I have come upon a deal for a 1996 Polaris Scrambler 4x4 for $600.00. But the catches are that it is hard to get into reverse and will not go into forward...guy says the synchros are bad, but I dont know. Needs rear brakes. Electric start is broke but manual works. And 4 wheel drive has been disengaged.

I know that is a lot of problems but for $600.00 I was thinking that I could possibly build it back up and have an excellent machine.

BTW, TIA for your help. My name is John.

 

John,

Is it a scrambler 500 or 400? What is the overall condition of the bike? If it looks like a piece, then it may not be worth the $600, however, if you parted it out on ebay or something, you could probably make more than the $600. When you say the 4wd is disengaged, that could mean a couple different things such as: the electrical part of it is disconnected (only needs to be reconnected), or all the front drive parts are removed. If they are removed, does the guy still have them all..........because if you go to replace them all with new parts, you are talking big $$. Supposing you don't want 4x4, and the transmission is trashed, you could probably rebuild the tranny for less than $500 (if you're handy with tools). It might not take much at all to get the bike going, but there are alot of questions that need to be answered first. Hope this helps.

Waylan

 

It is a 400. All the parts for 4 wheel drive seem to be there just been made 2 wheel drive to play with I assume. I didnt even think they had synchros in them, but a centrifugal clutch.

It looks good, for a 96 that is. Little dirty and couple scratches but thats about it.

Oh, when it is started it sounds kinda like, you know how when a straight shift is about to go into gear but not all the way, the kind of grind you get, it sounds sorta like that so I was thinking the linkage may ned to be adjusted.

Thanks a bunch for your help.

John

 

John,

The polaris trannies are not synchroed. Polaris uses a couple pulleys and a belt to transfer power from the engine crank to the transmission. The problem could be as simple as too high of an engine idle, or shift linkage adjustment, or shift dog damage. Someone with more knowledge on the transmission (also referred to as a chaincase) would have to comment on the best way to fix it. Since it is a '96, it has the 3 chain setup, and the chains could've been removed to make it 2wd only. In that case, you might get it hooked back up by putting chains back on it, provided everything else is in working order. If you want the electric start to work, it could cost you anywhere from $10 to about $350, I think, depending on what the problem is. It sounds like it might be a good deal if you're mechanically inclined, and don't mind spending some time working on it. Surely someone with more scrambler knowledge will reply.

Waylan

 

I would jump on that deal i gotmy 400 sportsman in about the same shape but i cost me over $1500 to get it lined out and that was doing ALL the work myself but i still have less that 2300 in it and it is sweet.

 

Well, me and a mechanic friend opened her up and it hade some teeth sheared off. So when I told the guy selling it he said he would sell it for $450. I wanted to give hime the cash right on the spot but I just dont have the time to work on it with a full time job, full time college and playing baseball. I really wish I did, I would enjoy building it how I wanted. Thanks for your alls help. You will probably see me floating around asking alot of questions in the near future. Thanks.

BTW, Great website here, defintiely 2 thumbs up.

John