PROBLEM SOLVED...SEE BELOW.

Okay...I'm lovin my new 97 Big Bear 4X4 but it has a very odd problem. I'll explain it the best I can.

With the ATV off and in neutral sitting in my driveway...I can push it in reverse fine. If you let go of it, it continues to roll. Very normal.

Here's what's odd.

If you go to push it forward, it starts off easy and then within 10 feet....the front of the quad dips and it becomes hard to push. If you managed to push it fast enough and let go...it will stop almost instantly.

You're probably thinking brakes are adjusted to tight right about now...

Well here's the kicker...if you jack the front end up to see why the thing won't roll...the wheels spin perfectly free! The Warn 424 is set to 2X4 so the front wheels just spin and spin. No bearing noise, no brakes grabbing.

If you put it on the ground again and push it...SAME THING. It becomes hard to push.

Anyone have ANY idea?

Thanks,

Jason

 

just wanted to add that it doesn't go away when your riding it.

If you let off the gas you can feel it slowing you down!

 

I wonder.....hmmmmmmmmmm.......[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

because its heavy,,,J/K

my grizz is hard to push in neutral too

as far as it running,and slowing down,does it have a engine brake? i dont know anything about the big bear,sorry

 

Yep, the engine braking is responsible for the rapid slow down while running.

I know none of my 4 wheelers are easy to push around, they dont roll on their own very well, and thats in 2wd and nuetral.

Sure does sound like the brakes...and because of the leading shoe design, they work much more effiently in forward than in reverse. Ever notice how easier the brakes hold the quad on a hill when the front is facing downhill? Thats due to the leading shoe design of the brakes shoes. Could the drum be filled with dirt and mud?

After a bit of driving, and not using the brakes...do the front brake drum feel warm or hot?

 

Okay...this thing just confuses me.

1. Even with the WARN 424 in 2X4...the drive to the engine still spins so maybe it could be engine braking? I don't really know what engine braking is though and I didn't think this manual shifted big bear would have it.

2. if it is engine braking...then why do I hear a noise from the front left drum when I try to push it like a brake is on? But even stranger...you can hear the noise in the drum but if you lift the wheel up...it spins freely...put it back down...the dragging noise.

Hopefully tomorrow I will take it out for some extended riding and won't use the front brake. I'll ride it around and see if it still generates heat in the front drum. I don't think it's dragging but who knows.

If you are reading this and you own a 350 4X4...please go out and push it forward in neutral and tell me if it's easy or not.

Thanks

 

engine brake is like the "jake" brake on a Big Rig,,,someone correct me if i'm wrong,but i believe it uses the engine back pressure to slow down the vehical,thus saving brake use,and wear,,,,,also it allows you to go down hils with less brake,in turn keeping the wheels tuning without locking,and skidding down the hill

if you hear noise coming from a particular area of the bike,by all means investigate before going riding,,,,it may be a wheel bearing ,or something you may not want letting go at a inoprotune moment

 

PROBLEM SOLVED!!!

Well...it definitely wasn't engine braking. With two jacks(one in the rear and one holding the right front wheel up), I isolated the problem to the front left wheel. it was definitely dragging. What's odd...it only did it on the ground but not in the air [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

Anyway...the problem went away after I removed the brake shoes. It came back when they were reinstalled. So at this point I started looking deeper. A quick inspection revealed 1 completely frozen wheel cylinder and one on the way out.

My guess is that the barely frozen wheel cylinder would get tighter and tighter and never release as the quad went forward.

Anyway....with the help of some PB blaster, WD-40, grease, 140psi compressed air, blah blah blah...I got the wheel cylinders free, lubed and reinstalled. Bleed the brakes and voila...it works perfectly.

Now then...why do drum brakes suck so much as and I need to find a way to get DISC brakes BAD!

Thanks for the help guys,

Jason

 

highlifter.com makes disk conversions for a lot of honda ATVs i dont know if they ever made them for the big bear but it wouldbe worth checkin out. they have some interesting products on there.

http://www.highlifter.com

 

Drum brakes have their place. They are less expensive to make and repair, they cause less drag while rolling, and are pretty troublefree. Downside is poor performance while rolling backward, and wet they just plain suck.

Its good to hear you got it figured out.

My 03 chevy truck has rear disk brakes...but the new 05 went back to drum...go figure.

If the brakes can lock up the wheel, then theres no need for disk brakes. You might just want to upgrade the shoes on the front brakes to a material more grabby...but shoe life will suffer.