Okay, I know that it is going to be difficult to understand my problem as I try to explain it but I want to try. I have a stock 99 wolverine. I have tried to keep VERY good care of it and haven't crashed or trashed it. About the only thing I do is go as fast as possible. I did hit a rock with my rear tire and manage to bend my axle though. Here is my problem, I have started hearing an intermetant popping noise from the rear. I first heard it as I was backing through the yard but it was not constant and I tried to get it to do it again but it wouldn't every time time either. I also hear it, just not every time, if I am going pretty fast and try to slow down or stop quickly. This problem has just started and my first thought is a U-Joint on the rear axle. But before I start tearing into that, which would be a MAJOR job, is there any other possible things that I am over looking or that would be easier to check first?

Thanks for reading all of this and I hope: 1. That it makes sense and 2. that someone can help!

 

U-joint, Axle bearings, or worse your ring/pinion gears. Hopefully it's just the joint, unlikely it's bearings but you never know. If it's making the noise specifically when slowing down quickly I'd say it's your u-joint.

 

Before you dig into the U-Joints, check all the easier stuff like, rear shock mounting, swing arm mounts, rear brake mounts, motor mounts, etc.

Although it's possible, I haven't heard of many ring / pinion failures, and I wouldn't expect that to be intermittent.

The rear axle bearings on the Wolv are always suspect. Mine is a 2001, with minimal use, and both sides of mine were trashed. But, I'm not so sure about them making a popping noise.

Make sure your axle hubs are not worn/cracked and the nuts are tight and cotter pinned. Also, check and make sure you don't have cracked rim.

If all that looks OK, yea, it's probably the U-Joints, also known to be a high wear item.

Good Luck.

 

I had very much the same situation when I bought my Wolv. It would make intermittent popping noise from the rear, at irregular intervals.

After a lot of looking and head scratching, it turned out that the swingarm bearings had literally disintegrated. They came out in fragments.

To check for this, jack up your bike under the frame (not the swingarm). Wiggle the swingarm from side to side, if it's loose, time for new bearings. Good time to check those axle bearings, too.

 

Anyone that said "AXLE BEARINGS" wins the prize for the day. The right rear was toast and in pieces. But I do have a couple of questions if you could see my posting in the "Drivetrain" forums called " Putting Wolv back together, questions." Thanks for the info.