My daughter has an 2008 Outlaw 90. When we bought it, the gear that the starter engages was missing a few teeth so I purchased a new one. The starter was also replaced because it was dragging. Now, less than 5 trips later, the gear is stripped out again!! What gives?

Im including some pictures. In the picture with everything still assembled, it looks to me as if they are not engaging each other enough. Is it possible that the shaft that the gear rides on could be bent? It doesn't appear to be, but that's the only thing I could think of that could be causing this repeat problem.

Any help is appreciated! Thank You!!!!

 

Is it possible that the starter is shifting as it cranks the engine, in the pic it look like the case is cracked. I had this problem with an old truck ones. The bell housing was cracked and as the starter would spin it would shift and broke a few teeth off the fly wheel. Or the holes for the starter bolts might be wallered out. I would try starting it with out fuel and watch the start to see if it moves any.

 

Is what you're seeing as a crack, the turquoise part? If so that's just the ripped gasket.

I will check the movement on the starter though. Thanks!

 

Other possibilities include too much strain caused by the clutch dragging, so it is effectively trying to start "in gear". Or the ignition timing out, this gives a nasty kick back to the starter, as anyone who has tried to start a vintage motorcycle with the advance-retard mechanism set wrong, will tell you.

 

Yeah I the gasket, it looked like a crack. Merryman makes a good point too.

 

How do I check the ignition timing on these things?

I know cars, but haven't messed with ATV 's all that much.

 

Timing isn't adjustable,but see if this cheap manual can help on the gear problem. These were soft metal gears but it shouldn't be doing this.2008 Polaris Outlaw 90 Service Manual PDF Download

 

I have the factory service manual, but thank you!

I used that when installing it and nothing seemed amiss. At $30 a gear I'd hate for it to keep doing that!

The main fuse keeps blowing, but it doesn't blow DURING starting, so I'm assuming that's a separate issue, maybe a bare wire somewhere.

 

The CDI does control the spark timing but it is unusual for it to be out. Most likely cause of slipped timing, broken or loose flywheel key.

 

I’m curious if you ever resolved this starter gear issue. I am on my third gear and can’t figure out what gives. To me it seems like the clutch spins free and does not drag during cranking but the engine does kick back and that is what initially damages the gear and then progressively gets worse the more you use it. I talked to the local Polaris dealer and they “have never heard of this issue”. Yeah right. Thanks