ok
i stopped by a dealer and browsed the microfilm with the top guy. the limited slip units are definitly defferent in the 500 and 300. but....the 500 unit does have the "lock dog thing" already mounted inside. the difference is that the kq and 300 have a "differential lock assemble" mounted on the linkage shaft. it seems to me that we need the fork(to move the lock dog thing, i forgot what it's called exactly) and a few more little pieces to get this thing to be selectable to 4w lock. i had the same problem with customers coming in and couldn't finish with the part #'s. this wasn't even the dealer i bought mine from.
as far as the kq only in super low thing goes, it's a kind of interlock on the shifter and the ac 300 doesn't suffer this problem. as far as we could tell the suzuki 500 quad runner/master has the same diff as the ac 500's. only the ac 400 has a different left hand case and doesn't have the linkage shaft or anything.
so........ i have to look at the part #'s(for the diff lock assembly) more carefully when i get to my dealer. from what the mechanic and i saw today, i can't see why we can't add the missing parts and have the ultimate setup on our 500's. if not the kq and 300 units will bolt up just fine as far as i could tell. i don't know about the axles being the same length but i don't see why they would be different. i'll let you know what i find out. ps he told me they sell a kit to make the ac 250 4x4 into selectable 2wd. i never knew it wasn't. MUDCAT started this whole thing.lol....

 

Excellent Work.....Definitely keep us posted!

Is this research on a 2000 or 2001 AC500??

I have a 2001 AC500 Manual and would definitely like to lock-up the front using this method.

Keep up the good work.

 

You are a good man. If I find that the 300 diff will bolt up to the driveshaft and uses the same axles and all, I will definitely consider changing front ends.

 

i'm not sure when i can get up to my dealer, work kinda got me this week. mudcat is going to pick up his new 500 and will check on it, probably before me. most of the part #'s were the same so i can't see them using different pinion gears. everything on the outside is identical(not 400)i wonder how much a salvaged kq diff costs. i doubt the pieces we need would cost that much, it didn't look like a big deal.

bearhunter
this was on the 2001, but from what i saw it doesn't matter what year or model, the cases are all the same just different guts.

 

The King quad will only lock in Superlow range cause of a pin that is in the shifting levers on the top of the "tank". IF you remove this pin you can use diff lock in any range. Suzuki uses this as a safty feature so you can't use the diff lock at high speeds. ON the Arctic Cat, all you have to do is mess with the 2wd/4wd lever and you can determine if you want 2wd/4wd or 4wd/locker or even 2wd/4wd/locker. You just gotta know how to do it.

I would also like to add that I don't believe the AC 300 and AC 500 have the same front diff. Just buy looking at the from the outside I can see clear differences, then I saw an Arctic Cat video of the 2000 Automatic's front diff and it was NOTHING like the Diff from an AC 300 that was pictured in disassembally in my service manual.

 

Badhabits,
I have a 99 300 4X4. I moved the linkage to get 2, 4limited slip and 4true. It works fine in super low, low or high. There is no reason that the transmission would have anything to do with the differential locking. My dealer told me that he thought that the kingquad was set up to only work in low. He told me just to be careful if using this in high, that something could get in a bind and pop if I was in high and cutting the front wheels hard. Other than that he said he couldn't see any problem with this. I have only needed to use this when in a bind, but it really comes in good then. It is extremely hard to make tight turns when the front is locked. Hope this helps.

 

i understand that the 454's, older 500's and 400's have the same front diff. the kq and 300 have the same. the 2000 500's and 2001 500's have the same CASES as the 300. the slip units are different but the bolts and linkage are the same. internally they share some of the same components(part #'s are the same). the 500's have the "lock" mounted on the left side shaft. it doesn't have the parts to move it though.

 

I have had my 98 300 4x4 locked all winter. In the snow and ice I can't tell any difference in the steering; on cement I can't turn it at all. Yesterday I tried to ride without the locker and I got stuck every 30-40 feet. I cant imagine not having a locker. This thing just rips through the deep snow.

 

I have a 2001 500 auto. I tried the test with 3 wheels off the ground today. I was disappointed that the front wheel off the ground just spun. When I blip the throttle, the machine surges forward just a touch and then the raised front wheel spins. But, I found that if I just lightly touched the raised front tire with my fingertip, that little bit of pressure is enough to cause power to go to the tire still on the ground, and the machine came right off the jacks. For what it's worth.

 

that first dealer i went to is such an idiot. today i went to MY dealer and saw the correct microfiches. no wonder i didn't buy my cat at that place.

1. '00 and '01 limited slips same part #
2. kq,250/300, '00 auto and all '01 500 have same left hand case and linkage setup.(thats why i have 3 positions)
3. kq/300 have totally different guts than 500's
4. 300 and 500 have different part # for left case. tail shaft length is different.
5. width is the same. bolts are the same, different length. 300 is longer and hooks to drive shaft differently. it will bolt into a 500 but you would have to fabricate a different drive shaft end. axels would work from a 300 from what i measured. looked to good to be true, i should have watched the fiches more carefully. thats probably why that dealer is hard to work with from what i'm told. the 300 differential as a whole unit costs around $800. hahaha. doubt that's worth it. this seemed like a good mod but it depends on the people you deal with to get proper info. oh well, it was worth the look see. now i know why i'm happy with my dealer.