I have a '99 bigbear 4X4, I was riding through some deep water today and noticed air bubbles coming from the pull start housing. I then stopped Because I didn't want my electronics to short out, So I then drove it for about a half an hour to make sure it dried out. Would there be anyway to waterproof the pullstart, or do I just have to stay out of deep water. Any input will be apprciated.

 

It's pretty hard to seal completely the manual starter housing, what with the hole for the pull-cord and all . . .

While I'm not familiar with your particular machine, flooding the manual starter housing needn't provoke disastrous consequences; this little chamber is usually isolated from the crankcase (a sealed shaft extends through the case). The greatest hazard probably is water rusting the starter components.

If you soak your starter, drain the housing--it may have a drain plug, or you can back off the screws connecting the starter assembly to the engine case and pry the starter slightly away, letting the water drain.

You may be able to pull the entire starter assembly completely off, allowing you to thoroughly clean, dry and lubricate it before reassembly.

Tree Farmer

 

This is also a problem with Polaris quads if deep water riding is done. A simple trick that may or may not work for you is this:

Pull the rope out and smear "no dry" silicone under the "T" where the seal is made. Also, on a Polaris, there is a small metal ring around the "T" base. I put a small hose clamp around the ring and with the no dry silicone works very well. I've been VERY DEEP in water in the river. All the way up to the TOP of the fenders on my '99 Scrambler 500. If you've ever seen one, you know that's high. The recoil housing was under water for some time. I really did not mean to go that deep because I went left instead of right in the river. Anyway, I got back to the house and checked the drain plug for the recoil housing and it was bone dry. I'd say it was waist high. (I'm 5'11" tall.) On my last Polaris quads, I rode just as deep with no hose clamp and water got in and ruined the starter. I learned quickly. Good luck and post what you decide to do and how good it works! Happy trails...

WillieB - '99 Scrambler 500