I was told that I should drain the front huds on my Xpedition OFTEN, due to the fact that they gather a lot of water. Is there any truth to this, if there is how do I go about draining them, and do I have to replace the lubricant in the hubs?

Thanks
Mark

 

To drain the front hube simply take out the allen screw and rotate the wheel till till the hole is on bottom. Refill with Polaris hub fliud or, I prefer Mobile 1 synthetic ATF. Before changing to the Mobile 1 fluid one of my hubs would occasionally stay engaged, requiring you to back up to unlock it. This has NOT happened since I started using Mobile 1 synthetic ATF in my hubs.

Another note
My bike has never had water in the front hubs but if your fliud has a "milky" appearance when you drain it you may want to remove the hub cover to be sure all of it drains out.

 

If your hub fluid does appear to have water in it as Pfelect mentioned you should check your wheel bearings while you're replacing the fluid. I found water had got into mine and I ended up having to replace the bearings too.

 

Pfelect, how long have you been using the Mobile 1 Tranny fluid? I need to change the fluid in my hubs (Scrambler 400) and the Synthetic sounds like it's the way to go. Just want to make sure that this won't hurt my quad. How did you decide to try the Mobile 1? Do you think the Polaris fluid is basically just standard ATF? Does it matter which type of ATF (Dextron/Mercon or Type F)? When filling the hubs back up is there a certain level it needs to be at, or do you just fill it all the way up? Thanks for your time

Matt

 

I believe the manual suggests using ATF Type-F and filling to the 4 o'clock position.

 

I got some hub oil recently & the label on the container looked somehow different. I looked closer & noticed it said Polaris Synthetic so I assume it is now synthetic. If it was me, I would use that so as not to have any problems with warranty & not using oil from the big P.

 

The Polaris hub fluid is synthetic, I believe.

I agree, there should never be any water in the hubs unless a seal is damaged. I have never found any in my '98 Sportsman.

Do not fill the hubs full! The pressure as the fluid expands (when it get warm) will force the fluid out through the seals and cause damage. As mentioned, drain the fluid by removing the drain plug and turning the hubs so the drain faces down. Allow them to drain thoroughly. Rotate the hubs until the drain plug faces up. Partially fill the hubs. Rotate the hubs until the drain is at the 4 or 8 o'clock position. If no fluid drains out, add more and try again. If fluid drains out allow it to do so until it stops. Reinstall the drain plugs and you are ready to go. The service manual states 2.5 oz or 75 ml of fluid.

The Sportsman service manual suggests Polaris Premium Demand Drive Hub Fluid (PN 2871654) or ATF Type F.

DJ

 

IF you're getting water in your hubs; wouldn't that mean the hub fluid is leaking OUT?

 

Dressel1,

I've been using Mobil 1 synthetic ATF for about a year and a half. It is an excellent alternative to the Polaris hub fluid, and probably costs less when comparing how much you get for the money. I change my hub fluid 4 or 5 times per year. I have never experienced either hub staying engaged with the AWD switch off. Polaris also recommends filling to the 4 o'clock position. I use the 3 o'clock position, and haven't had any problems. One recommendation would be to remove the wheel before you drain the hub to prevent hub fluid from getting all over the wheel. Once refilled, you can wipe the external surface of the hub clean, and put the wheel back on. Just like any other seal exposed to the elements, the hub seal can go bad, but I've never had any problems and think that it is a great seal. Milky hub fluid would require further investigation to determine where the water is getting in. As far as leaking hub fluid if water is entering, that's not necessarily the case. It makes me think of Honda's drum brakes. Once the seal goes bad, it lets water enter, but still works good enough to keep the water from leaking back out.