This is the 3rd. time. I am not sure wh with the 1st time it happened Northend Cycle, Beaumont, TX. charged me $1300. to go through linkage and even opened Trany case. I do not believe was neccessary since it happened just after I picked it up the next day. I brought it back to the shop and the mechanic did not tell me what he did, however he freed the jam up within minutes. Now its happened again, any suggestions?

 

Depending on the model (if between 01-04 and sometimes earlier models) the shift boxes along with the linkage ends will wear and can cause you to lock in gear (hydrolock for lack of a better word) I deal with this a lot. I usually can adjust the linkage to where it doesnt bind up along with changing fluid in gear box,BUT like the 04 I had recently the shift box internals were worn too much to justify repairing at our shop. Customer ordered new shift box and shifts great . He had even tried to replace some of the worn internal parts himself and realized cheaper to replace counting his time,frustration and parts. This might be your problem, especially if you have a lot of play in the gear box shifter that replacing just the linkage ends wont make that much difference. I believe that why the new transmissions and shifter go in a straight line from park to Hi range and eliminate the old shift boxes altogether. OPT

 

Since you mention it being a common trait on the 04's this one is an 03 and you say its possible to replace entire shift gearbox? Where can I order the entire assembly? I was told by local polaris Dealer the parts are all that are available.

 

# 1341271 shifter assembly.

 

Prorider, thanks for your reply, do you know if the problem with jammed shift lever could be caused when I set the lever in Low to help keep it from rolling off the trailer when towing? In other woeds should I leave gear in Neutral when engine is off and does it matter about shifting into any gear with shift lever when engine is off?

 

Leaving in gear should not cause the problem. Most people do when we load em up. OPT

 

Great, I appreciate you taking the time for me OPT.
drewpolk

 

I have an '03 500SP and had the same issue a couple years ago with the linkage "jamming" up. On my machine, the bracket that the shifter assembly mounts to had broken away from the frame on one side. This allowed the shifter assembly to move/flex slightly and the end result was it would sometimes not fully come out of one gear and then lock up when I selected a different position (jammed in two gears at once). Once I found the problem, it took me about ten minutes with the mig welder to fix 'er up. Once you remove the side panel, thoroughly inspect all the welds between the bracket and the frame.