I have an 02' sp500ho. i recently started hearing this belt "whirling" noise. It is very noticeable whether in low, high, or reverse, but cannot be heard in neutral. i replaced the belt because it was heavily worn and the bushings and such inside the drive unit because the teflon was completely worn off the bushings and then lubricated the driven unit
I changed the transmission fluid, but the noise persisted.

The noise does not affect the performance-- it still accelerates and decelerates normally. Aside from the noise, it runs great.

Could this be a prob with the gearbox? any ideas or suggestions? It just suddenly started making this noise-- very random. I have a trip planned to WV in 2 weeks so I'm trying to determine the reliability.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

bttt ? any ideas?

 

A lot of the belt drive machines make a whirling noise from the belts. Mine does it too. Unless it starts affecting the performance of your machine, then I wouldnt worry about it.

 

are you positive that it is coming from the belt/clutch area? have you run it without the clutch cover to pinpoint it there?

do you change ALL your fluids regularly?

on my scrammy i thought i had that sound from the tranny, but turns out it was from the front gearcase. when i changed my fluid, it had some water in there and the oil was contaminated. with the new fluid, it quieted down considerably, but it was still there. i think that it might be a polaris trait after so many miles, or just the fact that the internals are just a little worn and are causing noise.

hope this helps.

X

 

at first i was convinced it was the drive unit (ran it with the belt cover off). I replaced all the bushings and parts inside the driver and the belt (it was just below service limit). I purchased this ATV used about 2 months ago and 4 weeks after i had it, approx 6 hours of runtime, it started making the noise. It still sounds very prominent in the belt drive area.

I changed all the fluids when I purchased it. The transmission fluid had some hint of purple left. The unit has 150hrs on it now, 141hrs when purchased. The owner claimed it was serviced regularly-- it was not making the noise when I got it home or after my first outting with it.

it runs great-- just makes this noise. I just don't need a major break-down in the middle of a big trip.

thanks for the replies-- let me know what you think.