My "02 Prairie 650 started making noise from the drive pulley area. Sounded like a rock or a piece of metal bouncing around in the drive pulley. I removed the drive pulley and could not find any thing. Took it to my dealer which is something I rarely do. He says it still makes the noise with the drive pulley off. He stays its a engine bearing went bad and the engine needs torn apart!! I did not lose any performance with it like this and have rode it 3- 4 times while it made this noise.
Questions:
1. Does this sound like an accurate diagnosis?
2. What caused the bearing to go bad and could I have prevented it? I have changed my oil excessively.
3. Will Kawasaki extended warrenty cover this? I have made mods such as pipe, jetting, holeshot mod, ect. Mechanic stated "hopefully" when asked about the coverage.

This problem is way beyond my capabilities. Never was much of a mechanic infact my quad is my first attempts at mechanical work. Must have cursed myself, last week I said what a waste of money the extended warrenty was cause I have never used it.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated,
Haynes

 

It could be a drive pulley shoe. Does it go away when you move forward? If it does, it is normal. If not the shoes or bushing could still be bad. But you might consider getting a stethoscope a do some listening. If the engine has a prob, then tear it down and look for bad stuff.

Most often the drive pulley bushing or shoes make these noises. Not a big deal.

 

Would the drive pulley bushings still make this noise if the drive pulley is removed?

 

Oops, I missed that. Yeah, if he is telling you the truth that he ran it w/o the pulley and it made all that raquet then it is probably a rod bearing or wrist pin.

Just a note, a bottom end problem like that would most often sound just about exactly as loud on the left side as the right. Usually it is the rods and not the crank.

Looks like you may have to get it fixed. Just make sure you aren't getting the wool pull over eyes.

 

Wouldn't I have some performance issues if I had a bearing gone bad? Only notice the sound on the side of the drive pulley.

 

The noise you decribe doesn't sound like a bearing. Does it happen at all RPM's? Is it a repetitive noise or is it as you described, irregular and uneven?

 

Have you listened to it with the pulley off?

If it was a crank, rod, or piston sound it would not really affect performance, but it would clank differently depending on the throttle.

Take the belt cover off and take a look at the pulley. I think they are messing with you. If your ears say it is only coming from the right side by the pulley, then it probably isn't inside the crankcase.

 

I wonder if the engine brake control lever is past its service limit? Im just tossing around ideas. Thats something I need to measure on mine tomorrow when I measure the belt.

 

The sound is irregular. It sounds like a rock tumbling and on occasion will stop for a short period but is there most of the time. I'm going to stop there on the way home from work today to hear it with the pulley off. All replies greatly appreciated.

 

Well, good luck with it. I hope you get it figured out and its not an expensive fix.