Hey everybody! New user here. I recently purchased a pre-owned 2000 sportsman 500 which needs a little work. I wasn't shammed or anything, I knew I was getting a fixer and the price was too good to pass. I was told it needed a new prop shaft seal and/or transfer case. The machine itself runs fine, reverse and 4x4 work, except a not so great grinding noise due to no tranny fluid, i.e. the bad seal. Just wondering if I should replace the whole transfer case to save potential problems down the road and what it all entails. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Looking forward to getting the new toy up and in the mud!

 

Welcome to the forums.This model has the ring and pinion gear,bearings and seals,doesn't have the awd system like the later models. It may not be as damaged as you think but you need to tear it down to find out.If the ring and pinion are still in good shape,cheaper to repair it then to pay almost $900 for a new one.

 

Thanks for the quick reply! Gonna be breaking ground on the tear down in about a week to see what's what. I'll definitely post updates!

 

Bit of a late update, had to go through surgery so I was out of commission for a while. Ended up pulling the transmission and found that every bearing was bad. Whoever changed the propshaft seal last didnt get it on properly so water got into the tranny and ruined em all. With having all new bearings pushed off and and back on, I'm only out $350. Definitely still in the green on this purchase. Got the tranny put back together last night and today it goes back on the wheeler. Gonna be ready for ridin by tomorrow!

 

Hoping that it was just bearings and seals on the front diff. $350 is a heck of a lot better than $900.. Hopefully no problems on the hub bearings,coil and armature plates.

 

Front diff was fine, no problems there, it was in the transmission case itself. Went through and looked at /cleaned everything else im there while we had it apart and all looks good. Going to run it for a day then swap out fluid again to make sure all the old gunk is out for good.

 

Sorry,was brain dead I guess...thinking about the front diff.. Same goes for the gear case,350 bucks is cheap compared to a used one that you'd probably have to go through also. A new one is nla and super expensive even if they were available..

 

Yea I'd say I got off easy. Just lucky I have a buddy who knows his way around these things, otherwise it would have been much worse 😅