooled off. 2-3 beers later it start right up like nothing happened(had to keep my cooler full). A year and a half I played with it, replaced plugs, coils $, fuel pump $, bigger battery $, had the carb off 3-4 times rebuilt that $, undocumentable cursing $#@%$%$. Last time putting it back together I tried blowing through the vent tube on top the carb to find it plugged with mud about an inch up from the bottom where it hangs in the breeze under the machine. Could not see it by looking at it, ran a wire through and a little dirt fell out. May have been one of them little bugs make nests in holes. Now it starts every time.

Heat buildup after shutting it down caused flooding. No doubt the reason it was traded in. I did replace the stock 23" tires for 24" with farm tractor type tread, it'll push a couple inches of snow now with the front bumper.

[cliffyk]

It in a way it was "vapour lock"; I didn't think modern vehicles did that. Curious as to what "DNR" might be? When you say that to someone my age it means "Do Not Resuscitate"  (I know,I have one)...