I had a guy drop off a scrambler today at my shop that he had got a while ago, but lost interest in getting it going and he needed the room in his garage to park inside for the winter. It is a Good running four stroke 500 motor with good tires but had a pretty rough life so the plastic is not the greatest and could use some tlc. The reason he got it was the original owner said the transmission was out. In neutral, the machine will roll freely, but as soon as you put it in high or reverse, the tires lock up and you can't move it. It shifts into gear easily and the shifter doesn't have any excessive play. Motor runs strong so I picked it up as a parts machine. I may sacrifice this one to part out depending on what I can find with the transmission. For now, I can't even tell if the four wheel drive works because once you put it in gear, it acts like it's stuck in both reverse and forward. Does this year have the silent chain? Is it possible that the chain broke and is locking the transmission up? With the shape it's in, I doubt it will be wise to find a used transmission to get it movable. But if it is something I can address easily, maybe it would make a good machine again with a little tlc. I have my 1995 Scrambler that I am cleaning up, but the machines are not very similar besides the plastic, which my 95 has better stuff on it. About the only thing I can save off the 2002 that will work is possibly the clutch cover (if a 500 will fit a 400, not sure) and the seat. We got a bunch of snow last weekend and we expect more this week with lows that are below zero so I will have plenty of time to tinker with these two scramblers so maybe I can get two running decent ones before too long. Any ideas on what the transmission issue could be or am I gonna just have to tear it down?

Thanks,
Mike

 

Sounds like the silent chain has either slipped off the gears or broken. Or possibly a damaged dog gear or shift fork. Only way to tell is split it open.Hopefully nothing drastic.http://www.cyclepartswarehouse.com/o...d9/gearcase-ac

 

If I were to go with a used transmission, what years or models would fit? I see a lot for sale but the years are all over the place and some are out of a 400 chassis or the trailblazer chassis. I know all these models were the high/neutral/reverse set up which is different than the other models.

I have never done a transmission on one of the older models yet and the silent chain is a common problem so maybe I can use this one as a learning experience.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Parts list shows these models to use the same gear case as yours. They're may be others that could interchange..

Usage : 1341328

Year Product Model Assembly
2002 ATV SCRAMBLER 500 4X4 GEARCASE - A02BG50AA/AC (4970027002C09)
2002 ATV SCRAMBLER 500 4X4 FREEDOM GEARCASE - A02BG50AA/AC (4970027002C09)
2001 ATV SCRAMBLER 500 4X4 GEARCASE (If Built Before 4/29/01) - A01BG50AA (4963766376C009)
2001 ATV SCRAMBLER 500 4X4 GEARCASE (If Built Before 4/29/01) - A01BG50AA (4963766376C009)
2000 ATV SCRAMBLER 500 GEARCASE - A00BG50AA (4954855485C013)