couple weeks ago i rode through some deep water several times, the water was up over the back rack and over the seat. didnt notice any problems at the time, but now i found that the bike stays in 4x4 all the time. any suggestions about this before i pay a tech to diagnose the problem?

 

I thought my 700 was doing the same thing but the 4 wheel drive doesnt kick out sometimes for a while during operation. If you stop and turn the 4x4 off and then shift through park neutral reverse high and low a few times and then test it out it should be back in two wheel. If not then you have a problem. Make sure the front diff has enough fluid and that it's not milky, and make damn sure you are testing it in mud or somthing very slipery and have a buddy watch and make sure the front wheels aren't spinning cause the back ones bite really good and sometimes it's hard to tell. Also read your manual and it will briefly describe how the 4x4 works on this machine because it is quite different than what I am used to seeing with a normal 4x4.

 

Guys we have seen these time adn time again the newer sportsmans havea plastic bearing housing in the front dif that goeas bad and causes this to happen we had to replace our own just last week.

 

i understand how the 4x4 works, it has been doing it for the past month straight. i changed all my fluids before this past ride, and there was a little bit of water in the differentials.

 

Unfortunately this is a poor design and a weak link for the Sportsmans. If it will not come out of 4wd then it sounds like the rollar cage in the front diff has stress cracks or has cracked and this will either keep it in 4wd or only one side will be stuck on. Polaris knows they have a problem but they do not have a fix. The older Sp had an aluminum rollar cage which held up better but once it broke it would take the whole diff out. The plastic one breaks an it gets chewed up but the rest is saved. I know a new diff is being developed and will be on 07-08 sportsmans. Also they have a new clutch design which is on the hawkeye. This design is supposed to be alot better with getting more power to the ground with minimal belt slippage. I know alot of guys that have problems with the front diffs and am reading more and more problems with them. If you are hard on them or even like to play in the mud/water it will break. Plastic can only take so much abuse before it breaks.

 

Does it makes noises when it is always in 4x4? I really don't pay attention. In fact I couldn't even tell you when it is in 4x4 or not...I just know when I am climbing something steep it works.

How hard is the hilliard to replace? You would think someone would make an aftermarket Hilliard as an alternative to the cheap Polaris one...

 

thanks guys sounds like i am gonna need to take it in. the polaris 4x4 system even when the switch is in the AWD will still kick out when it senses the back tires stop spinning, it takes some time but it will. thats what mine is doing after a while it would kick out and i would spin the back tires to see if it was fixed, but when the tires stop spinning the 4x4 safely engages. i dont know if this helps you guys, but im going to wait until i hear back from yall, to see if you still think it is a differential problem before i take it in.