Hi,
I find I get stuck in the mud and the deep snow a lot, and I'll put it in reverse and the tires spin then put it in forward and spin really fast then back in reverse and back and forth until either it gets out or I give up and use the winch. Is this bad for the ATV? If so which parts should I check for wear?

Thanks,

 

Kind of depends on the quad. Some have CVT automatic transmissions like a snowmobile. Some have a semi-automatic with a foot shifter, and some are true manuals where you have to use a clutch lever to shift. On all of them, you want to avoid going between reverse and forward if the wheels are still spinning. Let them come to a stop and then shift. On the CVT, make sure you have the quad in Low. Low cools the belt more than high does as it's spinning faster and cooling the belt. Other than that, I can't see it harming the quad.

On the CVT you could burn out the belt if you're not in low in the deep stuff. On the other types of transmissions you could break the teeth of the sprockets, snap the chain, or mess up the gears in the transmission. I'm probably missing some stuff but others will eventually chime in.

 

My feeling is the differentials and axles on all ATV's are somewhat undersized and if you beat the hell out of them the weakest link will fail. Example, military ww2 Jeep had about 40 hp and my Arctic Cat 500 has 40 hp, ok, at a higher rpm, but, if you compare the two, the atv sure looks a lot lighter duty, but my 30" Mudzilla tires make those old military tires look like a joke. Anyway, something to think about...

 

+1 to what Moose said. Plus, if your spinning it means you don't have any grip. What kindof tires do you have and what is the tread depth like?