I was riding my 2002 Trail Boss 325 the other day and suddenly on deceleration I hear a rattling noise coming from the chain side of the transmission. So I tighten the chain up thinking it may be a little loose. The chain however is not the issue. It still continues to rattle only while letting off. Plus while trying to figure it out where it was coming from one time it was hard to shift out of gear into neutral. It does not do it while in neutral and revving. Plus it does not seem to do it in reverse.

Could my transmission be going out?

Has anyone had this happen before and what was it?

 

Check the bolt and nut on the chain guard. If it's too loose this could be the rattling noise you're hearing. Just check too that the shift linkage is tight on the shift lever and the transmission shift lever(belcrank) is tight. If it's hard to shift just that one time I wouldn't worry about it,but make sure you keep the transmission fluid changed regularly with Polaris AGL. Plus usually not a clutch problem that causes hard shifting on the Trail Boss unless you have the wrong belt on it causing the rear clutch to spin too fast or the idle is too high. This can cause hard shifting. OPT

 

Thanks for the reply, chain guard bolt is tight, and so is the shift linkage.
The fluid however probably needs to be changed. I doubt that changing the fluid at this point will make the sound go away though. I put it up in the air and could not replicate the noise I guess it will only happen when wheels are on the ground. Now when putting it in gear then giving it a little gas to take off it clunks, then goes. Then letting off makes it rattle quite a bit. Sounds like it is getting worse,and like a loose chain to me however that is tight. I believe the transmission probably needs to be rebuilt or replaced at this point really not sure. Do you think changing the fluid will make that big of a difference at this point?

 

If you've ruled out the chain,sprockets or chain guard as the noise,then possibly it could be the silent chain in the the tranny may have stretched.Plus not a bad idea to jack it up and check the swing arm for any side to side bushing play or play on the rear drive shaft and bearings. Could be this is the problem. Normal for the Trail Boss to clunk into gear. Almost all of em do. OPT