Went riding this past weekend in upstate New York, and was blasting up a hill full of ruts. My quad started pulling to the left, and then I heard a clunking noise. Stopped my machine and discovered that the u-joint yoke on the outside right rear axle shaft broke trashing the u-joint closest to the wheel. While the unattached axle was spinning , it hit the upper a-arm and bent it. The only thing I can think of is that the wheel hopped and then bit hard torqueing the axle shaft. Quad only has 600 miles on it and is out of warranty. Anybody know of a good place to order parts either on-line or by phone? The Polaris dealers here on Long Island suck. Any info appreciated. Thanks -Glen Pratt

 

Sorry that you broke your 335. I have broke mine (99 335 with 2000 miles to date)the same way 4 times. First the right then the left then the right etc. etc. U-joints suck! So I tried getting Polaris to do something, NO JOY. So then I purchased a mechanical repair agreement from what I thought was Polaris (boy watch out). The following is some of the text that documents what I have been dealing with (with the names removed, don't want to make any more lawyers rich).

I purchased a 335 SP NOV 99. I love it but had it 2 weeks and the rear drive shaft U-joint broke at the connection to the rear right wheel. My dealer repaired it under your warranty at a cost to Polaris of $540.
Have broke 2 more, covered under warranty. Warranty is now gone. Polaris refuses to extent the warranty or replace the 99 rear end with the 2000 that uses CV joints. Why would anyone want anything to do with a company that will not stand behind their product that obviously has a defect in the design.


I bought this ATV Nov 99. I love it but had it 2 weeks and the rear drive shaft joint broke at the connection to the rear right wheel. My dealer repaired it under your warranty at a cost to Polaris of $540. Today the left side broke in the same place. My warranty runs out in May. I cannot afford repairs like this every several months. My dealer said that he has only seen this kind of failure once before. When I took my sportsman in today I looked at the 2000 model and the rear end has been totally re designed. What gives? What rate of failure rate have you seen? Please advise.

Thanks

*********
11/5/99 Purchased Sportsman 335
11/22/99 right rear u-joint failed
11/22/99 Oil changed, rear u-joint replaced
2/11/00 Oil, air filter changed @ 856 miles
3/28/00 left rear u-joint failed
3/28/00 ATV returned to dealer with following problems
ATV starts somewhat hard
Speedometer not working correctly will indicate 10 MPH when stopped
ATV pulls to one side or the other when backing up and going forward and not in 4 wheel drive.
4/3/00 Picked up ATV
Dealer replaced air filter, changed oil, installed new spark plug, installed left rear drive shaft. Ordered parts for speedometer.

Dave in service says that checked out right drive shaft and greased it. I check right drive shaft and looks like it could fail soon(no grease).

Dave in service says that air filter, oil and spark plug were cause of poor starting. Asked to see air filter, which looked like new. Oil per manual needs to be changed every 1000 miles or 500 hours.

Replaced coil in front end. ATV still pulls to one side or the other when backing up and going forward and not in 4 wheel drive.
6/8/00
Received FAX from Jennifer Smith with outline of coverage of service plan.
7/19/00
Received letter from Tom Love POLARISTAR DIRECT Sales Manager that I had enrolled in the POLARISTAR Mechanical Repair Agreement.
8/03/00
Right rear u-joint failed.
Tie rod end bad.
Bad ramps and screws in secondary clutch.
8/21/00 received support bracket PL5224667067


I have a mechanical repair agreement with:
*****Warranty Services, Inc.
************
**********
*************

This agreement was advertised as an extended service for my Polaris ATV. They will not pay for covered repairs. Stating that they will not participate due to abuse of the ATV. They refuse to even have the adjuster meet with me to discuss the issues that they say are abuse. This is not a case of abuse, but use, we have put 1800 miles on the ATV in 9 months. The following is a account of what has transpired.

6/7/00 Received phone call from Jennifer Smith representing Polaristar Care. She was offering a extended service (see attached).

Approximately 6/14/00 purchased agreement for $615 for 4 years of coverage.

8/3/00 Took ATV into dealer ( All Seasons Equipment, Cedar Rapids, Iowa ) to have covered repairs made.

1. Right rear U-joint at the wheel bad.
2. Steering very loose.
3. Will not run at full speed, engine just revs up.

8/8/00 Dave from All Seasons called to inform me that he had talked with a ******** and he indicated that the above items were covered. Dave Brown requested a estimate. Dave was unable to get a hold of ******* again but did fax the estimate.

8/11/00 I Call Dave at All Seasons. He informed me that he could not get a hold of *******.

8/14/00 An adjuster showed up at All Seasons. Talked to Dave, looked at ATV, took pictures. He said that he would call Dave in a couple of hours. Dave received a call in less than 15 minutes from the adjuster. The adjuster informed Dave that they were denying the claim due to abuse.

8/15/00 Dave from All Seasons called me at work stating that the claim was denied.

8/16/00 I called ***** Warranty Services, Inc. Talked to a lady named *****. She would only tell be that the claim was denied due to abuse. I asked to have the report faxed to me. She said that she could not do that. . I asked to have the report e-mailed to me. She said that she could not do that. I asked to talk to her supervisor. Her supervisor was ******. He informed me that "They chose not to participate" more than once.

 

I would report the company to your state's Attorney General and Board of Insurance. They entered into an contractual agreement and then chose to not honor it, that is fraud. At the very least, you should get an arbitration hearing to present your case.

If I were you, after I got it fixed, I would upgrade to a machine with the redesigned rear end.

Good luck,

 

Sounds like you guys got ahold of a lemon like I did. At first I was furious, and the dealer definitely heard me several times. I ranted on this forum, didn't make alot of friends that way. I finally got ahold of Polaris in Canada here, guess what, very apologetic, nothing else. That made me hot, I was ready to head to Supreme court. After all the bugs got fixed up, the last after it was out of warranty, haven't had a problem since. Them lemons that get out of the factory are unluckily picked up by us, and its a real test of patience and usually the depth of the pocket books. Oh well, if I buy the toys and expect the world of 'em, I gotta realize that anything can be prone to failure...expecially if its mine. And I thought that life was perfect....

 

wmadad,
I had the same problem with my 1998 SP500. That is the main reason I upgraded to my 2000 SP500. I went through about 10 u-joints and also had one break that tore up the a-arm, and bearing housing. My broke due to abuse. I was running 27X12-12 Vamps, and the u-joints just would not hold it. I have a friend with a 99 SP335 with u-joints running 25 triclaws and after one year of hard mud riding, i rebuilt both his rear axels for about $60. There was a minimal amount of slack in the u-joints, and we did not want to take any risk.

Best of luck with your u-joints. It sounds like you have had about enough bad luck.

Greg

PS. What tires are you running, and do you grease the u-joints after every mud/water ride?

Greg

 

are you sure we are not talking about a raptor??