I recently purchased a used 2004 Honda Foreman S. Seller advised me that 4-wheel drive did not work and was not sure what the issue was. All else was opertating.

I fueled it up, checked oil (good) and took it out twice (both times out were flat ground, dry and less than 30 mph). The second time out I had it running about 15 minutes. After slowing and shifting down, the machine came to a stop upbruptly and would not move. I shifted to neutral and back up to first with no reponse in any of the gears - including reverse.

I ended up towing it to the barn and after closer inspection, I found the front drive shaft was rotating as normal but the wheels had no power - at all.

I am assuming the front differential gears are bad??? But I heard NO NOISE and i am not seeing any fluids from the seals or other. Before I haul this to a garage I am trying to get some advice prior to pulling off more than what I need to.

This is my first ATV and I have zero mechanical knowledge of them.

 

You may have two different faults. The seller told you the front drive didn't work so it should come as no surprise that you can rotate the front wheels as they are no longer coupled to the engine. The most usual cause is the coupling between the diff and the front prop shaft, the splines wear out and the front wheels can rotate independently of the rear ones. However this doesn't explain why the bike locked up, this can indicate a more serious problem with the transmission, so your front diff could be shot. A lot of lift in the front prop shaft where it goes into the diff, indicates worn pinion bearings. Unless you are a very skilled mechanic, rebuilding the diff is out, but removing it and replacing with a new or s/hand unit is not too difficult.

 

Great advice by merryman.

As for the poll, any used machine is only as good as the previous owner. Name brand machines will fall apart if not cared for properly. Cheap chinese ones can stay running for a long time with good care and and nice set of tools.

 

I will not respond to the poll because as Scooter said, a used quad is only as reliable as the previous owner.
I wonder why you bought a quad with mechanical issues when you have no mechanical ability.
Hauling the quad to a shop to have it worked on can be very expensive.
Good luck with it.

 

I get the front diff has a issue but why are the rear wheels not turning ? I seen 4wd with bad front diff but you can ride them in 2wd all day long. Its a 2004 I think by then Honda had selectable 2wd/4wd not full time 4wd.

I buy used all the time and all I look for is it is ready to ride and looks mint and the seller is older then my dad. Never failed yet.

I have seen 2000 ATVs that looked and ran great and I seen 2010 ATVs that would be lucky to make it out of the yard.

You what Dr smith ATV that goes to the cottage once every other week not Billy Bobs beer hauling mud runner.

 

Yeah, buying a machine with known mechanical problems is undoubtedly going to result in spending more $$$ down the road. Honda's have a great reputation for reliability but every machine has its breaking point. And maybe you really can't blame this current owner, the damage may have been done before they even bought it and instead of fixing it, they just decided to sell it and cut their losses. I can only hope that you didn't pay much for it because its most likely about to get a lot more expensive. I've bought a older quads before that needed work but they were really cheap, like in the $500 range. I didn't mind spending a little on them to get them in good running condition. As for the selectible 2wd/4wd, I thought by 2004 at least Foreman models had it. I'm pretty sure all 350 Ranchers were full time 4wd and they were built until 2006, with the 420 coming out in 2007 and having selectible 4wd. Being full time 4wd puts extra wear on the front differential and I can imagine a lot of these older machines with it needing work. Manufacturers finally figured out that making it selectible like Polaris was the way to go, some took longer than others though and Honda apparently was one of them.

 

Thanks all, I will follow up later. I purchased the machine for $800, a good prince in my thought, at the time, the only thing wrong was the 4x4 didnt work...started right up, plastics great, tires good, sounded good, test drove good..

 

UPDATE
I can start it up, shift in to gears, and the speedometer reads a speed (machine not moving)?? The front drive shaft still turns with throttling, no movement from tires.

There is only movement in the front drive shaft and machine is in 2WD. When it is selected to 4WD niether of the shafts move...

I realize there may be two problems (1) front & (2) rear. I would like to get the rear drive working at minimum for now and then later down the road get the front.

I lost my job shortly after purchasing so I have been trying to repair/diagnose a little at a time.

 

you are correct, it is in 2WD selection, but in this mode, the front wheels are moving, not the rear (???)
When I place it in 4WD, the green light lights up but I get no other response from the machine.

 

The 400 auto was selectable 4WD the 350s were permanent 4WD. I assumed you had a 350. There are lots of electronic reasons why the autos won't go in 4WD.

Reasons for the rear end not working include broken universal joint in that rubber boot just behind the engine, rear axle splines gone, or diff breaking up. Remove the rear diff filler cap, jack the rear end up and spin the rear wheels, in gear, engine off, shine a light down the filler hole and if the crown wheel is going round, it isn't the shaft. You may see broken teeth indicating diff failure or a grinding sound from either the diff or UJ area indicating where the fault is. If you don't, take the big clip off the rubber boot, slide it back and take a look at the UJ.