Polaris 280 design flaw?

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stompper3

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Jul 4, 2011
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I searched the board for galvanic corrosion, but nothing on the Polaris. My wheel axles kept snapping off, so I went to do a rebuild. When taking the unit apart, the grommets in the frame for the front drive axle have pulled out making the frame now useless.

OK, here is the issue. When rebuilding I noticed they use two different metals to bolt on the pieces in the Polaris 280. Corrosion is everywhere the two metals meet, just the grommets.
The grommets in the frame seem to be of a copper origin or brass? However, the bolts are all stainless steel. Flaw or conceived, the two different metals seem to corrode. My unit is only one year old.

I researched this and found "proof" http://www.corrosionist.com/Galvanic_Corrosion.htm. All it takes is two different metals bolted together and any kind of water except distilled water to cause the corrosion. Salted water must make it worse?

Also, the drive shaft just rusts away and this must also be designed this way so it must be replaced.

I was thinking that I cannot be the only one to notice this?
 
My 280 is three years old and I haven't had any problems so far. All the parts are either stainless, nylon, or PVC. There is no copper or brass anywhere. I wonder if yours was rebuilt?

P.S. Maybe you got a knock off?
 
I don't think it is a knock-off. Purchased from a dealer and came in the box as new and has a serial number recognized by Polaris. The grommets in the frame don't look like they can be changed out and are part of the frame itself. Check your grommets in the frame. Curious to see if these are a different metal?
 
This picture shows the wheel off with the grommets pull completely out of the frame.



This one shows the single wheel with the grommets in place. You can see they do not look like stainless steel.



The one show the debris which looks like the green from copper. It shows where the grommets pulled completely out of the frame. You can see that the grommets are of a different metal than the bolts when you look at all the pictures.
 
I see what your are talking about now. I haven't pulled the wheels off to check to see if mine has brass inserts, but it probably does. Considering how much those cost I am very surprised to see them use brass.

I like the idea of drilling all the way though and using stainless bolts, nuts, and washers to secure the wheel. That sounds like it would work well. I'll have to keep that in mind in case I ever have the problem.
 
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