Rotten 68 to 70 Scorpion Tracks
This is for all of you out there who have a '68-70 Scorpion Trail-A-Sled and have a bad track. Evidently, you have also found out how hard it is to find an original track for these machines! So this is a simple how-to conversion to change the original sprocket-hole-track over to the more reliable and much more plentiful poly track/internal drive. Despite the work involved, this is by far the easiest way to make your Scorpion track reliable and ready to go again for many years to come. And should you ever need to find another track, it will be much easier to locate.


THE INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR THIS SWAP ARE.......


- One '68-70 Scorpion in need of a track swap.
- One complete drive system from a 1971 Scorpion Stinger with the 15-inch narrow track. (note. MUST be from a '71 and Widetrack model components will NOT work in this case.) The exact parts you will need off the '71 parts sled are three sets of bogie wheels, the internal drive poly track, a rear idler set with wheels, and a front driveshaft with good sprockets. These internal drive sprockets are commonly prone to cracking, so carefully check each one to make sure they are not cracked. Check bogie wheels for bad or junk bearings. And inspect track for small rips or tears or excessive wear.
- You will also need a small variety of american wrenches, sockets, a ratchet, and a can of WD-40.

To get started...


 The first thing you need to do is take the old track, rear idler arms and wheels, bogies, and front shaft out of your sled. Since you're going to be spending some time underneath the sled (which is the easiest was as opposed to lying it on it's side.) make sure the rear o the sled is tied up off the ground enough for you to comfortably sit underneath it. Also make sure the sled is adequetly supported so it won't fall on you while you're working. This involves taking the lower rubber plug out of the chaincase and unbolting the lower gear. (P.S. you WILL have oil all over for this step, but there is really nothing you can do about it!) Before you try and remove the gear, take all tenstion off the chain by loosening the chain tensioner on the chaincase. With the bottom gear off, you will have three carriage bolts to undo on each side of the track and a small steel collar on the inside of the tunnel that come off with an allen wrench. The the front shaft is out.


The next step requires you to take the front shaft and track from your '71 Scorpion parts sled and put bolt them back into the sled the same way you removed the old shaft.


With the new '71 shaft and internal drive track hanging under the sled and bolted in, (you may also put the lower gear back on your shaft and put the chain back on, adjust tension, put plug back in, and refill with oil.) 90wt gear oil is reccomended for this chancase, and make sure the oil level is even with the bottom of the lower inspection plug. You may need to remove the inspection plug again to check oil level. Next, use the rear idler arms and wheels from the '71 parts sled and bolt it into place the same way you removed the old one. DO NOT tighten track yet. Next, install the bogie wheels from the '71. If you compare the '68-70 bogies to the '71 bogies, you will notice the difference and that only the '71 bogies will work with this track swap.

Install the front bogie wheel first, because if you wait to install it last, it will be nearly impossible to wiggle and jam into place. Next, install the other two pair, tighten your bolts, and adjust track tension.


Make sure you tighten the track the same amount on each side to avoid it bieng uneven in the tunnel, which leads to track failure and fringing. When adjusting the track, NEVER over tighten the track, make sure that when the machine is raised in the air that the track sags up to an inch and a quarter from the middle bogie wheel. Run the sled lightly while it is raised up, just slowly enough to let the clutch engage and make the track turn. Watch for spots of rubbing or friction and make your adjustments, then check again. Once you have the bugs worked out, go through and make sure all your bolts are tightened well and then you're ready to go!


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