Hi all,

Got a question about front bearings. My 1998 Fourtrax 300 2X4 pops in the front end sometimes when turning the wheels left or right. It kinda sounds to me like the wheel bearings need to be packed or replaced. I'm not an ATV mechanic, but I can do some things with instructions, saving, of course, the $45/hr shop fees.

Questions........

How do you check them?
Could I take them out and repack? I've done this on other vehicles, but not an ATV.
If they need to be replaced, is this something we could probably do, or should it defineately go to the shop?

I'll be out of town this weekend, so I'll check the forum when I get back.

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

Tim

 

Those are ball bearings instead of taper roller bearings like an automobile. A repack might take a bit of play out of them, but it would be a temporary fix at best.

Just lift the front wheels off the ground and grab the tire at the top and bottom and shake it like you would a car.

Be sure that the slack is actually from the bearings and not the ball joints.....or both.

Good luck

 

Update........ I put the front end up in the air, and shook the front tires. They moved about 4 inches side to side......... not good. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img] My Father & I tried to check them but couldn't get the hubs off, so I finally bit the bullet and took it to a local shop.

I gotta give these guys a little hype here. Gateway Cycle in Bluewell WV is a small father/son shop right on Rt. 52. You will most likely pass it going to the H/M, Wagon Wheel, and Pinnacle Creek trails. Since we don't have a close Honda dealer, I decided to give them a try.

Once I explained the problem, they took it right in. Super nice guys. Turns out the front bearings where shot all the heck. One had even fried itself onto the shaft making the hub darn near impossible to get off. They fixed it that day, at 1/4 the cost of the Honda dealer. The son even showed me everything as he was doing it, explaining it, and said "if you ever need to do this yourself, this is how you do it". . What other shop will you ever get that kind of treatment in??? None I have been in!!

Gotta give credit where due. If you come thru Bluefield or Princeton WV, they are right beside the Rt. 20 & Rt. 52 intersection in Bluewell. Stop by if you need any repairs. Don't think you'll be sorry. Hopefully someone else can get the help I got.

Later
Honk