Hi all,


I'm having an issue removing the recoil cover on a 94 sportsman 400 in order to fix "something" wrong with the recoil mechanism.


I removed all the bolts holding it on and knocked the cover loose, but cannot clear the frame.


It seems to be hanging on the starter shaft.


My options appear to be either removing the engine (not if I can help it), or cutting the gusset on the frame that the rear foot brake shaft pins on to.


All the results during my Googling have turned up squat, everyone seems to have been able to get the cover off with few issues.


I have a copy of the 85-95 shop manual, but it isn't very specific.


Thanks for looking!

 

Bendix is frozen in the cover bushing.Use some PB Blaster WD40,etc if you can spray at the angle and use a heat gun on the cover inline with the bushing area. This may help free it from the bendix plus a small pry bar can help wiggle the bendix shaft out of the recoil housing enough to be able to get the cover out.

 

I got it, thanks. It turns out I wasn't prying hard enough on the engine to get that last 1/8" of clearance to clear that gusset.

Starter bushing was cracked in half, and the recoil pulley was destroyed, due to a bad kickback while pull starting.

All good now. (Crossing my fingers)

 

Hopefully you replace the cracked bushing or the bendix can just hang up.. If you have

 

I asked my dealer and they said it is not available. I have 3 covers, all have a cracked bushing. Any idea where or if?

 

Dealer was lazy or didn't look. 20 bucks on amazon and ebay. Cheapest I've found is 14 bucks. ALL the Polaris models used the same bushing for recoils and engine cases.3083669 Polaris Bushing, Starter $14.25 - 2WheelPros

 

Yep, replaced the bushing when I did the pulley. Dealer had one in stock for $25. Way more convenient than waiting a week+ for shipping way up here.

Danulsun988, if your bushings are split around the circumference, it's easy to take a sharp chisel and carefully (without scoring the housing) split it along its length, and pry out with a screwdriver.

Reinstall can be done one of 3 ways.

I don't know if it matters, but there are 2 light grooves along one end of the bushing. They faced down.

1. Bushing goes in the freezer for 30 mins, leave the housing in the sun to heat up on a hot day. It should drop right in.

2. Hydraulic press it in.

3. Tap it in with a block of wood as a buffer, or use a mallet/plastic faced dead blow hammer.

Be careful, the bushing seems to be a rather soft/crumbly metal.

 

The next time I have the cover off, I will replace it. The parts department was no help, I should have asked here 1st. a valuable resource for certain. OPT, thank you again.

 

That dealer reminds me of something I heard a long time ago. One guy asks the other, "Are you ignorant or apathetic?" and the other guy answers, "I don't know and I don't care."