I've got a 1998 Polaris Sportsman 500 4x4 and a 1996 Polaris TrailBlazer. Just got them this past weekend. The Sportsman has 300 miles on it. Before I got to ride it my brother-in-law screwed it up and I need some advise on what to do. Here's what happened

He jumped it off a 3ft ledge. Front end came down pretty hard. He didn't wreck but it looked like a substantial blow to the front end. I don't think that is what damaged it. Within 30 seconds of that he drove into a mud/water hole at about 20-25 mph. Water everywhere. He made it to the other side before the engine died.

I towed him home. Took off air filter cover. It was filled halfway with water. Drained that. Drained the carb. Drained the recoil housing? as the handle was not fully seated when he went into the water. Drained the crankcase? Pulled the spark plug and cranked it a couple of times. Put the plug back in. Started up and engine ran fine. Put it in gear and nothing.

It tries to move but feels like something is slipping or the brakes are locked. Brakes aren't locked as it will roll fine in neutral. It does the same thing in high, low, reverse, and AWD. I let it sit overnight and tried the next day - same thing. Engine sounds fine, no problems there, something drivetrain related.

As i'm new to Polaris can someone give the rundown on how the drivetrain works? Before i kill my brother-in-law and spend time and money taking it to a dealer can someone tell me what may have happened? The searches i did on this forum leads me to believe maybe the belts are wet and slipping? Is it something that simple? Can someone tell me about the Electronic Throttle Control system and if the problem might be related to that?

Thanks for your help.

 

drain the clutch houseing it should have a little red screw in the back of the case open it and see if water comes out.. if it is full then the belt is just slipping around on the clutchs

 

oh yea welcome to the forums

 

Welcome[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

david450,

Welcome to the forums.

First of all, is it engaging into gear?

You don't have a drain plug on your Sportsman or Trail Blazer as Jayblazer mentioned. Polaris started putting drain plugs on the 2003 and up PVT covers. But that is where I would start. It sounds like you have water in your belt housing. I would remove the clutch cover and make sure it is dry inside. While you have that off check the wear on the belt and replace if needed. Also, it is a good idea to keep your clutches clean. Spray some brake cleaner on a clean rag and wipe the clutches off. Don't forget to replace the seal when re-installing the cover (cheap..like $3.00). If that doesn't do the trick then let us know.

Good Luck.

 

sorry dident mean to mislead i thought they all had the plugs[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

A few things could have gone wrong. If there is not a lot of water under the clutch cover, then I would be thinking towards the transmission. If you put it in any gear (other than neutral or park) and slowly roll it several feet forward or backwards, can you hear the transmission gears spinning and meshing on each other ok? Or when you try to roll it forward does it just act like the tires are locked up. If the tires act like they are locked up at some point, it may be a damaged gear / shaft in the transmission. Maybe the other thing it could be is some damaged gears in the front awd system. Try the above and let us know what you find.

 

Jayblazer,

No prob, it happens.

 

Thanks guys. The ATV is at my cabin so i can't check anything until Friday.

So I think the only thing i didn't check was the clutch cover (since i'm new to polaris and didn't know what i'd find.). As the air filter was almost under water i'm sure water went in the clutch/belt housing. I hope it's as simple as draining the water.

What's the price of a new belt? Are there any other parts i should think about replacing while i'm in there? Does anyone have a diagram?

Thanks again for the quick reply. From reading the forum it seems people like to complain about the Polaris and the belts. It's just about proper maintenance. My harley is belt drive and no problems there. Are the polaris made from kevlar also?