Ok I have a 2000 Scrambler 500 4 x 4, It took an pretty nasty rollover and landed on the left front wheel, I noticed the wheel wobble some and thought it was the rim but upon jacking up quad so all wheels can free spin. I left it in 2 wd so therefore the rear wheel spin and the front shafts spin but the front wheels dont and that when I noticed that the wheel wobbled in and out and it was not spinning so that elimanated the bent wheel theroy and had to be something like bearings or cv joint or bent shaft, Right. Anyway I have rode the qaud for several months and have learned to live with the slight wobble but then the wheel started making a popping sound and the 4x4 on the side quit. So I took the hub cover off front and removed hub from spindle and ooohhhh BOY What a mess inside there. The inside bearing is busted and and all broke up the outside is locked up and it just looks like all the bearings are really gone. Now here is the question could the wreck bent a bearing and then it wore out or is the cv joint bent causing the bearing to fail. How do u check the cv joint and shaft. It looks like this thing is gonna cost some money and be a real beast to put back together. Any suggestions. Is that why the 4x4 on that side quit or are there more problems somewhere? Thanks in advance

 

Well, the load of the machine is on those bearings. So you very well could have damaged one of those bearings. It would take a heck of an impact to bent the spindle shaft. The bad bearings very well could have caused the armature plate to get stuck or the hillard clutch to get screwed up. Take the hub apart and replace the bearings for sure. You are probably going to have to replace the inner and outer seals on the hub as well, or you may find a nice puddle in your rim later on. Check the hillard clutch over very carefully. This is when the service manual comes in handy. Put it all back together and see if it still wobbles. If it does then it is probably a bent cv joint. This is when it gets expensive. If in doubt, remove the hillard clutch and cv joint and take them to your dealer for inspection. I don't really know of any way to check for a bent cv joint other than an obvious visual inspection. Wish I could help more on this

 

BigBad... Can you shed some light on hub fluid for a scrammy. I'm showing my ignorance here but how do I check my hub fluid and know I have the right amount? Also what type fluid would you recomend using? I've been riding pretty aggressive for about six months so I think it's time to check the hub fluid.

 

The hub fluid seems to get dirty rather quickly. SO I change it about twice a year. It is recommended to be changed every 100 hours. If you don't want to use the Polaris hub fluid you can use a ATF type F fluid. Or Mobil 1 synthetic ATF. I use the Mobil 1 cuz I really like Mobil 1 and it does a good job of preventing the armature plate from sticking. Not to mention the quart of fluid will last a long time. You can't really check it without changing it. Take the end cap off the hub and let the fluid drain out. Also, remove the silver colored fill plug on the hub. It has an allen key head on it. Once the fluid is drained, pour some fluid into the hub through the fill hole. It only hold like 8 ounces I believe. But you will know that you have enough in there when you turn the hub so that the fill hole is at a 4:00 position and the fluid starts to drain out. That is all there is to it.

 

Thanks I will install new bearings and go from there, Do the make a bearing kit or get them all seperate when you buy them. Whats it usally cost?

 

I am sure that you can get them as a complete kit. HSP sells a bearing kit. You will have to call them and find out what it comes with though. EPI carries bearings as well

 

All the bearings in the hub and strut are common sizes available at your local auto parts store. The bearing numbers are etched into the end of the inner race of the bearing. From experience, it is better to spring the extra couple of bucks and go name brand - (BSA, NTN, Koyo, etc.) the chinese bearings (that a lot of people are selling because of bigger profits) just don't last. Make sure the races are replaced also and check the coil seal sleeve for any grooving (usually bottom side shows most wear) - a new seal will still leak if the seal sleeve is worn. Most of the name brand bearings come as a bearing/race set.

You should be able to get a pretty good idea of the "trueness" of the CV spindle by holding a square against the end of the CV. Even thought there are "steps" in the spindle, the square will give you a straight line reference to go by.