Since it's 8 or 9 years old the springs may be worn out and need to be replaced. The adjustable spacers can give you 1/2" or 1" of extra compression on the springs. When you take the plow off you can set it to zero and your ride is the same as it is now.

 

ok, so i bought those heavy duty springs from polaris.....any easy way to swap them out or tricks???

 

I just changed the springs on mine today I had the same problem steering hard with plow on the bike I bought EPI springs and man are they alot heaver than the stock ones I now lift the plow and it only drops the front end about an inch and it does steer alot easier now.
I used automotive strut spring compressers to compress the new springs (I did not need to compress the old ones to remove) I did notice when I did mine you have to be carefull that the cv joints dont pull apart in the cv boot. I removed the strut as a complete unit and replaced the springs on the garage floor gave me a chance to inspect all the other componants at the same time. It was a couple hour job to do but was well worth it in the end. I havent had a chance to take it for a ride yet to see how much the new springs will affect the ride I hope not to much.


Dave

 

So how easy is this going to be??

 

I have mcpherson strut spring compressors and use them to compress the new springs. Like I said if you choose not to remove the complete strut assembly and do the spring swap on the floor you have to be carefull not to pull the outer cv joint apart (mine only have outer joints) The axle is held into the cv joint with a clip and it is easy to pull the axle out of the joint and then can kind of be a pain to get the axle back into the cv joint correctly without removing the cv boot The only reason I know this is I had it happen to me the first time I did some work on the front struts and ended up removing the boot to get the axle back into the joint.
If you have the mechanical ability and the proper tools it is about a 2 hour or so job to change out both springs. Getting all the plastic off and on (on my machine) is the biggest pain I have a buddy with a 05 (mine 04.5) 700 there is easier access to the strut nuts at the top of the strut. Not sure if your 00 is the same.
The only other thing that made mine a bit more of a pain was that I have rubberdown 2" lift kit in the front and had to compress my new spring a little bit more.
Hope this helps you out


Dave

 

id rather not pull the assembly apart. I am fairly mechanically inclined but have never really worked on an atv before. I have however replaced struts on a car and did lift kits on trucks...so im not totally in the dark. I do know i have to take the front cargo box off to get to the nuts.

 

anybody change them with the assembly still on the machine???