I bought a wrecked 2003 500 Auto & put about $500 into it (front differential had several broken spider gear teeth) & thought I'd get to ride it tomorrow. When I drove it up the road I immediately heard a rythmic knocking noise; only in fwd or rev not at idle. I jacked it up, put it in gear, & grabbed the rear wheels & moved them fwd/back & the knocking noise sounds like it is coming from inside the transmission, maybe the secondary drive splined shaft or associated drive gears; sounds like the clunking noise you'd hear if a u-joint is bad. It only has 1 u-joint in the whole drive system & it's solid, no play. All attaching bolts at the differentials are tight. I'm wondering if when the front differential locked up if it damaged the gears or splines of the secondary shaft(s)? I've rebuilt 3 ATV engines/transmissions so I'm not a novice but I've never had a shaft drive on an ATV until this Cat? Any thoughts? Anyone I could call, not an Arctic Dealer w/in 50 miles. Thanks, Del

I jacked it up this morning & turned the wheels by hand and about 1/6 of rotation I head a click, doesn't matter if it's forward or reverse. At the point that I hear the click I can move the wheel back & forth about 1-2" and get the click without rotating the wheel. I took the belt cover off figuring it was the easiest place to start, nothing obvious but I seem to hear the noise more clearly? Can't tell if it's the clutch or not, would the clutch make that noise if somethings wrong? Running out of ideas? Pull the clutch cover? Thanks, Del

 

Yesterday I took the clutch cover off & found the noise coming from the Final Drive Carrier Bearing (output shaft). So this morning I pulled the motor, split the cases, & found the driven gear #2 on the output shaft was missing 3 teeth, found them on the bottom of the case halves. There is some scarring on the #2 Drive Gear so I'm going to replace that also. So I have to order some gears & slap it back together.

Is it best to order from Arctic Cat or can I order from Suzuki (have a shop in town)? I found 2 types of 2003 Suzuki 500 Vinsons (LTA-500F & LTF-500F) any idea what the difference is? My Suzuki dealer wasn't much help & was very clear that he'd be glad to order parts for the Suzuki Vinson, not Arctic Cat.

I was also curious what type of gasket sealant (no gaskets between several pieces; case halves, valve cover, etc) is best to use during the assembly?

Thanks, Del

 

You could try here as well. I've never used them, so I can't comment on the service.

Arctic Cat Online Parts