Ask the Editors: Prairie Popping Out Of Gear
Tranny troubles.
What you should do from here depends entirely on your faith in your mechanical abilities. The good news is that your generation Prairie was notorious for developing transmission troubles like those you describe and usually it is just a case of adjustment. The bad news is that unless you’re a fairly confident mechanic who knows his way around a transmission, it may best be a job you’ll want to pay to have done correctly.
The starting point would be to take a good hard look at the point where the shifter connects to the engine. If it appears loose or has play, this is the linkage you’re going to want to adjust. This is a bit of a trial and error process in and of itself as it can loosen up again after a few rides.
Using this schematic for reference, you’d be checking out part #13236 where it attaches to 13236A.
If the linkages are all good and tight when you check them, the next step for diagnosis would be to drain out the oil and examine it for metal shavings/ signs of internal damage.
If your oil looks clean of shavings, another common reason for ATV transmissions popping out of gear is the shift fork inside the transmission becoming bent. This is certainly a situation where you’ll want to start with the simplest possibility and work your way up to the most complex.
