Gimpster, I tried what you said and it did exactly as you said it would. This procedure got me into 2nd gear, but then I still couldn't get into 3rd so I repeated this again to get into 3rd, but this time even without still holding the brakes the bike does not try to move at all untill I let the shifter down. It revs up high like in nuetral but stays still as long as I hold the shifter up. Then I had to do it again to get into 4th. 5th gear is always fine. Every turn that I came to, I came to a complete stop, downshifted back to nuetral and tried again, same problem all over again. After about 10 minutes of riding it started shifting fine. It seems for some reason, it just won't shift properly for the first few minutes that I try to ride. It's been this way except for the first month that I had it, then the problem started to happen more often, now it's all the time. Maybe I just have a lemon. At least I know a little more about it now. Still, I really thank you.

 

hey racherdude you should get that checked out again before you warrenty runs out if it keeps getting worse and starts doing it all the time... my polaris was having a clutch problem that the dealer told me it was normal so i went home took out my clutch and brought it to the dealership and SHOWED him the bearings where bad... all in all take it there and bother the dealer until he said hell ill give you a new clutch so you stop bothering him... sence you said its getting worse it may do it when you are at the dealer now

 

Polaris500HO4x4, Your right I should go back. I just hate to be a pain in the #$&. I just know he's waiting for my warranty to expire so he can charge me for the repair. I'm going to call Honda and complain and see if they can do something. I just found out today that the dealer was supposed to send my information to the DMV for me to recieve a Registration/sticker but didn't do it. I've been riding around for 5 months without it, not knowing. Sounds like I chose the right place to do business, huh? Thanks for the advice bud.

 

I have had my 05 Rancher 400 AT for about 3 months now and havent had a bit of problems other than getting used to the tranny. It took me awhile to figure out when climbing steep hills that I need to be in ESP mode. In automatic mode it seemed wheel spin lead to up shifting while going up hill and cause loss of momentum....other than that it has been great......I go everywhere my buddies go and they ride grizzlys and kodiaks

 

05rancherdude---


Here is my thoughts on clutches sticking .... HEAT

The clutch pack is a multiple disc pack, friction discs and steel discs. When a friction disc sticks to a steel disc, it disables the total working capabilities of the clutch. This has been going on since these clutches were ever installed in a motor. I first ran into it on a Honda Scrambler back in the late '60's. The clutch was stuck. I had to put the front wheel of the bike against a building, and give it throttle with the clutch held in to break it loose. ( Or break my neck if it went over backwards, LOL ) Heat cooks oil and fries these clutch discs together. When a unit us rode or worked hard, and turned off while hot, this will happen. The improper oil in the unit can help this also. Some additives will make the clutch slip and get hot. Or the additives within the oil will fry the discs when hot. Most Utility Honda ATVs have oil coolers for a reason, cool the oil. But many do not have fans on the coolers or the fans will not work for some reason or other. The oil cooler will help keep the engine cool, but does not have the same effect as a liquid cooled radiator. You must keep the oil cool to promote clutch life. Take a look at the new 500 Foreman, 2 oil coolers.... Now that is set up to take the abuse, LOL. I can only suggest that the next time you pull your buddy out of the mud, or climb a long hill with a load, etc... let your Quad idle and cool down before turning it off. Example --- If I run a 20 lap feature with my Legends Car, pull in the pits and turn the car off, an hour later I go to load the car and the clutch will not disengage, and I have to "unstick it". If I run the same race and pull in the pits and run the oil cooler fan while the car idles for 10 minutes, the oil temp will drop from 310 degrees to 190 degrees in the time period. And I have no clutch sticking problems, when I go to load the car and go home.

Anyway, let me know what the outcome is on your wheeler......

----- Gimp -----

 

I've found nearly all the Honda's with automatic clutches will stick briefly until they're moved a bit. Usually only takes about 20 to 50 yards though. If the idle speed is too high (ie. the choke is on), it will make your machine shift harder. You should make sure also that your dealer has inspected the clutch adjustment. It's possible you have a trans linkage problem going on. If so, it will get much worse drastically. It's really hard to say without being able to ride the machine. It may in fact be normal. If you have had it in to the dealer for this very issue, save your copy of the repair order. It's likely that Honda would cover this for you anyway, even if your a ways out of warranty, as it's an existing problem. That is, if you're dealer is willing to simply make the call to them and authorize it. If you feel your dealer is giving you the brush off...try another one.

 

Thanks again Gimpster, I was talking to my boss a couple of days ago( he's been having 4wheelers since the 80's) and he told me that I can buy a cooling fan for my oil cooler and showed me the mounting holes for it. The reason I asked about it overheating was because I just installed a Warn wench and it's mounting plate kind of sits up high and blocks the natural air flow to my oil cooler. I was worried about the engine overheating but never imagined that it could cause a problem like this to become worse also. As soon as I locate one I will install it and hopefully it will help my problem. I plan on taking it to another dealer and having it checked out again. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions and helping me with my problem. I feel better just knowing more about it. I'd like to apologize to all for being on the wrong thread in the first place, when I replied to Mudrunnin's inquiry on Rancher AT's I didn't realize that was a 400 and not a 350. My bad.

 

Dzzy, maybe I can explain it better now. When I say it won't shift, I can't lift the foot shifter up with my foot at all. Almost like something is preventing it from moving up. Like Gimpster told me, when you lift the shifter up it is in clutch mode, only I am not able to lift it up to get it in clutch mode in the fist place. If I keep lifting up with my foot over and over, eventually the shifter will go all the way up so I can change gears, but I end up slowing way down in the process and I have to speed back up and try to shift again. I usually have to do this 2 or 3 times to get into each gear. 1st gear, 5th gear and reverse are never a problem at all, only 2nd, 3rd and sometimes 4th is where I have problems. I do have a couple of friends that tell me this is rather common on 4 wheelers and even on the old 3 wheelers. This is my first time owning either one so I have nothing to compare it to. Other friends tell me this is not normal at all. I will take your advice and see another dealer about it though. Thanks.

 

Ok, seems like there are alot of Rancher owners here. I got a question on mine.(Ranches 400 at 4x4) I just traded for it a wekk ago. It starts out ok in auto from a dead start and shifts fine. But when i slow down , near 5 mph or so, and try to speed up, it just seems like it is slipping. But if you let it almost come to a stop, you can hear it go into first, then it is ok and goes fine. Is it normal for it to act this way? It's like it does not want to downshift to first at this speed. I can give it gas, but it just does not want to get going. it has about 1200 miles on it, and it's a 2004.

 

have u changed the oil recently... hows the oil level