Quick question. When you push the push button 4x4, What does that actually ingage? Does it engage to front diff, hubs, or is it a transfer case like a typical truck 4x4?Where does that push button harness go. Has any one had trouble with it? Can it be bypassed if I run into trouble? Is it reliable? Thanks

 

Here is a link that should answer your quesitons. I posted a link inside that thread that gave an excellent explanation, but the board on which it was listed has changed servers and the link is no longer valid. All you need to know about Polaris 4wd

 

That site ROCKS! Thankyou.

 

A little math goes a long way.

There are five sides to the ramp nut and five rollers
1 rotation / 5 would be 20%
But - if the hub rotated 20%, the roller would go over the top of the ramp and be located on the next flat.
The rollers actually engage at about 10% rotation - or half way up the ramp.

So how much does the the rear wheel have to "slip" before the hub would lock up?
A 25 inch tire has a outside circumference of pi * 25 = 78.5 inches.
10% of 78.5 is 7.8 inches.

So if the rear tire rotates about 8 inches more then the front tire - the front hub should lockup to the axle.

Math - the alternative opinion

 

So what if one side is not engaging? My friend just purchased a 2000 sportsman 500, one CV boot was ripped so he and another friend ripped it appart and got the part, but they were not certain how to put it together, so i got the exploded parts diagram online and helped them put it together. When we got done it appeared that it was locked in 4x4 mode as the steering was difficult, but after he rode it for 2 minutes it appeared OK. The next day we did some serious mudding, he got stuck and we noticed only one front wheel was spinning, the one we worked on was NOT spinning. We did not have an owners manual so I was not certain how much of that special oil was suppossed to go in the hub so I filled it, could that be the problem?

 

The proper fluid level is when it begins to run out of the fill hole when the fill hole is at the 4:00 or 8:00 position. If you all put it back together w/o a manual, it's possible that the axle nut got overtightened which can cause the hub to not engage. The clearance of the magnetic armature plate is extremely important. The tolerance is very close and must be adhered to. Run a search on 4wd and you will likely get what you need.

4wd

More 4wd

 

A shop manual costs about $25 and is worth its weight in gold.
There are several reasons
Mechanical -
the magnets are not aligned
The armature ring was not seated via the small tabs and has been crushed into the roll cage
There are specific torque, loosen, re-torque requirements on that big nut

Proceedure -
Not getting the bearings torqued per the manual - jacking entire bike and rotating all wheels when tightening that big nut.

Fluid levels -
lost fluid - see crushed armture ring above and possible seal damage.

dirt in the hub - a parts washer is a really really good thing. Compressed air and WD40 to clean/lubricate with.

The process is pretty easy. The magnet causes restriction to the armature plate so it "drags" against wheel rotation. That drag provides the torque to move the rollers up the hex nut and the rollers bind against the hub.
Thats the outline version.