I just bought a '98 450s with 180hrs / 800miles. Very well maintained. I have 2 questions though for anyone who can help me.

1) There's a squeak on one side of the front end. It sounds like its the shock, but can't really pinpoint it.

2) The motor gets very hot just riding around the field / yard at low speeds. I've had several fourwheelers...King Quad, Big Bear and 300 fourtrax.. and none of those got anywhere near that hot. The fan kicks in after about an hour and all the fins are clean on the oil cooler and the oil light hasn't lit up yet.. Since this is a larger CC than I've had in the past, I'm wondering if this is normal, although I dont think so.

Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated...Thanks

 

Do an oil change with a good oil recommended by the dealer, and if the oil cooler is clean and the oil light hasnt come on (probably test it to verify its working) I wouldnt worry about it too much. My fan comes on and off regularly since it was new (also a 1998 foreman 450) and it hasnt caused any trouble for me in 10 years riding.

 

What weight oil are you running??? Thinner oils are more "pumpable" than thick ones, so they cycle through the oil cooler more quickly. On the other hand, common wisdon is to run a thicker oil when it is hot.

The solution is to run an ultra high tech ester synthetic oil, that is very pumpable, yet even in the thinner grades will protect better than a thicker petroleum oil. I highly suggest Maixima Extra, 10W40!!!