Does anyone know any thing about the Front diff. in the 500 02's? Is it still the old ratcheting cone that from what I here doesn't work much better than the "limited grip" diffs. of years past. If so then I believe I would prefer the '01 model because I think they can be modified to lock the the 2X to 4X engagement works. Thanks in advance.

 

RUMOR has it that the '02 diff on the 500's is different than last years, and that it can be modified to a "lock" position, similar to the 300's. Again, that is just a RUMOR, no truth to it yet, as I don't think anybody even has one yet that they've torn apart or looked into. The '01 500 CANNOT be modified to get the "lock" position. It is the same diff as the older '00 auto-which I think may be different than the older manuals, but I'm not certain on that. The deal is, my auto always has 4 wheels pulling, no matter what position it's in. If I get stuck towing logs where they'll hit a stump, stopping me dead in my tracks, I bury myself with 4 holes. Any time I get in a precarious position with 3 wheels on the ground, one in the air, all four are always spinning, pulling me through. GrizRick has seen my 'Cat in action with this very thing happen, when one tire came up in the air, was spinning, my rears were spinning, but was having a hard time climbing. I gave it a little more gas, he said you could actually see the tire on the ground catch and take off, pulling me over. It happens like that all the time, I can't explain it-it works very well, and I find myself in those "one tire in the air" positions quite often.

In all actuallity, the front diff on the 'Cats is better than most of the limited slip units out there-it works quite well in fact. New for '02, again, I don't know for sure what they did, but am very curious to know if the rumors are correct about the modification. If not, the 250 and 300's remain the only models able to be modified for the "true lock" position, from any year.

Best of Luck in the search, after seeing the new '02 improvements, I personally would go for the '02 over the '01, just for the minor details, not to mention the much needed increased ground clearance.

Mike

 

The front diff. is new on the 02s, the disconnect is on the pinion instead of the ring gear. This makes it much easier to engage & disengage even while moving. It does work much smoother than past models. The action of the diff. seems to be just as good as before. Cowboy is right about it being better than limited slip. I can't think of a time when any of my ACs have three wheeled, even with one front wheel off of the ground.
As for locking the front ends my sons 250 is set to where you can have 2wd, 4wd limited slip, and 4wheel lock. The 01s had the same design but was missing some parts to make it work. I don't think that the 02s can be locked with it disengaging on the pinion gear. But I haven't tried it.

 

mudcat heard you had to use 1.5" spacers on your new quad.im having the same problems on the back of mine.im running goodyear mudrunners 26" 12x12 and they rub the back springs real good.ordered wheel spacers from highlifter,but they sent me 16 lugnuts for some guy in new york.reorder see what happens.just wanted to ask you about the factory studs.are they splined and pressed in? was it hard to get them out.how do you like the wheel spacers? thanks guy.

 

Well, I belive he has Durablue EZ-spacers. These include stud EXTENDERS that screw onto your old studs then you press the spacer itself on these extenders.

The HL brand aluminum spacers bolt on like a wheel would and include another set of studs for the wheels to bolt to the spacers. I preffer these, as to many others. I think they are much stronger.

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] The spacers I have are 1.5" Durablue Graphite, they come with stud extenders. You just take wheel off screw extenders on existing studs I used a little Locktite, slide the spacers on over them then the wheel and lug nuts. Takes about 10 min. per side. They work great no rubbing at all, you could get by with 1" spacers or wider offset wheels. The studs on 01 and 02 are pressed in. Highlifter is supposed to have 1" billet aluminum soon but I couldn't wait that long to ride. When you get it lined out you will have to go on a ride with us sometime. We had 19 bikes 4 ACs on the ride sat. night at my house. I think I may be getting Ed talked into coming sometime.

 

Cowboy is absolutely right about how the front dif worked on his 'Cat. The last time we went out riding we found ourselves in many situations where we had one front wheel in the air. While mine would spin helplessly in the air, regardless of how much gas I gave it. Cowboys 'Cat could "slip" one wheel, but all he would do is give'r a little more gas, and the wheel on the ground would "lock" in and pull him through every time. In fact it work so well for him, that I remember this one little area where that wheel on the ground locked in and about pulled him out of the rut, up the hill, and right over on top of him! It was shortly after this ride that I locked my front end. I was totally jealous watching someone ride a quad that have an effective limited slip. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Rick

 

Rick-
Heh heh heh, I almost forgot about that one little mishap there! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] Yeah, that was a steep off-camber deep rut to the left, leaving the right tire in the air, all while making a right turn and avoiding a tree on the left. With that little extra gas there, the left grabbed, pulled strait up, out, and kept climbing for what I didn't think was possible-right up through the air and damn near over backwards on me! heh heh heh. Bet that would have looked cool on video, don't ya think there Rick?

Hey, let me know what dates look good for ya, and if you'd prefer either my property, or elk camp to ride in, we'll work something out. It will be cooler in September for sure-I hate this 100 degree stuff!

Best of Luck,

Mike