Ok... I have a 2002 TRX500 with transmission worries. Right where do I start, I just bought it as is and this is what the guy told me.
1. When going down hill and you throttle off, its like it pops into nutral (revs drop, no engin breaking ) some times when you flick the key of and on, it comes right.
2. It makes a grumbling noise some times from the left, front on the motor.
3.Just recintly looses drive when going up hill (motor revs but bike slows down).

I've web surfed for about a week now and found nothing that sounds familler. Can anyone help me out before I start pulling the tranny apart?

 

There is a centrifugal clutch on your machine which disengages between engine and the hydrostat transmission when the engine is at idle. Inside the hub of the centerfugal clutch is a one-way sprag drive type thing, which allows the transmission to push the engine when the engine is at idle speed, providing engine braking.

I belive this is what has failed on your machine...


Welcome to the forum. A factory service manual would be a must-have, IMHO if you intend to repair yourself...

 

Bad move getting this machine! This tranny is NOT serviceable either by the owner or the dealer!!! If it is a clutch that is outside the trans, then you may get lucky, but if it is internal your only choice is to replace the whole thing.....

Get the Foreman 500 with manual trans....next time!

 

Recon, love your replies usually. Typically learn a lot from them. Are you having a bad day? I think your being a little harsh, how was he supposed know all that. Not to mention he may have got it next to nothing due to the existing issues that he new about (at least it reads like you knew about them before your purchase).

Good luck on the repair.

 

Yeah, the hydrostat has to be replaced as a unit, but from what I've seen it is very rare that the hydrostat does not last the life of the ATV- unless you destroy it by running w/o oil or sinking the machine and running it with silt, water and grit in the oil.

The Rubicon really has some strong points. IMHO there isn't a better machine on the market if you wanted to disk a field, drag logs, plow really heavy, or tow a big honkin trailer. The hydrostat really excels at tasks like that which require extended periods of high torque, low speed operation.

A while back there was a guy who had gotten a Foreman to pull a chisel/harrow type thing, and it would immediately overheat. Dealer checked it over and found nothing wrong. I suspect he was pulling hard enough at a speed so low that the centrifugal clutch was constantly slipping, and I think the oil temp went instantly from below the threshold to turn the fan on, to above the temp to kick the warning light on.

I suggested installing a fan over ride switch, so he could have the fan on before he started pulling. The machine was new, though, and he didn't want to modify it for warranty reasons. Since he had it such a short time, the dealer traded him into a Rubicon, which worked fine.

The Foreman is a great work machine, but some people prefer an automatic, some tasks require increasing speed with no dips in power, and it's liquid cooling plus its 5+ quart oil capacity give the Rubicon the advantage for some people, for some uses...

JMHO.


Getting back on topic (helping Kiwi with his problem), the centrifugal clutch can be serviced w/o taking the engine out of the frame. A special puller is required, however.

If you attempt to do it yourself, you will need a factory manual, and maybe if you are a regular customer at the local dealership, if you trailer your bike in with the front cover held by a couple of bolts they might let you have the puller for a minute, or a mechanic might actually pull it really quick if you come in with it ready to go. (In that case, a tip would be in order, or maybe show up with a box of doughnuts the next morning).

Naturally, if they go out of their way to help you like that, IMHO it would be rude not to buy the parts needed from them.

If you decide to let the dealer do it, hopefully it wouldn't be too much labor...

Good luck with it, and let us know how it turns out.

Jeff

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: Turfguy

Recon, love your replies usually. Typically learn a lot from them. Are you having a bad day? I think your being a little harsh, how was he supposed know all that. Not to mention he may have got it next to nothing due to the existing issues that he new about (at least it reads like you knew about them before your purchase).



Good luck on the repair.</end quote></div>

....by posting about his intended purchase before he pays his money!

 

Sounds like centrifugal clutch & sprag bearing troubles ..

 

Recon,

I can't argue that, I was just saying that you usually have more informative answers. It was a compliment to you normal contributions.

TG

 

Thanks for your replies. A big help. The bike owes me nothing so its worth sinking some money into it. A shop manual sounds like a good first step. Our local honda dealer unfortunatly sux so I try to steer clear of them if I can.
At least I know what im in for now. Thanks

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: kiwidesign79

Thanks for your replies. A big help. The bike owes me nothing so its worth sinking some money into it. A shop manual sounds like a good first step. Our local honda dealer unfortunatly sux so I try to steer clear of them if I can.

At least I know what im in for now. Thanks</end quote></div>

This just isn't a good choice for a "project" quad! Honda came up with a needlessly complex solution, with this transmission.