I hear people on here refer to the hubs on a scrambler as "auto-locking." But a 4x4 with autolocking hubs as i know it completely disengages the axleshafts from the hub, and when in 2wd, nothing in the front end besides the tires should spin. With my scrambler in 2wd, i looked at the axleshafts and they are still spinning when the bike is moving. This means that either the hubs do not unlock and the rolling tires are still spinning the axleshafts and front driveshaft, or that the front driveshaft on this bike is always engaged and the driveshaft and axleshafts are still receiving power, but only delivers this power when the 4wd is selected and the hubs lock.

So is one of the ways i described the 4wd system above how the system works, or should it be a normal 4wd like a truck with auto-locking or even manual-locking hubs that when put in 2wd and the hubs unlocked, nothing in the front end spins...which would indicate something not operating properly on my quad.

I'm very familiar with the workings of 4x4 systems, as my primary hobby is modified jeeps, so i don't need a whole dissertation on how 4wd systems work, but i'm just trying to understand exactly what's going on with the scrambler 4wd setup so i get to know it better and can recognize problems without taking anything apart first.

Thanks,
-Ron-

 

If you read the 1st couple of pages here it gives a pretty good explanation of the Polaris 4WD.

Polaris 4WD

 

Great article Crawdad. I'm still not 100% clear though on whether or not the front driveshaft and axleshafts should be spinning when in 2wd though. The article didn't mention a word about the transmission or transfercase or whatever you want to call it disengaging the front driveshaft from spinning when 2wd was selected. It did however explain the operation of the auto-locking hubs in 4x4 and 2wd modes very well. So understanding that much, does the front driveshaft disengage at all or is it always rotating with the engine, even in 2wd?

-Ron-

 

The front shafts and prop shaft to the gearbox should not turn when in 2wd. If the system is operating properly they should only turn in auto 4wd when SLIP of the rear wheels is detected. You might have stuck hubs or electrical problem. The hubs disassemble easily and theres not much too them so I would look there first. Good luck!

 

the front shafts should always turn

the front tires will only engage when the front tires spin 1/5 rotation faster than the rear

in other words the front tires are engaded, but are always 1/5 rotation behind the rears,,,,so as long as the rears are getting traction you will not feel the fronts pull (via the shaft)

when the rears slip at least 1/5 rotation, the fronts roll on (hilliard clutch/cam magnet type) engaging the front end.

when the back tires finally get traction, they will catch up and pass the fornt tires (disengaging them, and riding like a 2wd quad)

do a search,,,,this topic has been covered in great detail

the polaris 4wd system is TRUE 4wd (all 4 tires locked in)

 

I know that my front half shafts always turn even in 2wd, if that makes you feel any better[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

Hmmmm... maybe I need to take a closer look at my bike.

 

IMPORTH8R,

front shafts DO turn when in 2wd.

SnowDrift

 

yes they do, I checked mine today. They work just as BBS said, I just never really paid much attention to them. My mistake, sorry if i mislead.