Just purchased a used Polaris Sportsman 800 with under 100 miles on it. The quad runs and drives great with the exception of a clanking noise it is making. I have determined it is the drive train (I think thats what its called). It only makes the noise when I am on a down grade slope and not on the throttle. Usually it is most pronounced when in rough terrain.

There is a little bit of play in the drive train from the tranny to the front and rear end. Is this normal? Should I be able to rotate it by hand at all?

thanks for any input.

 

Normal to have some drive line lash or CLUNK when first taking off,in reverse,or simply letting off throttle and then hitting throttle. Just more pronounced on high torque 700 and 800 than the 500.

 

The wife and i own two x2 500's, we are having great fun with them. There both 07 and bought them both with .3 of an hour on each. The wifes quad how ever is making noise when the ADC is working, 4 wheel works fine, there is no noise or vibration until there is no throttle and below the 15 miles an hour which lets the active decent control function, any thougts.

 

If you go to the Polaris catergories and search for "clunk" or "driveline" you will find lots of reading on it. But in short Polaris does have a very pronounced driveline noise.

 

my 02 700 makes all kinds of noises. A little whinning, clunks, my exhaust rattles, and so do my racks. Thats just polaris. The bottom line is that it is a loud machine anyway. If you took away all the whines and clunks it would still be loud. I'd rather have a noisy bike that I love, than a quiet little bike that is underpowered and rides like a horse cart. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

Thanx guys for your replies, but the noise just gets worse. I talked to the service manager in my area and he thinks things might becoming loose inside, its warranty and i will let you know. cheers..

 

Some of the noise is the clutching and EBS on the Polaris, but some of it is due to the slop in the drive line. The 700 and 800 transmission seems worse than the 500 for noise.

The 700 and 800 have a loose drive chain in the gear box. If you drain the oil and stick your pinky finger in the drain opening, you can actually feel the slack in the chain. I friend has one that the chain was so loose it actually rubbed on the drainplug. The dealer fix was to grind down the drain plug to shorten it up so the chain doesn't hit it. My 700 made some of the same noises as his, just not nearly as loud. I decided to sell the 700 rather than wait for the clunking and clanking to get worse.

That said, there are lots of posts on this and other forums about the noisy drivetrains on the Polaris. The usual response is to ignore it and drive it. Apparently it doesn't cause a great deal of problems.

I drove the 550 XP a few weeks ago and it made some of the same noises. It was no quieter than the old Sportsman 500 that was there, but probably not as bad as my 06 700. The Grizzly driveline was silent by comparison, but the Grizzly didn't ride nearly as well as the Polaris.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: tdi

Some of the noise is the clutching and EBS on the Polaris, but some of it is due to the slop in the drive line. The 700 and 800 transmission seems worse than the 500 for noise.



The 700 and 800 have a loose drive chain in the gear box. If you drain the oil and stick your pinky finger in the drain opening, you can actually feel the slack in the chain. I friend has one that the chain was so loose it actually rubbed on the drainplug. The dealer fix was to grind down the drain plug to shorten it up so the chain doesn't hit it. My 700 made some of the same noises as his, just not nearly as loud. I decided to sell the 700 rather than wait for the clunking and clanking to get worse.



That said, there are lots of posts on this and other forums about the noisy drivetrains on the Polaris. The usual response is to ignore it and drive it. Apparently it doesn't cause a great deal of problems.



I drove the 550 XP a few weeks ago and it made some of the same noises. It was no quieter than the old Sportsman 500 that was there, but probably not as bad as my 06 700. The Grizzly driveline was silent by comparison, but the Grizzly didn't ride nearly as well as the Polaris.</end quote></div>

if you do a search on this you will even see a picture that i posted of my drain plug where the chain had worn into it. i also ground down the bolt(had to remover the magnet as well) so the loose chain would stop rubbing on it. i have owned 2(06 and 08) 800's and they do have alot of drive line noise for sure. i dont beleave there is any noise coming from your clutches as there shouldnt be.

 

I agree that the noisy driveline is just one of those endearing Popo traits. My Brother's Big Boss sounds like a cement mixer full of cats going down the road, my old ATP makes all kinds of noises including a mighty clunk when going from forward to reverse. The Sportsman is definately the quietest of the bunch, which is not to say it's quite, still sounds like hell.
Q

 

I have been doing some extensive research on why my 2008 Polaris Sportsman has a rattle/clanking sound when I drive down hill in two wheel drive. I read on an ATV forum that the transmission bolt was too tall and was being hit by metal inside the transmission. SURE ENOUGH I PULLED OUT MY TRANSMISSION DRAIN PLUG AND IT WAS BEING GRINDED AWAY from the inside. I used my dremel tool and took about 1/8 inch off and rode it today about 30 miles. I barely heard the noise at all. The clutch worked perfectly and now it is a whole new quad.