so i'm a new atv owner. i have a 2001 300 4x4 with the automatic trans.
it's a fixer upper, and i've been working on it for the better part of this summer.
finally got it running good enough to attempt a simple trail, and would you believe it, i hit a rock on the main trail and it hit the gear shifter assembly. it will only go into reverse now.
i wasn't going fast, as it got dark on me real quick, so i was moving in 1st gear and only doing about 2mph.
it got this machine with no owners manual, and unfortunately where i live has no arctic cat dealer/repair shops within 100 miles.
i'm gonna get help towing it off the trail back to the house, but need your guidance on how to tackle this repair so it will get all forward gears again.
any insight woudl be appreciated

 

Welcome and to clarify,I don't remember an arctic cat 300 being automatic,you sure its not a 400? The 400s and up had automatic transmissions. Also,you said you were in 1st gear,which means its a manual transmission. confusing me! First id check to see if somethings bent. Im not sure on how the design of the shifter is though either. On a 2001 i think the shift rod from the lever goes to an axle that goes into the transmission and has splines on it,maybe it got stripped somehow. Kinda hard to explain.Or have someone pull you back over the rock and see if it knocks it back in! just kidding. I really have no idea without seeing it in front of me. good luck

 

I think he means an automatic clutch but manual shift?

I am pretty sure the 2001 300's had a foot shift lever (the heel toe kind) that connects to a cable that actually does the shifting. Sounds to me like hitting the rock either stretched or broke the cable somehow.Causing you to loose all forward gears.

So I would start by checking the cable that the foot shifter connects to to see what is going on with it. The reason you only have reverse is it is its own shift lever and separate cable.

You can do an internet search for parts and look at a parts diagram for your machine to a better idea of the parts and how it goes together (and comes a part).

Also, for clarification I believe your machine has an automatic clutch but for all other purposes is considered a manual shift if it has the foot shift lever. A fully automatic ATV is pretty much just like an automatic car.

Hope this helps,

Swampy

 

Welcome to the forums.

Like Swampy mentioned, here's a site you can look at the microfiche parts breakdown.

 

Thanks to everyone for the helpful comments.

You're all correct, it is a auto clutch-manual shift, just as you described. It has a heel/toe shifter on the left.

We managed to get it out of the woods and down several logging trails and off the mountain, down the road and back into the garage in the pouring down rain...all in reverse. Wasn't easy but it's done. I'll be back in touch once I've done some troubleshooting of the shft linkage and possibly the shifter spline that enters the body.

 

I suppose I should ask you kind folks to help point me in the direction of the nearest reputable repair shop or online parts store that doesn't overcharge for shipping. Arctic Cat had one in St. Albans, VT, but they went belly up over the winter. I live near Georgia/Milton, VT and the nearest dealer is in Middlebury.

Kinda hard to get parts local now that the dealer north of be is out of biz.

 

Oh man,Sorry, i was thinking of the actual forward/reverse lever that was broke,not the foot shifter. well it all makes sense now.LOL

 

Well, the toe/heel rocker arm type shifter was moved around when the machine hit the rock. I managed to take it apart and straighten everything out and the linkage is now in the correct position...all is working well.

Onto another point. I need to find a owner/user manual. I now know by the VIN that the ATV is a 2000 AC 300 4X$, not an '01 as I originally posted.

I'm in need of a user manual because I don't quite understand the Hi/Lo gears from the transmission, and I'm suspecting that part of the other trouble I'm having is stemming from this other linkage.

Any thoughts?