Just purchased a 2000 polaris sportsman 500 and getting ready to do the first service (which I am going to have my dealer perform to keep my warranty updated ) . My question is does any- body know how many grease fitting are on these machines??? getting ready to put my monster to the TEST after I get it back this weekend!!!!!!!!!
I've counted 23 so far
CAN'T WAIT TO TEST
COOKIE

I think that there should be 24 grease fittings.

14 for the rear suspension
3 for the drive shaft it the front differential
1 stearring column
6 for the front swing arm, and u-joint

those are all I can count but not 100% sure because I have a 97 SP 500, and you have a differnt drive train.

Muddog

You don't have to do a post delivery check to keep your machine in warranty! Dont fall for that $100 to $200 charge to keep your machine in warranty, It's a bogus charge.

CHOPPER come back at me I'm in GREELEY.CM

Cookiemonster,

Here is a copy of an earlier post that I made. This list agrees with the zerks illustrated in the Polaris Sportsman Service Manual.

"Here are the zerks that I have found on my '98. This list agrees with my Sportsman 335/500 service manual.
2 - L&R front lower ball joints
2 - L&R outer tie rod ends (not greasable on some)
2 - L&R inner part of front control arms
2 - L&R front inner U joints
1 - lower steering post
1 - upper steering post (I have yet to find it!)
1 - u joint at prop shaft leading to front
1 - u joint midway on prop shaft (under recoil)
1 - yoke joint in prop shaft (also under recoil)
1 - foot brake pedal pivot point
6 - L&R rear lower control arms (2 outer, 1 inner)
6 - L&R rear upper control arms (1 outer, 2 inner)
2 - L&R ends of rear anti-roll bar
2 - L&R rear inner u joints ('98 and older only)
2 - L&R rear outer u joints ('98 and older only)

This totals 32 zerks on my '98! The newer '99s and 00's should have 6 less, totalling 26. The newer units do not have greasable outer tie rod ends (less 2 zerks), and they have dual CV joints instead of u joints on the rear drive shafts (less 4 zerks).

The inner tie rod ends on the front of my '98 do not have zerks. They have rubber boots that I force grease into with a needle.

Polaris warns that 3 pumps maximum should be used in the prop shaft yoke.

Polaris recomments that the u joints are filled until fresh grease is expelled from all 4 sections of each joint. This way all water and dirt should be expelled.

Greasing is relatively quick once you figure out how to access all of the zerks."

Hope this helps,

DJ

My 97 Explorer 500 4x4 has about 34 grease fittings..... some of them being pretty hard to find and apply grease to. You have to get the machine high enough to get your head under it to see what you're doing. Then have to rotate the rear wheels enough to bring each u joint and drive shaft fitting in view. It takes me about 2 hours to do it while being careful to wipe fittings clean before applying grease. A lot of trouble.

The upper steering post Zerk fitting is below the headlight pod. Click HERE for photo. Click on the picture to zoom in.

I can grease my whole quad in about a 1/2 hour. I don't even bother jacking it up anymore,as I found ways to get to all of them. Just wash machine real good before starting.

Does anyone have a good list like this for a 2000 Explorer 400?

Prospector,

Excellent photo. Thanks for the info.

For future reference can you give us the short lesson in attaching a photo as you did. Have never done this but it is very useful when helping someone. I have the digicam. The zooming feature was excellent. How did you achieve this?

Thanks,

DJ